Yoga BLOG

Meditation for beginners – more peace and relaxation in everyday life Meditation is still considered a spiritual practice exclusively for Buddhists. Yet, meditation is an effective relaxation technique that calms both the mind and body. Studies even show that meditation sharpens the senses because the relaxation technique activates certain areas of the brain. Many people think that meditating involves sitting on a cushion for hours, muttering certain mantras, with their legs intertwined and their hands clasped. This idea is naturally off-putting, which is why meditation is still considered a religion today. However, meditation has nothing to do with asceticism. Meditation is an excellent way to recharge your batteries and escape from everyday life, at least for a while. Meditation can be extremely versatile. Those who prefer the traditional sitting on a cushion to enter silence can practice Zen meditation , while others prefer to move around to achieve a meditative state. Meditation means finding peace. Then our thoughts are no longer on a roller coaster ride, because we are listening to our breath and are in the here and now. An energy shower for those suffering from stress Stress levels are particularly high in everyday life. Both at work and in our private lives, we are surrounded by digital media that demands our attention. Added to that are nagging colleagues and bosses, street noise, and annoying neighbors that wear on our nerves. While stress-stricken people can treat themselves to a little time out to mentally relax on a snow-white, dreamy beach, the relaxation phase is only short-lived. Meditation has a significantly more intense effect. Because the mind calms during meditation, stress levels also decrease. Accompanying symptoms, especially headaches, back pain, and neck pain, usually disappear on their own. If the meditation techniques are practiced regularly, those affected can gain new strength and strengthen both mind and body. Meditation in practice For people who meditate regularly, the mental withdrawal is a kind of addictive medicine. Of course, meditation is only effective if you practice it daily. To get used to it, you should always meditate in the same place. The early morning hours or late evening have proven to be the best times for meditation. An altar that you can decorate with flowers, incense sticks, a candle, or a Buddha is extremely effective. Sitting on a meditation cushion (zafu) is particularly comfortable, but you can also use a soft blanket as a base. To make meditation enjoyable, it is best to start with 5 minutes before gradually increasing the time. It is a good idea to set an alarm so you don't have to constantly look at the clock. attitude You don't have to assume the lotus position to meditate. A cross-legged position is perfectly sufficient for beginners. For the lotus position, cross your legs and place your feet on your thighs. Your spine should be as straight as possible, and your head should be straight. You can either fold your hands, place them on your knees, or place them in your lap. To facilitate the flow of body energy, form a mudra (chin mudra) with your hands by placing your thumb and index finger together. Even if the position seems a bit uncomfortable at first, you should try to sit as loosely and relaxed as possible. meditation Once you're sitting comfortably, close your eyes. Once your eyes are closed, your mind will likely begin to wander. Let your thoughts drift by like clouds by focusing on your breathing. Inhale deeply before exhaling slowly. To deepen your breath, count slowly to 4 while inhaling, then exhale for 4 seconds. Alternatively, you can place your hands on your stomach to feel your breath. To begin with, meditate for 5 minutes a day before gradually increasing. Advanced practitioners may even meditate for more than 20 to 30 minutes a day. Conclusion Meditation is a balm for the soul. Those who meditate regularly become more serene. Everyday worries disappear because the mind finally finds peace. Physical ailments can also be alleviated, making meditation suitable for everyone . Image © kksteven / istockphoto.com

Meditation for a fear-free life You don't like climbing ladders because you're afraid of heights? Do your palms get sweaty whenever you have to speak in front of other people? Or are you afraid of spiders, no matter how small? Other people find it difficult to cope with being alone, or they are plagued by vague fears of illness, loss, or terrible events of any kind. The destructive power of fears When those affected are confronted with their phobia, they suffer both mentally and physically: their heart rate increases, and shortness of breath, dizziness, and weakness are not uncommon. A feeling of oppression in the chest area is also typical symptoms. Internal restlessness and tension spread, which can culminate in panic attacks. This often starts a "vicious circle": the original phobia is accompanied by the "fear of fear," which causes the problems to become entrenched and increasingly disruptive to life over time. The consequences include tension, social withdrawal, depression, or the inability to work. In these situations, many sufferers hope for quick relief through alcohol, sleeping pills, or tranquilizers, and thus slide into fatal addictions. Confronting fear with yoga Instead of putting yourself at risk of addiction, try using yoga to release your fear blocks! With relaxation, breathing, and physical exercises , yoga helps you transform paralyzing blocks into positive