14 Ways to Meditate
- Angel Zappanti
- Jan 12
- 9 min read
Updated: Feb 4
Have Trouble Meditating? Try these…
Sit in Silence │ Breathwork │ Mindfulness Meditation │Guided Music Meditation │ Verbal Guided Meditation │ Moving Meditation │Mantras & Transcendental Meditation │ Group Meditation │ Body Scan Meditation │ Progressive Muscle Relaxation Meditation │ Chakra Meditation │ Focused Meditation │ Visualization │ Metta Meditation
Ever tried the classic, sit in silence to meditate only to wake up drooling on yourself, completely zonked out? Hey, at least it relaxed you, right? No worries my fellow meditation warrior, there are 12 other ways to meditate that might be more your speed. Let’s find out which meditation style works best for you.
What is Meditation Anyway?
Simply put, meditation is the practice of BE HERE NOW. Historically, meditation can be traced back in written form to Indian Upanishads, written between 1500-200 BCE. There are oral traditions of Hindu Rishi meditation techniques that go back several hundreds of years before the written word.
Meditation is the practice of focusing, turning inward to develop the ability and awareness of being completely in the present moment. The benefits of meditation are plentiful. Meditation can sharpen focus and clarity, reduce anxiety and the effects of stress, increase feelings of wellbeing, improve immune system functioning, work through trauma, bring cohesion between the mind and body, and create the space for higher consciousness to awaken.
Let’s find out which meditation techniques fit your spiritual and wellbeing needs.
The Classic - Sit in Silence
This one you probably know. Sit down, in a quiet space, spine straight and clear your mind. Go ahead, just clear your mind. In fact, don’t think of pink elephants, your bills, your kids, your job, your dreams, what you're making for dinner….just don’t think. Nope, not that thought either. Just let it all go and sit in silence.
Yeah, right. Welcome to what’s called your monkey mind. Where your mind runs amuck like a bunch of cracked out monkeys. This is where your beginner meditator gets frustrated or just plain bored. As a practice, sitting in silence is extremely beneficial but may not be the right way to meditate for you out the gate.
Breathwork
Question, how long can your body survive without food? Some people fast for a month, it’s possible. At some point you gotta eat. How long can your body go without water? 10 days or less depending on the circumstances. How long can your body survive without air? You tell me, how long can you hold your breath? 30 seconds, 6 minutes? Air is THE MOST sacred element we bring into the body and air’s importance is greatly overlooked. There are many breathing techniques out there to explore.
Yogic Pranayamic Breathing offers many breathing protocols for specific health and spiritual benefits. In Sanskrit, “prana” means life energy, and “Yama” means control. My favorite is Ujjayi, otherwise known as Victorious Breath. When I use this technique, my body instantly calms down and focuses my mind to this moment. Alternate Nostril breathing, known as nadi shodhana is a very popular breathing technique taught in yoga classes. Here are a few examples of pranayamic breathing techniques. Explore if any of these pranayamic breathing techniques work for you.
The Wim Hof Method (WHM) is another breathing technique that has taken the world by storm over the last decade. The WHM of breathing claims to increase energy, improve mood, reduce stress, improve cardiovascular functioning, strengthen the immune system, aid in better quality of sleep and improve endurance of the respiratory muscles. Let Wim guide you to see if you enjoy this breathing exercise.
The 4-7-8 Breathing method was founded by Dr. Weil, based on pranayamic breathing exercises to assist in reducing stress and anxiety with the aim of falling asleep faster. Listen as Dr. Weil tells you about this method, how to do 4-7-8 breathing and the benefits. If you want to try this technique, click here.
Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness practices have been around for thousands of years originating in various eastern philosophies and Buddhism. Jon Kabat-Zinn Phd is known as the father of formalizing Mindfulness Meditation back in 1979 to help clients manage chronic pain and stress related disorders.
Unlike the Sit in Silence approach to clear your mind of all thoughts, Mindfulness Meditation brings your attention to witnessing your thoughts as they arise without judgement and being present to all the sensations of the body, notably the breath. Mindfulness Meditation is about learning to become the observer of your thoughts and body sensations without becoming a participant in the activities of the mind.
