Types of Meditation
Meditation can be defined as a set of techniques (see below for some examples) that are intended to encourage a heightened state of awareness and focused attention. Meditation is also a consciousness-changing technique shown to have many benefits on psychological well-being
Some key things to note about meditation:
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Meditation has been practiced in cultures all over the world for thousands of years.
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Nearly every religion, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, has a tradition of using meditative practices.
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While meditation is often used for religious purposes, many people practice it independently of any religious or spiritual beliefs or practices.
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Meditation can also be used as a psychotherapeutic technique.
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There are many different types of meditation.
Meditation Benefits
While some people believe that meditation doesn’t work for everyone, others believe that it's down to the type of meditation. People learn in different ways, and therefore different meditation styles will work better for different people. It’s all about finding the type of meditation which works for you.
Once you find one or more types of meditation that work for you, their are many benefits including:
​Mental and Emotional Benefits:
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Enhanced self-awareness that improves your ability to understand yourself and relate to those around you
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Increased creativity
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Greater patience and emotional flexibility
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Enhanced attention span
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Improved memory
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Reduced harmful levels of stress hormones and inflammatory chemicals associated with the stress response, helping alleviate depression and prevent depression relapses
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Reduced anxiety
Physical benefits:​
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Modestly lower blood pressure
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Reduce symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome
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Help reduce chronic pain
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Reduce activation in areas of the brain involved in fear and other negative emotions
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Improve sleep and combat insomnia
P.E.A.C.E
A mindful way of dealing with a stressful situation
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P Pause When you realise that things are difficult, just pause.​​
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E Exhale As you exhale you may want to let out a sigh, a groan, or even weep. After you exhale you want to inhale. Just keep breathing...in and out
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A Acknowledge/Accept/Allow As you continue to breathe, acknowledge the situation as it is. Acknowledging a situation doesn’t mean you're happy about it. It just means that you recognise the situation is as it is, whether you like it or not. It means giving yourself permission to have whatever thoughts, feelings, and body sensations come up for you
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C Clarity/Courage/Compassion/Comedy When you're ready, and this may take a few moments, days, weeks or even months depending on the situation, choose how you'll respond. Your response might take courage to face your fears, and compassion for yourself for how incredibly difficult it sometimes is to be a human being.
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E Engage After you have paused, exhaled, allowed, and chosen your response, you're ready to engage with people, the situation, with life.
Press 'Play Meditation' to be taken to an example of each meditation type below.
Other meditations not listed here are available using this button
Imagery & Visualisation
Guided Imagery/Visualization is a style of meditation where the practitioner focuses their attention on a positive image, thought, feeling, or sensation. In this type of meditation, you will visualise an image or concept in your mind’s eye, and remain focused on this image during the practice.
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