First, what is meditation?

What are the benefits of meditation for us?

Third, how to practice meditation?

If you are as interested in meditation as I am in opening this article, you might as well learn about it with me:

Meditation is a unique skill, which can make the brain rest and reach a completely different state of consciousness from usual.

When meditating, people are completely awake and conscious, and the brain will not pay attention to the outside world or what is happening around them. People's consciousness is not sleeping, dreaming or imagining. On the contrary, it is clear, relaxed and focused on the inside.

Meditation is not thinking, not talking to yourself, not letting your mind expand indefinitely.

In meditation, you don't need to give the brain direct hints or try to control it. All we have to do is observe it and make it quiet. You allow Datura to lead itself into self, explore and experience deeper existence.

Meditation is not a religion. The purpose of meditation is to improve the inner spiritual realm, not to promote a certain religion. Meditation will not change your beliefs or cultural background through some strange and unfamiliar exercises. It has nothing to do with religion at all, but a practical, scientific and systematic skill, a way to help you understand yourself in all directions. It explores the inner dimension of life, and finally lets you know the nature of live high.

Meditation should be carried out purely, systematically and orderly. Its actual operation is very simple: sit still, adjust your breathing evenly, and calm your mind; Pay attention to the meditation mandala inside the body and bring it back when the consciousness is free.

The steps of meditation are as follows: first pay attention to the body, then pay attention to breathing and consciousness, and finally pay attention to the mind. Don't try to omit any step, don't jump! Practice step by step as planned, and then follow suit.

Generally speaking, we live in the outside world and explore everything with our senses. But we don't know how to get into the inner world. When we perceive things with sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing, these five senses keep you busy outside. Our knowledge and what we know keep us thinking.

Meditation makes us stop thinking spontaneously and enter the inner world. We can know ourselves in all directions through meditation, and finally lead ourselves to the core of consciousness. It can open the door of our intuition and present the past, present and future one by one.

The meditator's sense of pleasure will increase, his thinking will become clearer and his insight will be improved. It can improve people's health, interpersonal relationship and skills. If you practice meditation for a long time, you will enjoy the positive effects of meditation and feel the physical, mental and mental stress released.

1. Meditation place: it can be home, country, city, seaside, mountain, anywhere. This place is better to be relatively quiet, tidy, peaceful and comfortable.

2. The best time for meditation: in the morning and late at night, you can practice for about 5- 15 minutes each time, and meditation at a fixed time every day makes the fastest progress.

3. Five steps in the meditation process:

Step one: clean up.

First of all, the body should be ready. Meditation is the easiest way to go smoothly when the body feels energetic, comfortable, tidy and relaxed. Taking a bath, or simply washing your face, hands and feet, will help you find this fresh feeling. Your body will feel more comfortable if you finish venting before meditation in the morning.

Step 2: Stretch.

Stretching and moving the back and legs can effectively enhance the comfort of meditation sitting posture. Even a few minutes of stretching or asana practice can greatly improve the quality of your meditation experience. Therefore, it takes at least 5- 10 minutes to stretch your body before meditation and make full preparations for warm-up.

Step 3: Relax.

After stretching, lie down comfortably with your back close to the floor or mat. Put a thin cushion under your head and cover your body with a blanket or shawl. Put your arms at your sides, with your arms slightly separated from your torso, palms up, and your legs open at a comfortable distance. Make sure your weight is evenly distributed, without twisting or leaning to one side. Put your head in the middle and don't lean to one side, or it will put pressure on your neck.

This relaxed posture is called corpse-laying posture, because in this posture, you just need to lie quietly and relax. Close your eyes gently and take a few minutes to pay attention to breathing: inhale gently through your nose, then exhale slowly, without any interruption or pause between inhalation and exhalation. Lying flat in this position can guide you to do short relaxation exercises. Pay attention to the major muscle groups in turn, and then gradually pay attention to the whole body. The practice time should not be too long and should not exceed 10 minutes. Stay awake, because for most people, the brain is more inclined to go to sleep at this time.

