3 Types of Meditation for Beginners

When I started thinking about meditating, I started to get overwhelmed with all the different types of meditation that are out there. I mostly did mindfulness meditation when I started, because that’s just something that I knew. As I started to do more and more research on meditation, I started to realize that meditation doesn’t necessarily mean just sitting still, and closing your eyes, and trying to get rid of all of your thoughts.

There are actually other types of meditation that involve movement, that are actually really helpful. So, one of the big things that I would like to introduce you to, that helps me out on a daily basis, is called Kirtan. For those of you who don’t know what Kirtan is, Kirtan is like a music meditation. It combines music, and a mantra, and sometimes it involves dancing.

The Kirtan that I tend to use is a universal mantra, and it’s in Sanskrit. The universal mantra is Baba Nam Kevalam. It translates into “Love is all there is.” How beautiful is that? It’s sort of my meditation when I’m driving, is to listen to Kirtan and sing along to Kirtan, and it makes driving so much easier.

Another form of meditation that you might be able to fit into your life is moving meditation. Go for a walk and just be mindful of your movement. Really feel the connection as your feet touch the ground, feel the connection with your breath as you’re walking. Just really feel that connection with the Earth as you’re walking around, and feel connected with nature. Walking meditation is something that you can incorporate into your life if you feel like you’re too busy for meditation.

The other kind of meditation is simply just mindfulness.

The thing that I learned about mindfulness meditation is that it’s not just about being aware of your breathing, and your body, and your senses. It’s also being aware of your thoughts. So, as you sit in meditation, and you’re being mindful, you start to become aware of your thoughts, but don’t judge those thoughts. That’s the big thing with mindfulness, is being aware of your thoughts without judgment. And that’s something that I struggle with all the time. When I first started meditating, I would sit and close my eyes, like,”Okay, I’m meditating. I’m meditating.” Then I’d see a thought go by, and then I’d be like, “Oh, I’m meditating wrong. I’m having thoughts.Ah.” So, it would get so frustrating.

The point is to just see your thoughts as they are, and not to ruminate on them. Just see them, let them go.

Now, the last form of meditation thatI’ll tell you all about is spiritual meditation. I never really thought I would get into spiritual meditation. I didn’t really know anything about it. If you are doing spiritual meditation, it doesn’t mean that you ascribe to any sort of religion. It just connects you to the bigger universe of things, to that feeling of being connected to god, and seeing other people as connected to god.

For me, spiritual meditation, has just brought me more in touch with myself, and in touch with other people around me. It’s a beautiful thing. What I’ll do during spiritual meditation is I will focus on my universal mantra, which you know, as I told you guys, it was Baba Nam Kevalam, which is, “Love is all there is.”So, that’s what I’ll tend to focus on during my spiritual meditation. I’ll just close my eyes, and just continue to focus on that mantra.

The trick about meditation is that your mind will never be clear. Thoughts will come, so the point of spiritual meditation and mantra meditation is that you focus on that mantra. You focus on something positive instead of your thoughts that come up.

When I first started, I was doing five minutes a day. That’s the most that I could do. But now, I’m up to where I can meditate 20 minutes twice a day, which I never thought I would be able to do when I started on this, less than a year ago. So here I am, going from meditating for five minutes to 20 minutes twice a day.

So, I just want to encourage you guys to just start.

Even if you just meditate for a minute, just start, and find the type of meditation that’s right for you, that fits into your lifestyle, because that’s the biggest thing. It has to fit into your lifestyle, and it has to become thing positive in your life, because if it’s something where you’re like,”Oh my god, I have to make time for this,” it starts to become like a job. So, find something that you actually look forward to, and something that makes you feel good, and you’ll continue to do it.

So, if you all want to talk more about meditation and want some tips, you can send me a message. I’m going to be posting more meditation tips there. I’d love to help you if you have any questions.