Several years ago, on the first anniversary of my father’s passing, I was feeling rather anxious. Dreading the arrival of five to midnight, the time he had said goodbye to this world, I feared that when the moment arrived it would be unbearably painful. But rather than feeling overwhelmed by emotion, an interesting thing happened.
Without planning to, at about 11.45pm, I spontaneously began chanting the mantra ‘om mani padme om’. For 15 or so minutes, the sound of my voice carried me, grounding and anchoring my emotions, and giving me a point of focus beyond my troubled heart. What was fascinating was that I stopped singing just as spontaneously as I had begun – without any conscious decision. When I did, my whole being had transformed. I was calm, centred and at peace. It was as if the meditation had done its job, and my body itself had known when to stop.
Meditation matters
This is the power of meditation – it has its own wisdom. It can calm your mind and ease anxiety, slow your heart rate and lower blood pressure. It can increase self-knowledge, facilitate wise decision-making and help you feel more connected to yourself, others and the planet itself. Research shows it boosts focus and immunity, increases self-esteem, lowers pain and inflammation, and can help manage addictions. In fact, meditation can even change the structure of your brain.
“The brain is neuroplastic, which means it has the ability to create new neural connections and change old ones,” explains Samantha Quemby, psychology practitioner at The Optimum Health Clinic (theoptiumhealthclinic.com ). “Meditation allows for a space to focus on more positive thoughts and, when done repeatedly, builds up these new thought connections within the brain.” This means you can let go of unhelpful beliefs and develop ones that are more aligned with the life you’d like to live.
If you haven’t meditated before, all you need is a bit of time and a place where you won’t be disturbed. If you want to sit crosslegged on the floor, raise your bottom by sitting on a cushion or bolster so your knees are lower than your hips, and, if you’re on a chair, keep your feet flat on the ground. Prepare by taking a few deep breaths into your belly, releasing any tension as you exhale to relax your body and still your mind. At the end of your practice, gently open your eyes and take in your surroundings before continuing with your day. If you’d like to experience and explore the benefits of meditation, here are a few styles to try for yourself.
Grounding meditation
Good for: feeling secure
When you’re ungrounded, you’re likely to tense your muscles and not give your weight fully to the floor beneath you, which can create a sense of insecurity. Meditations that develop your connection to the earth can help.
Try this: “Imagine your nervous system like a giant tree inside your body,” suggests Sonja Grace, founder of The Meditation Peace Project (sonjagrace.com). “Close your eyes and feel the nerves in your feet like roots growing down into the ground. You can ask for earth energy to rise through your roots and fill the nervous system.”
Good for: self-knowledge
Think of yoga nidra as a process of mediative self-inquiry. There are many different styles, but the team at iRest invite you to reflect on your experience and find inner resources to draw on.
Try this: “Picture a place in your imagination or from memory, where you have felt completely at ease,” suggests iRest meditation teacher Sarah Lloyd-Morrison (awakenedrest. com). “Notice the colours, sounds, tastes and smells; notice how it feels as a felt sense in your body. Linger here for a while then, let the image fade but the felt sense of the place remain. Know that you can revisit this feeling at any time when you are in need of some inner nourishment.”
Box breathing
Good for: regulating the nervous system
“Box breathing helps you return to your natural breathing rhythm,” explains Nevsah Fidan Karamehment, meditation expert and founder of Breath Hub (breathhub.app). “It reverses the stress response and relaxes body and mind.”
Try this: “Take a deep breath through your nose for a count of four and hold for four. Observe your emotions non-judgmentally,” says Karamehment. “Exhale through the mouth for a count of four, visualising all the intense emotions leaving your body with your breath. Again, hold your breath for four. Then, retake a deep breath and continue following this patter for a few minutes.”
Wave meditation
Good for: connecting with your natural rhythm
“Wave meditation is the simple, yet powerful, practice of listening to the sound of the waves,” says Mark Smith, founder of beach meditation project kalmhorizons.com. “The soothing effect is a great anchor for any form of meditation.”
Try this: If you’re able to, try this practice at a quiet beach. Alternatively, listen to a soundtrack of waves or the ocean and visualise a favourite coastal spot. Stand, or imagine you are standing, ankle deep in the seawater. Connect to your breath, then gradually synchronise your breath to the wave pattern beneath you, inhaling as the wave recedes, exhaling as it comes into the shore and breaks around your feet. Continue for several minutes.
Heart-centred meditation
Good for: accepting what is
Navigate difficult emotions and celebrate your own uniqueness with this heart-centred meditation from Beata Alexsandrowicz (beata.website).
Try this: “Light a candle and place your hand on your chest, close to your heart. Imagine your heart being filled up with the white iridescent light and feel the calmness slowly entering your heart with every breath. The more light that enters your heart, the more peace you can experience. Continue for few more breaths and slowly open your eyes.”
Want/need meditation
Good for: wise problem solving
Being able to differentiate between what you want and what you need is immensely valuable. The energy behind want is fast and urgent, like a food craving, while the energy of need is slower and more nourishing.
Try this: Take your attention to a place two inches below your navel. Imagine breathing in and out from here, then allow your mind to focus on what you most want from a given situation. Tune into how this feels in your body then, after five minutes, write down your thoughts. Return to breathing from below your navel, this time reflecting on what you deeply need. Rather than using your conscious mind, connect to a place of stillness and allow the answers to come to you. Again, write your thoughts down afterwards. Over time, you’ll learn to recognise the feeling of need in your body and let it guide you in the right direction, whatever the situation.
Eve Boggenpoel is a yoga and meditation teacher with many years’ experience. For more advice and free meditations, connect with her on Instagram @findingstillness.uk
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