Step 4: Relax the brain and nervous system.

Breathing is a powerful force, which has a great influence on the tension of the body and the stability and clarity of the brain. Before meditation, practicing yoga breathing in a special sitting position can calm the spirit and help the inner concentration, concentration and stability.

Step 5: Meditate on sitting posture.

After breathing exercises, you can start meditation. Sit in a meditative posture and slowly let your breath become deep and soft. Sit quietly and concentrate on Datura. Practice sitting comfortably to calm your brain and focus inward. As long as you don't feel uncomfortable and have plenty of time, just sit still. When you are ready to end meditation, let the consciousness return to breathing and then transition to the body. Gently cover your eyes with your hands and palms, open your eyes and look at your palms, and gradually transfer your consciousness from your inner feelings to the outside world.

To sum up, the exercise sequence should be carried out according to the following steps: the first step is to take a bath or other cleaning preparations; The second step is stretching or yoga pose; The third step is to relax and practice; The fourth step, breathing exercises; The last step, meditation.

4, meditation sitting posture.

When sitting, relax your shoulders and arms and put them on your knees gracefully. Keep your arms completely relaxed-if someone raises their hands at this time, your arms should droop naturally. Gently touch your thumb and forefinger to form a "handprint" (see the picture below).

This handprint forms a small circle, which you can imagine as a small path of internal energy circulation.

The most important thing in meditation is to straighten your spine completely. In contrast, the position of arms and legs is irrelevant.

(1) Sit in a high position. You can sit comfortably in a chair or bench with your feet flat on the ground and your hands on your thighs. This posture suits everyone. People who are not flexible enough or are not used to sitting on the ground can meditate in this position without causing any trouble to their bodies.

(2) easy to sit. This posture requires you to sit down and cross your legs. As shown in the picture, each foot is placed on the floor below the other knee, and the knee is lightly placed on the corresponding foot. It is best to sit on a thick folding blanket, which can protect your knees and ankles from too much pressure. If the legs are not flexible enough, or the thigh muscles are stiff and the knees are far from the ground, it will help to fold the mat or blanket under the hips. Stick to a sitting posture, and you will find it more and more stable and comfortable over time.

5, meditation breathing exercises

Diaphragm breathing:

The first step is to pay attention to your sitting posture, sit comfortably in an upright and correct posture, and then let the diaphragm breathe. Pay attention to whether the duration of exhalation and inhalation is consistent. Some breathing exercises will deliberately change the length of exhalation or inhalation. Most people will do it unconsciously in their lives, but it is harmful to their health.

Mentally estimate the duration of inhalation and exhalation. But when calculating the duration of breathing, you will find that it seems that every time you think of a number, it will cause a slight pause in breathing.

Therefore, a better method is: when exhaling, imagine that the breath reaches the toes from top to bottom in the body; When inhaling, imagine the breath reaching the top of your head from bottom to top. The whole process should be smooth and smooth, and there should be no pause or irregular breathing. Start the next inhalation after exhaling steadily, and then continue like this.

If you begin to pay attention to your normal breathing process, you can correct these problems, and your breathing will naturally flow smoothly, even during meditation.

Many people hold their breath between exhaling and inhaling. This is an extremely bad habit, because it will make the body nervous, disrupt the normal breathing rhythm, lead to the imbalance of the nervous system, and even cause harm to the heart.

Eliminating unconscious pauses or holding your breath is an important practice goal. The whole breathing process should be smooth and natural, don't hold your breath, don't twitch, and don't feel oppressive. When you breathe smoothly, you will naturally calm down without oppression and resistance. If your breathing is loud, it means that you are breathing hard, or your breathing passage is blocked.

It takes about 4 weeks to pay attention to breathing consciously. After mastering diaphragm breathing, other meditation exercises can be carried out.

There are several techniques that can help you improve your diaphragm breathing.

First lie flat on the floor and relax, then put one hand on your chest and the other on your navel. At this time, you can easily tell whether you are breathing through the diaphragm: with the rising of the inspiratory abdomen and the falling of the expiratory abdomen, you can feel the navel area moving slightly, and the chest will not fluctuate greatly under the diaphragm breathing state.

