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Article Series: Mind, Body, Spirit & Meditation
I Want To Feel Better - Inside & Out
What
Are Some Physical Forms of Meditation?
Meditation is most often considered an inactive
process of quieting your mind and engaging with stillness,
but there are also several ways to use physical activity to
enter a meditative state. Both types of meditation can be incredibly
effective in inspiring a sense of peace, harmony and well-being,
but they differ greatly in their approach.
Mental meditation involves sitting quietly and focusing on
your breathing or a soothing mantra, or emptying your mind
by disengaging from your conscious thoughts. Physical meditation
at first glance seems to be the complete opposite because your
body will be in motion the entire time, but the mental result
of peace and stillness is very much the same.
If sitting quietly in silence has always been difficult for
you, you may want to explore various forms of physical meditation
instead. In fact, you have probably engaged in physical meditation
before and not even realized you were doing so!
Here are a few of the most common types of physical meditation
activities:
1)
Walking
Walking is not only good for your body; it helps clear your
mind too! Repeatedly placing one foot in front of the other
while you breathe deeply and observe your surroundings can
be incredibly meditative. Just a few minutes of this can melt
away weeks’ worth of tension.
Start by choosing a pleasant location, like a park or pretty
tree-lined street; lace up your walking shoes, grab a bottle
of water and you’re ready to go. As you walk, try to avoid
thinking too much. Instead, do your best to set your conscious
thoughts aside and focus instead on the sensation of your muscles
flexing, and oxygen flowing in and out of your lungs. Or tune
into your surroundings more completely and focus on the beauty
of the landscape, sky and wildlife.
2)
Dance
Dancing is more often considered a recreational pursuit, but
it can also be quite relaxing and hypnotic in its ability to
distance you from fear and worry.
For stress relief and strengthening your spiritual connection,
choose slow, soothing music and move your body gently and smoothly
too. Set your conscious thoughts aside and focus only on moving
your body along with the music. In no time at all you should
feel refreshed and renewed – just as you would from a mental
meditation session.
3)
Hobbies and menial work You may not consider hobbies and chores to be meditative,
but they are powerful in their ability to move you from a state
of thinking to a state of “being” – and that’s exactly what
meditation does! The next time you engage in any physical activity
like cleaning, yard work, hobbies or organizing, make a point
of focusing your attention fully on it. Let go of worries and
scattered thoughts and immerse yourself fully in the act of
moving your hands and body. As you do so, you are releasing
stress, calming your thoughts and entering a stress-free state
that will stay with you for hours.
Nearly any physical activity can be turned into a meditative
experience, as long as it’s one you don’t have to focus intently
on. (Obviously, driving and skydiving wouldn’t be good candidates
for physical meditation.) With ordinary activities, however,
simply get into the habit of stepping outside the flow of your
conscious thoughts and allow yourself to settle into a state
of calm, steady movement – and you’ll be meditating! See, it
was easier than you thought, wasn’t it?
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SolveYourProblem.com
: 2008
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