Types of Meditation

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In this blog, I thought it would be a good idea to briefly breakdown all the different types of meditation available to you so that you can try them out and choose the one that speaks the most to your soul.

So, in reality, due to how rapidly the world has been evolving and constantly changing, a simple Google search on ‘types of meditation’ will probably take you through a multitude of different meditation techniques and practices, however, I would like to introduce to you the main 6 Meditation Types which I am planning to try in my own Spiritual Journey.

Dive in and choose the right meditation for you and welcome the abundance of mindfulness, peace and love into your daily life.

1. Mindfulness Meditation

This is the most popular meditation in the West and is based on the teachings of Buddha, this type of meditation being a valuable tool in helping you understand how your mind works.

Personally, practising this specific type of meditation has helped me overcome impatience, intolerance, stress, anxiety and many other bad habits that kept me from living a happy life for a long time.

The steps to follow for a successful Mindfulness Meditation are:

• Stay still, lying down or in a comfortable position of your choice. Allow yourself to be in the present moment, fully mindful of your body and the thoughts that come into your mind.
• Be an observer of your own mind and recognize each thought without identifying yourself with it or trying to change it in any way.
• Focus on your deep breathing, in and out, slowly and controlled.
• Stay in that state for as long as you need and appreciate yourself for showing up and staying in the present moment, fully aware and connected to your inner self.
• Be honest with yourself in case your mind shifts away from your practice, let it go and come back again in the present moment.

You might find yourself fidgety and impatient to start with, but daily practise will get you where you want, believe me. Personally, I tend to do this type of meditation (which is my favourite out of all the 6) on a music background, and this is my go-to-song most of the times, no matter the time of the day in which I wish to meditate and connect with myself.

2. Visualization Meditation

This meditation requires you to create a particular image in your mind, that further will develop into a particular feeling throughout your entire body.

Simply said, by closing your eyes and imagining whatever resonates with you (could be a beautiful landscape, the sky, bright white light, etc.), you will be able to distance yourself from any unwelcome mental activity whilst bringing a sense of peace throughout your entire being.

This is a very complex spiritual practice and for maximum benefits, the ideal scenario would be if practised alongside a skilled teacher beforehand, but even so, this technique implies serious commitment from you towards the practice at all times (also, I find it more beneficial and intense if I practice this meditation in complete silence, no background music, however, it is harder to do so).

Personally, what I do is:

• I lie down on my back with noise-cancelling headphones on and first of all, I take 3 deep breaths in and out, slowly.
• After this, for a minute or two I try to empty my mind and just be still, present in the moment and relaxed.
• Then, starting from the toes and going all the way up, slowly, through all my energetic centres (chakras) and each body part, I visualize a radiant and bright white light that covers my entire being in warmth, love and peace of mind.
• I let the light bathe me all the way to the Crown Chakra, where I focus on my head being covered in that bright white light for a couple of moments, and immediately after I take another 3 deep breaths to bring down all the light back to my toes, in the same slow and mindful way.
• I do this as many times as needed, there is no time limit for this practice.
• Once my spiritual practice is done, I come back to the first step for a moment, where I am still once again, present in the moment and relaxed, but most of all, grateful.
• Be grateful in that state, put your hands together on your third eye (the region between your eyes) and say with deep Love and Compassion, “Namaste” and remain in that moment for a while.
• Take the deepest breath you took all day and let it all go.

3. Movement Meditation

This practice is heavily focused on the body in motion. The best example is Yoga, Tai Chi and any other form of martial arts.

Once you are capable to be present and completely mindful in your body whilst moving and meditating at the same time, your awareness will reach new heights.

Personally, I’ve always had serious issues with being still for long periods of time, so sometimes it actually feels easier to concentrate during my meditation practice If I am moving, but I always concentrate on the movement of my body as being the object of my meditation.

4. Chanting Meditation

This involves mainly a focus on a Mantra whilst meditating. During this special meditation, your mind is completely focused on the sounds of the words you are chanting and the melody (if you choose to chant on a music background).

The most common Mantra used in Chanting Meditations is “Om”, which is a repetitive sound that has huge power in clearing your mind and strengthening your connection to your inner self.

However, recently, I’ve been blissfully introduced to a new Mantra which I’ve been curious to try out for a while now during meditation, the Hare Krishna Hare Rama mantra.

Sitting down, in a sacred space and in a comfortable position of your choice, closed eyes and with peace and stillness in the mind, body and soul, the chanting meditation sounds like this:

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Repeating this sacred Mantra whilst using beads is another effective way of connecting to the Supreme. Chanting the Mantra 108 times takes around 10-15 minutes of your day and I would highly recommend that you take this time out of your day to do practice it.

Why? Because in time, you will see a significant change in your spiritual awareness and you will feel more connected to yourself and to all positive human qualities, especially compassion and self-love.

If you are not sure how to start, check this list of different versions of Hare Krishna Hare Rama Chanting Meditations, and choose the one that best fits with your spirit.

• Hare Krishna Slow Chant
• Hare Krishna Maha Mantra Chanting 108 Times-1 Round (Slow Pace) For Beginners

5. Focused Meditation

This practice involves heavy concentration exclusively on what you are doing in a particular moment. By doing so, in time, you will be able to fight a lot of dissatisfaction, impatience and to also to get things done in a more efficient matter by doing one thing at a time.

Let me give you an example.

One kind of focused meditation is by simply drinking a hot beverage (coffee, tea, whatever you prefer). In reality, what you do is that you stop all other activities and you focus exclusively on drinking that cup of coffee.

Notice the sensations and feelings that this activity gives you – the warmth, the smell, the taste and texture, the strength and the feel of the mug in your hands.

If your mind wanders (and it will), come back to your cup of coffee.

Try this practice during various activities such as eating, walking, working out, etc. And whilst doing these activities, remain connected to the sensations that they bring to your mind and body.

In time, my aim is to develop a serious commitment to this meditation practice, as I wish to improve my ability to concentrate and to fully enjoy the bliss of being present.

6. Spiritual Meditation

This meditation practice, depending on the tradition, involves silence, speech or chanted prayers, all used in order to strengthen your connection with the Divine.

However, the most modern type of spiritual practice focuses heavily on self-awareness and actualization, in other words, its aim is to support practitioners in becoming the best version of themselves.

After all, this is why you are here, am I right?

This mediation is usually practised at a preferred place of worship, in nature or even in your own home.

The focus throughout this entire meditation is on feelings of kindness, love and compassion, and by using these emotions as guiding tools whilst getting involved in a deep self-reflection state of mind, in time, we can discover invaluable insights about our self-being, and in turn, increase our ability to be of service to others.

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So, you might’ve noticed that I’ve been constantly repeating a very common thing throughout all these mediations.

In time.

As mentioned in the beginning of the About Me section ‘This is a journey of LOVE. It’s going to be long, but it takes you from YOURSELF to YOURSELF. Pretty worth it, right?‘

This is indeed a long journey, and in time, if truly committed and opened to the unlimited blessings and opportunities that the Universe has aligned for you, in the end, you will arrive to YOURSELF. You will arrive HOME.

In this blog, I’ve put these meditation practices in order of my personal preference, but if you are interested to explore more about the different types of meditation, check out these 2 blogs:

• Tyes of Meditation by Headspace
• Types of Meditation – An Overview of 23 Meditation Techniques by Live & Dare

I am looking forward to hearing all about how is your Spiritual Journey evolving and which meditation technique has helped you the most to connect to your inner self.

Sending you Love and Light,

Laura 🙏