You can also practice your breathing awareness in this position. Take a sandbag about 6- 10 kg and put it across your abdomen. Lying flat with a corpse, feeling the movement of the abdomen. This exercise can gently exercise the diaphragm.

Crocodile posture with belly down on the ground can also help you feel diaphragm breathing. In this pose, the face is down, the toes are separated outward, and the forehead is placed on the overlapping forearms, which is deeper than both breathing exercises.

One or two breathing exercises will relax you, eliminate the waste of breath in your body, and make you more energetic and endurance. This exercise can be done sitting or walking, and you will feel the vitality it brings to you.

Exercise: Exhale time is twice as long as inhale time. For example, you can count to 8 when exhaling and 4 when inhaling, but don't hold your breath. Let exhale and inhale flow naturally, without inhaling or stopping. Practice 5- 10 minutes every day for two weeks, and you will find yourself more energetic.

(2) Alternate breathing (dredging veins)

There are many kinds of alternate breathing, each with a specific purpose. As can be seen from the name, this method is to exchange airflow between the two nostrils.

It is very effective in stabilizing the nervous system, purifying the balanced veins, making the breath flow evenly between the two nostrils, creating a clear and quiet meditation state and balancing the operation of the autonomic nervous system.

Alternate breathing is easy to master. There are three modes from primary to intermediate.

In the figure below, each pattern marks a complete turn. Choose one of the modes and practice for about two months until it is perfect. Then you can add or replace it with other modes of practice.

After a period of time, it is best to choose a mode to practice regularly every day, and don't change it easily.

The method of cleaning veins is through meditation and sitting up straight. Yoga poses and exercises after relaxation are necessary, and they are also preparatory exercises for meditation. You need to practice at least twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. In addition, you can practice at noon, but you must do it on an empty stomach before lunch.

The basic process of alternate breathing

Choose one of the following ways to practice.

Mode 1: This is the perfect practice method. People usually choose it to practice first and regard it as the most important way to practice. But it controls the nostrils the most frequently, which may not be the most suitable for some beginners.

Mode 2: This mode is easier to remember and record. In this exercise, the alternation of nostrils corresponds to the completion of each breath.

Mode 3: This method has the least manipulation of nostrils, so it is easier to master. At the beginning, if other methods are difficult to practice, it will be a suitable first choice.

6. Two stages of meditation practice

The first month's exercise and goal: we should devote ourselves to developing a stable and comfortable sitting posture.

Meditation posture must be stable and comfortable. "Steady" means that the body can keep still, and the head, neck and trunk are all in a straight line; "Comfortable" means that the body will not feel uncomfortable or troubled. The cushion on the meditation seat should not be too high or too hard, nor too soft or unstable.

In the first month, you can lean against the wall to check whether your head, neck and trunk are in a straight line. But after that, you need to take an independent sitting position without any external support. Two 40% folded blankets on the wooden floor can make an ideal meditation chair.

In the first stage of this work, there may be the following difficulties.

First, the body may tremble, sweat or be numb;

Second, sensitive muscles twitch in cheeks or eyes. Ignore these reactions, because when you try to restrain your body, it will resist.

If your throat is dry during meditation, you can drink some water. Your mouth may also secrete too much saliva.

Both of the above situations may be due to overeating or eating unhealthy food.

When you start practicing, don't meditate for too long at a time. 15-20 minutes is enough for beginners. After that, you can extend your exercise for 3 minutes every three days. As the sitting posture gradually stabilizes, the time will naturally extend. The cultivation of static and stable sitting posture will bring a strong sense of pleasure. When you stand up from the meditation seat, massage your toes, calves and thighs to relieve discomfort.

Exercise 1

At the beginning of the exercise, check your body first. Make sure your eyes are naturally closed, your teeth are slightly touching, your lips are closed, and your hands are easily placed on your knees (or naturally placed near your knees to avoid leaning forward).

