The mind and body are connected; an effect in one creates an effect in the other.

The mind and body are a two-way street, they are not separate; they are fully interconnected. Each depends on the other for sensory information, thinking, neurological communication, and for feeling emotions. Meditation utilizes this process to your advantage. There are numerous types and techniques for meditation, yet they all travel this two-way street. Whether the focus is on the breath, mind, or body; each style of meditation provides benefit to the area of its focus, as well as, having a positive influence on the other areas of the your physical, mental, emotional, energetic, and spiritual states of being.

How to choose the right meditation for you.
It is common to find certain types of meditation appealing, or to find one style more enjoyable than others. In the beginning it is good to explore various types and find the style that suits your current need and disposition. It may be that you find certain types of meditation annoying or uncomfortable. Skip those ones for now; try them again later after developing yourself in other techniques or practices that you like best. What it comes down to it; if you enjoy what you are doing, you will benefit. If you are having a miserable time, then you are less likely to receive the benefit that is possible with that particular style of meditation.
 
There are many contributing factors to the effectiveness of meditation techniques and their benefits. Each person will tend towards certain results depending on the individual’s starting point. Results may vary from day to day and will be influenced largely by one’s commitment to a practicing and the integration of meditation into a lifestyle habit. It is helpful to have multiple options available to meet the needs of the day and your current state of being.

Breath is Power and Breath is Life.
Breathing awareness and controlled breathing are often the most effective, powerful, and easiest places to start with. You are always breathing, and your breath is the first-responder in the relaxation response when we want to calm down, get focused, or wind down from a stressful day. By raising our awareness of the quality of our breathing, we begin to unlock our power to smooth over our knee-jerk thoughts and emotional reactions to daily life. Simple breathing techniques can be applied in any situation and at any time of day. This self-awareness or mindfulness can play a significant role in improving your quality of life.

When we pay attention to our breath, we begin to notice the automatic, emotionally driven breath. This automatic breath is constantly responding to our emotions and our level of stress; the Fight, Flight, or Freeze instinctive survival reaction to real and imagined threats. In our modern lives these stressors are often psychological or emotional in nature, not actually a response to a life or death situation. Breathing awareness allows us to notice the shift in our breathing that occurs when we are stimulated by stress, fear, anxiety, anger, frustration and other emotional and physiological experiences. As soon as we discover that we are breathing shallow, rapid, or holding our breath; we can take slow deep breaths to restore our natural relaxed breathing. By restoring our breathing, we can shift our emotional and cognitive state to calm, centered, and ready to meet any demand.  

Body movement techniques can be an easy way to develop meditation and relaxation.
Movement or activity-based meditation is one of the easiest places to start. The movement can be very simple or complex. The body-focused experience gives our brain a job to do; to orchestrate what the body is doing. Once your awareness and attention are focused on the body or activity, then the mind starts to let go of over-thinking, worries, and stress. You may then find yourself slipping into relaxation and a calmer mood.

Stillness meditation may be easy and natural for some people yet can be a great challenge to others.
Stillness meditation may be challenging in the beginning. Let go of “should feel” and let yourself just feel what you feel. Let your mind do its thing; over time and practice you will learn to become quiet, relaxed, and peaceful on the inside. We cannot try to meditate; we can only commit to the practice and allow meditation to happen.

Three basic avenues for stillness meditation for starters.

Letting Go
The first is to allow your thoughts to come and go like clouds in the sky. Observe them without judgement or attachment. Just as a river flows, let your mind flow and simply be with whatever comes up. Learn to be unafraid of your mental activity and begin to recognize that what you think, is not who or what you are. If clear insights or intuitive information arises during this experience; just become aware of it and be grateful that you have received inner guidance. Meditation is useful for sourcing answers to life’s challenges and in making clear decisions. We may become open to ideas that wouldn’t necessarily show up on a pros and cons list. The analytical mind is a useful tool, yet we have access to a knowing that is wiser than the mind.

Fixed Attention
Secondly, we can choose to have a focus to anchor our awareness and attention. Just like body movements or postures can be a focus for our mind, we can use an image, a sound, a mantra, an idea, or a breathing technique. When our attention begins to wander, we can lovingly guide our mind to our chosen focus. This begins to train the mind to yield to your will and your higher consciousness. The “I” that is aware that the brain is having thoughts. The “I” that has decided what the mind’s focus and job at that time is to be. This helps to develop the experience of living as an observer of life experience. Becoming a witness to your life and creation.

Emptiness and Openness
Lastly, the one avenue that we all hope to experience and fear not being able to achieve is…No-Mind.

There are various brain wave states associated with different levels of consciousness and brain activity. The brain doesn’t stop being your brain and generating mental activity. What happens is that as we shift mental frequencies, we become aware in a more focused way or experience what feels as though there are no longer having thoughts. In theta and delta states, the thoughts come so slow that you forget to think and will likely forget that you are “in” a body. You may disappear for a time or travel, and then suddenly find yourself back in your body with a thinking mind. It is likely that you will be unaware that you have “achieved” deep meditation until after you have experienced it. It is also possible that you will experience expanded consciousness.

You May Experience Enlightenment or Higher States Of Awareness
In other words, by allowing ourselves to become empty, we become full and complete. This is the journey of enlightenment. Some call “oneness” or merging with the universe and disengaging from the limited self. There are many descriptions of this experience, but no one can truly describe that which is not information, but an experience. There are many possible layers to this journey and steps along the way. For some this “awakening” is spontaneous and for others it is a journey that takes a lifetime.

Meditation Happens

Exercise patience, kindness, and compassion with yourself when embarking on the journey inward. Take your time and enjoy yourself. Experience the immediate benefit, and then let it grow the more you practice. What you repeat, you become. Create a daily practice and steadily become your Truest and Best Self.