energies. One recommended exercise is the child's pose: Get into a quadruped position and let your buttocks sink onto your heels. Bend your upper body forward until your forehead touches the floor. Place your arms outstretched at your sides with your palms facing upward. Remain in this position for a few breaths, feeling your inner tension dissipate and the earth reliably supporting you, giving you security. The moon salutation and all exercises that strengthen the Muladhara chakra in the pelvic floor also offer valuable support. Meditation as a remedy for anxiety In meditation, you concentrate entirely on the moment and sense yourself. Unclouded by external distractions, your subtle perception allows you access to your emotional and thought world. This allows you to get to know and see through your fears, thereby taking away their terror. Breathing meditation as a form of mindfulness meditation Find a quiet, undisturbed place and make yourself comfortable in the lotus position or on a chair. Begin by taking several deep breaths, then finding a steady breathing rhythm. Consciously feel your chest rise and fall and your breath flow through your nose. This should ideally create a balance between concentration and relaxation. After initially paying attention only to your breathing, you can later allow other thoughts to enter your mind. Don't judge them, but simply guide them gently in the desired direction, while continuing to breathe calmly. Spend five to twenty minutes on this exercise. At the end, you can either return to your surroundings on your own or receive a pleasant signal. You should only allow thoughts of frightening situations to enter your mind once you've mastered this meditation technique. Acknowledge your fears without judgment and allow yourself sufficient time: At some point, you should be able to simply block out such thoughts and instead remain unburdened in a state of inner peace. By repeatedly confronting your fears "virtually," they lose their threatening nature, and you can face them more confidently in reality. If your fears are deeply rooted, you should also seek therapeutic treatment. Professional help is also necessary for panic attacks and nervous breakdowns. Image © faithie

Meditation exercises The focus of meditation exercises is not relaxation, but rather increased concentration and mindfulness. Meditation means training the mind and brain to consciously let go of thoughts in order to calm down and find inner peace. The word meditation comes from the Latin "meditatio," meaning to reflect or think. We'll show you various meditation exercises designed to help you consciously concentrate and focus your thoughts. Just try them out, and you'll quickly find which one appeals to you most. For all exercises, choose a quiet, undisturbed place, adopt a comfortable, preferably upright posture, and breathe deeply. Meditation with an object Find any object, such as a book or a picture, and place it close to you. Focus intensely on it without blinking. Either close your eyes after a while and mentally concentrate on the object you've been looking at, or avert your gaze, then briefly look back at it again. You should repeat this process of looking away and away regularly for about five minutes. At the end, close your eyes briefly. The One-Word Meditation Think of any word. It should be relatively short and sound good. Please don't choose a word that evokes any kind of emotion for you. Begin meditating and repeat the word silently to yourself a few times, like a mantra. Your focus should be solely on the word, how it sounds, or how it resonates. Meditate to catch your breath This meditation is best performed outdoors. Alternatively, you can open a window wide. Consciously breathe in the fresh, clear air. At the same time, visualize yourself surrounded by it. Inner tensions and blockages will dissolve, and your body will be filled with this air. This should give you new strength and energy. At the end, let the air escape from you by exhaling deeply. Meditation with the power of light For this meditation, lie down relaxed on the floor. The soles of your feet touch the floor, legs slightly bent. With your eyes closed, imagine a large sphere of light hovering above you. The light is bright, warm, and pleasant. With each deep breath, it flows concentrated into your core. From there, it expands and radiates throughout your entire body. Through this meditation , you will receive new energy and effectively release blockages. The Earth Meditation In a figurative sense, the goal of earth meditation is to ground yourself and find your center again. After briefly concentrating on your breathing, imagine yourself lying outside on the earth warmed by the sun. The ground feels soft and pleasant. Take some of this still slightly moist and fertile earth in your hands, feel it, rub it in with your hands, and gently let it trickle down. You can also imagine your feet digging deeper and deeper into the earth, putting down roots and becoming firmly anchored to the ground. Continue this fantasy as much as you like, but always keep your thoughts on the earth. Your body should now be overcome by a great inner peace. There are many other meditation exercises, including color or fire meditation, or meditation with a sound (such as the ticking of a clock). Meditation can also be done in relation to a deity. The goal of all exercises is to concentrate intensely on something specific. No matter which meditation exercise suits you best, if you practice it regularly, your inner strength will grow, your self-confidence will increase, and your well-being will improve. Image © nyul