Complete the physical examination systematically from head to toe: relax forehead, cheeks, chin, neck and shoulders, and relax from arm to fingertip.

Put your attention back on your shoulders, relax your shoulders and relax your chest. When your attention is on your chest, breathe as comfortably as possible, which can help you relax. Take a few deep breaths through your nose to get rid of all the tension in your brain. Don't consciously control your body, just observe it and let the tension subside. Then turn your attention to the abdomen and check the pelvis, buttocks, thighs, knees, calves, ankles and feet.

Keep breathing for about 5- 10 minutes. Look at your body, turn it upside down and check it systematically from head to toe. If you find pain in a certain part, you can cure it by gently putting your mind here. The mind has an inherent ability to adjust this discomfort, so don't doubt it.

The second month's exercises and goals: stretching and flexibility exercises are followed by breathing training.

Although exercise helps to relax all muscles, breathing can help fine muscle tissues and nervous system get a deeper rest. Alternating nasal breathing and smooth natural breathing are beneficial preparatory exercises, but when entering meditation, we only recommend practicing breathing consciousness.

Breathing is one of the main focuses of thought, and thought is closely related to breathing. Focusing your attention on breathing is not only very simple, but also natural.

Exercise 2

You must keep your sitting posture stable, static and comfortable, so that your body will not hinder you from getting inner joy from practice.

When inhaling, imagine that the breath is sucked from the bottom of the spine to the center of the head without any obstacles or interference. When you exhale, imagine this breath passing from the top of your head to the bottom of your spine. It would be helpful if you could imagine that there are three channels in the spine. These three channels are: the midvein, which physiologists call the central channel; There is a fine channel on both sides of it, which the yogi calls the left vein and the right vein, which are the two main veins introduced before.

Midrib is a very beautiful milky white tube, through which both inhalation and exhalation pass. You can feel fine energy flowing between the medulla oblongata and pelvic plexus at the lower end of the brain.

Observe your brain and notice how many times it is distracted. Whenever the brain can't keep concentration, you will find that breathing will also have a short pause or other irregularities. It is suggested that during the practice, you must keep the breathing flow gentle and gentle, and don't twitch, murmur, shallow breathing or fluctuate.

After you can realize the flow of breath on the spine, you should notice that breath comes in and out through the nostrils at the same time.

I'm afraid you will find that one nostril will be blocked and the other side will be more unobstructed; One nostril can inhale easily, but the other can't. In this case, pay attention to the blocked nostrils, and you will be surprised to find that the blocked nostrils open in a short time.

For example, you can focus on the right nostril first. When it breathes smoothly, pay attention to the left nostril and open it at the same time. If you practice regularly, it won't take long to control the flow of breath.

Breathing and thinking are complementary pairs in life. They are closely related, separated and influenced each other. You will soon find that the flow of breath can be changed at will with the attention of the mind. The moment my thoughts change, so does my breathing.

After testing the micro-current of two nostrils, it is found that the breathing on both sides has different properties. Breathing through the left nostril has a cooling effect, while breathing through the right nostril has a warming effect.

When starting to "awaken the Midrib", the meditator first needs to concentrate on breathing and feel the breath of two nostrils. Please note that this does not mean focusing on the top or tip of the nasal cavity. We should focus on the flow of breath, that is, the junction of the two nostrils above the lips. When you concentrate your thoughts here, you will find that the breath in both nasal cavities begins to flow smoothly. This is called a sacred line, and the day and the moon are United, and the left and right veins are connected.

At this time, your mood will be very happy, without any worries, fears or other negative thoughts that can divert your consciousness.

When you regularly focus your thoughts on the center of your nostrils in the morning and evening, you will find that your brain can easily return to a happy state. You will be eager to enter this state again and look forward to the moment of meditation all day.

When both nostrils are unobstructed, it means that you are inhaling and exhaling with both nostrils at the same time, which is a sign of midvein awakening. Once this experience lasts for 5 minutes, you have crossed a huge obstacle. At this time, your brain took a turning point and your consciousness began to concentrate inward. This kind of behavior practice usually takes 2-3 months.