Hundreds of studies and meta-studies have been done on the psychological and physical benefits of Mindfulness Meditation. Mindfulness Meditation has been found to reduce stress, anxiety, depression, pain and blood pressure while improving sleep, providing an immune system boost, lengthen telomeres, improve focus and increase work engagement.
Guided Music Meditation
This meditation style is as simple as it sounds. With the advent of YouTube there is access to so many styles of meditation music, frequency music (432Hz, 528Hz, 741Hz), deep sleep, inner peace, chakra balancing, ambient, nature sounds, etc. Play with this meditation style by sitting or lying in a quiet space, choose music, close your eyes and allow it to take you on a journey.
Be open to whatever arises in you. The music may bring up feelings of sadness and you find yourself crying. The music might elicit feelings of joy or elation. Be on the journey and receive all that is being brought to you. Once you have curated a library of musical meditation experiences you can now choose specific music to target a preferred experience or expound on a previous experience to see what else shows up.
Verbal Guided Meditation
Verbal Guided Meditations can be found in yoga classes, meditation classes, retreats, therapist offices, through apps and social media. A guided meditation is facilitated by an individual who leads a person or a group through a specifically designed meditation experience for a targeted outcome.
A verbal guided meditation can help with work focus, sports performance, body relaxation, anxiety and depression relief, provide a spiritual experience and so much more. A variety of guided meditations can be found online. Try several different types and see what resonates with you.
Moving Meditation
Some people really enjoy sitting or lying down to meditate and other people need a more dynamic approach. This is the beauty of a moving meditation. The most important part of a moving meditation is to be present in the activity. Fully immersing the body and focus of the mind into the movement while being a passive witness to the activity of the mind.
Moving meditations offer the opportunity to achieve a flow state between body and mind. Common moving meditation practices include Tai Chi, Qigong and Yoga. However, you can make anything into a moving meditation; taking a walk, doing the dishes, showering, vacuuming the floor, shoveling snow, washing the dog. Be present and be intentional.
Mantras & Transcendental Meditation
Mantras & Transcendental Meditation are also practices found in eastern philosophies, Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Mantras can be a word, phrase or sound that is repeated. There is a bit of science to the use of mantras to evoke an intended response. Sounds/mantras carry a vibration, a frequency that can be used to create a specific benefit.
Example, the OM sound is probably the most chanted mantra on the planet. In a scientific analysis of mantra based meditation it was reported that, “the OM sound when chanted, vibrates at the frequency of 136.1 Hz, which is the same vibrational frequency found throughout everything in nature”. The potential outcome of chanting OM is feeling in resonance with your environment, nature and all of creation. Yes please!
Transcendental Meditation is led by a certified TM practitioner, primarily using mantras as the focal point of the practice. Transcendental Meditation was formally started by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1955m who learned from his master Brahmananda Saraswati. There are TM centers around the world.
Group Meditation
Ever been to a national league game in a large stadium or arena and felt the electric excitement in the space created by so many people cheering or booing together? How about attending a concert experiencing the whole arena, including you, singing your heart out to that favorite hit song?
Groups of people exponentiate the energy, creating a powerful group resonance. This too can be applied to Group Meditation. With each person in attendance of a group meditation, the energy multiplies creating the possibility of a higher vibrational experience individually and collectively. Any of the meditation techniques explored here can be applied to a group meditation.
“It’s all about slowing things down and figuring out what you’re feeling. We don’t usually pay attention to sensations in our body, and because some of those sensations are unpleasant, we try to push them away.” Dr. Melissa Young, Cleveland Clinic
Body Scan Meditation
Body Scan Meditation is a pillar of mindfulness meditation. In mindfulness meditation we notice the thoughts and the body sensations. In Body Scan Meditation our aim is to solely focus on the body and notice what arises. This meditation technique targets the parasympathetic nervous system (the rest and digest system) to assist in decreasing anxiety and stress.