Meditation between two book covers: Which guides are worth reading? Blocking out external influences, relaxing, finding spiritual peace, and gathering one's mind—meditation encompasses all this and more. But what exactly is meditation about in the yoga tradition? Is it complete contemplation and inner peace? Or is it more about active meditation in the sense of a conscious change of mind? Initially, it's often difficult to develop an individual approach to meditation and overcome obstacles. Even if theoretical knowledge doesn't replace practical practice, yoga books can build helpful bridges. We've explored the wide field of yoga literature and selected three meditation guides suitable for beginners from among many excellent books. For yoga greenhorns: Step-by-step instructions for meditation by Anna Trökes With more than 40 years of yoga experience, Anna Trökes, born in 1952, is one of Germany's most respected yoga teachers and authors. She has been practicing yoga since the early 1970s. From 1977 to 2011, she ran her own yoga school in Berlin. She is a member and instructor of the Professional Association of German Yoga Teachers and active in the European Yoga Union. As an expert in yoga meditation, this area is one of her teaching focuses. She has written numerous yoga books, including the guide "Yoga - Meditation for Beginners," published by Via Nova Verlag in 2011. It is aimed at people who want to familiarize themselves with the basics of meditation as an important component of yoga and the goals of meditation. The book is immensely motivating because it is well structured and suitable for everyday use. It also contains numerous exercises for a wide variety of yoga meditations—from simple breathing exercises to specialized meditations. The all-unifying breath, inner and outer light, and the complementary paths of expansiveness and concentration are presented, as are mudras and yantras. The index on the last pages allows for specific references to individual exercises, making this guide highly practical and facilitating practice. Compact introduction: Meditation classic and long-seller with CD by Jack Kornfield This guide has been a bestseller in the yoga and meditation category since 2007 – and rightly so. Author Jack Kornfield is considered one of the most renowned Western meditation teachers, and in this compact book with integrated CD, he has found a balanced blend of a concise, basic introduction and practical exercises. Through six stages of meditation, the accompanying CD leads to greater serenity and inner clarity in a pleasant, easy-to-learn way. The book and CD are not explicitly aimed at people who practice yoga, but are nevertheless recommended as an introduction for aspiring yogis. Meditation exercises for breathing, body sensations, feelings and thoughts, as well as forgiveness and kindness of heart, are described and practiced. Short meditations: Meditations with breathing exercises, mudras and mantras by Kerstin Leppert Author Kerstin Leppert is a Kundalini yoga teacher and author of several yoga guides. These short meditations were published in 2015 and are aimed primarily at people seeking the most straightforward and practical support for everyday life: short, understandable, and effective. Unlike the other two book recommendations, this one primarily focuses on meditation for mental and physical health problems. Self-healing through meditation is, of course, no substitute for a doctor, but these "purposeful" meditations have a supportive effect. They can override stressful daily routines, promote well-being, and release inner blockages. Following a brief general guide to meditation, the specific meditations follow, each clearly illustrated and concisely but clearly presented. These include meditations for pain, allergies, and anxiety, as well as meditations for professional, personal, and existential crises. The appendix contains recommendations for relaxing music and in-depth reading. Better than any book: Meditation courses with practical meditation instructions As helpful as accompanying meditation literature is, it's no substitute for practical guidance from experienced teachers: Meditation is something that truly needs to be learned. Then it's like riding a bike: once you've internalized meditation techniques, you'll easily find relaxing peace. Image © ponsuwan

Meditation for Skeptics After establishing itself in more alternative circles, meditation is now also gaining increasing importance in the business world. Despite the ongoing boom and its proven positive effects on health and well-being, many people remain skeptical of meditation. Perhaps this is due to prejudices that attribute not only an oriental flair to all relaxation and movement techniques originating in Asia, but also a kind of unbridled hippie existence. Perhaps the cause can also be found in people's general difficulty in engaging with something new. If you are one of those skeptics, or if your doubts are not limited to the topic of meditation but are of a more fundamental nature, and you are one of those rather suspicious, hesitant people, then this article is exactly right for you. The benefits of meditation at a glance Of course, nothing is as effective as personal experience. To overcome your skepticism and recognize the benefits of meditation, you should ideally embark on the adventure and attend an introductory event. All you have to do is overcome this challenge. Because once