When we experience intense emotions, most of us store that emotion in the body. Long stored unexplored or unexpressed emotions can begin to create dis-ease in the body like migraines, muscle tightness, digestive issues, back pain, heart irregularities, sexual dysfunction, etc. If we continue to hold onto these stuck emotions in the body even after these warning signs, then more severe issues arise such as heart attacks, aneurysms, Crohn's Disease, cancer, MS, etc.
Body Scan Meditation is fantastic for giving you a chance to check in with your body to see where you are holding tension, anger, fear, sadness or anxiety. Identifying these emotions in the body gives you a road map toward your own healing, either in future meditations or with a therapist. If you want to try a Body Scan Meditation, try this one with Tara Brach.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation Meditation
Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) is one of my favorite active dynamic meditations to both lead and experience for immediate benefits. Progressive Muscle Relaxation Meditation is a variation of a Body Scan, modified and more active by slowly tightening and relaxing one muscle group at a time through the whole body. PMR was invented by Dr. Edmund Jacobson and first presented to Harvard University in 1908. PMR is known to decrease muscle tension, increase self awareness and induce a deeper state of overall relaxation. Gift yourself 20 minutes of time well spent and try the following guided PMR Meditation.
Chakra Meditation
What’s a chakra you ask? Chakra is the Sanskrit word for wheel, circle or disk that is animated by prana. The first mention of the chakra system is in Indian yogic texts dating back to 1500-1200 BCE. There are seven major chakras in the body, each with its own Sanskrit name, color, frequency, associated glands and organs and characteristics when in balance and out of balance.
Each chakra should be about the size of a dessert plate and spinning clockwise. When the chakras are aligned and activated, they vibrate at a higher frequency, giving us energy and vitality. When the chakra system is in balance, the individual is in balance. Hence the glorious benefits of a chakra meditation.
Focused Meditation
Focused Meditation offers you the chance to utilize one or several of your senses in a heightened state. The focus can be on anything that resonates with you, focusing on the breath, praying the rosary, praying with mala beads, staring into a mirror, scrying into water, staring at a flame, moon gazing, looking at a blank wall, focusing on the heart center. This type of meditation allows you to dive deep into one focal point while opening yourself up to higher messages from source, your higher self or spirit guides.
Visualization
Visualization Meditation can be used for manifestation. The goal in visualization meditation is to decide what you want to focus on, your health, the health of a loved one, a dream job or house, a loving romantic relationship, your next sports endeavor or anything else important to you. With as much detail as possible, vividly create or visualize in your mind the scenario, the person, the job, etc. Put yourself in that space or see that other person while bringing all of your senses into the experience. What do you see? What does the room smell like? How does your body feel being in this space?
As noted in the Sports Visualization: The Secret Weapon of Athletes article by Peak Performance Sports; “When athletes visualize or imagine a successful competition, they actually stimulate the same brain regions as you do when you physically perform that same action.” Visualization Meditation is a powerful tool to manifest your dreams into a reality.
Metta Meditation (a.k.a., Loving Kindness Meditation)
Metta Meditation is the Buddhist practice of cultivating heart centered love, compassion and gratitude for self and others. This practice is intended to leave you feeling peaceful and connected to your authenticity and to all other beings. Take this six minute Metta journey of self love and kindness with Jon Kabat-Zinn, the father of formalizing Mindfulness Meditation.
Happy Meditating
Hopefully, we have knocked down the barriers of meditation for you. If sitting quietly to meditate is not your jam, then get up, move the body, do some progressive muscle relaxation. As you learn to quiet the mind, try some of the other less physically dynamic techniques such as Visualization, Mantra, Focus or Mindfulness Meditations. You might find that you really enjoy group guided meditations. Try each of these meditation techniques and see which ones fit best where you are today. Leave a comment and let me know which technique turned out to be your favorite.
In a radiance of love,
Angel Marie
If you are looking for more ways to cope with stress, anxiety, depression or overthinking, you can schedule a FREE 15 minute consultation to see if Spiritual Therapy is a fit for you or schedule your first session below.
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