you've taken this step, the positive effects meditation brings will free you from all skepticism, regardless of whether you feel this way about this very special form of relaxation or whether it suits your nature. To pave the way for a new life, we would like to list just a few of the welcome side effects of meditation. First and foremost, of course, is the calming effect that comes from concentrating on the present moment. Those who meditate don't lose perspective so quickly, but maintain distance from the small and large problems of everyday life, know how to deal with stress constructively, and never lose focus. Especially in our fast-paced and hectic society, where we are constantly exposed to a flood of stimuli and information, this is invaluable for leading a self-determined life and always finding our inner calm, even in emergencies. It's therefore hardly surprising that experts define meditation as a form of deep sleep, which, when the mind and body are alert, has a similarly restorative, relaxing, and at the same time revitalizing effect. Meditation literally opens the door to new, unimagined spheres for doubters, hesitant people and skeptics But to what extent is meditation particularly recommendable for skeptics? Depending on the form, approach, and method, visualizations are often used alongside concentration on the breath. Regardless of the specific variant, the focus is on developing a positive, optimistic, and cosmopolitan perspective. A skeptical attitude is often based on negative experiences and therefore serves as a barrier and protective function against the outside world. During meditation, however, 'worldly' worries and troubles increasingly fade into the background, and parallel to our inner balance, our basic trust and our belief in ourselves, in other people, and in a higher power grow. During this phase, skepticism no longer has a place. Rather, we increasingly recognize that we are blocking ourselves and letting every opportunity for interesting change in our lives pass us by out of fear, worry, or skepticism. So, if you feel like you've reached a kind of dead end and desire to continually develop yourself both personally and professionally, then meditation provides the ideal foundation for your search for self-discovery. The options for mastering this technique are manifold. All you need to do to live the free and self-determined life you've always dreamed of is take that first step. Once you've mastered the basics, you won't be able to imagine life without this relaxing and harmonizing method. Image © mantinov

Loving-kindness meditation Conflicts are commonplace in everyday life. In a society that promotes competitiveness and a desire for achievement, this is hardly surprising. Whether they occur on a personal or professional level is secondary. What matters is that they can have a destructive effect on the respective area and, not least, on our entire lives. Therefore, those who possess the ability to approach problems calmly and resolve conflicts constructively and peacefully have mastered a rare art that has the potential to transform not only their own environment but, increasingly, humanity as a whole. We're talking here, of course, about loving-kindness meditation, known in technical jargon as metta bhavana. What exactly this involves and how it is practiced are aspects that will be discussed in the following lines. Metta-Bhavana – the path to more optimism, acceptance and kindness But what exactly does the term 'Metta-Bhavana' mean? The Pali word 'Metta' translates as selfless love, warmth of heart, and natural kindness, while 'Bhavana' means 'development'. It's crucial to note that these qualities aren't calculated. Rather, they are truly characteristics that spring from a pure heart. The well-being of others is the focus of attention, while one's own ego takes a back seat. It's certainly no exaggeration to predict that the practice and thus cultivation of this form of meditation can bring about groundbreaking positive changes in large segments of human society, which is dominated by selfish thinking. And apart from this global effect, as a Metta-Bhavana meditator, you will find the gateway to happiness yourself. So, if you've had enough of all this elbow-to-elbow thinking and constant competition, and are looking for a way to redefine yourself and your values, thereby setting a role model for others, then you should immediately allow Metta Bhavana meditation to whisk you away on a journey that is both exciting and enlightening. You'll learn a great deal about yourself and your own feelings, as well as about others, without, for example, using autosuggestion to convince yourself that the conflicts and those who trigger them aren't really serious. Rather, Metta Bhavana empowers you to consciously experience the respective feelings, slowly calm them, and then open yourself up to new things. The positive effects of this form of meditation include a reduction in critical thoughts and moods, as well as an increase in a positive attitude toward yourself and others. The Metta Bhavana Meditation – Step by Step But how is this consistently beneficial effect actually achieved? A common training method for loving-kindness meditation is done in five units. The first step serves to develop a positive attitude towards oneself. Visualizations in the form of images from happier times, good wishes for oneself, etc. are often used here. The path to maximum harmony with oneself is different for each person. In the second unit, you are asked to imagine a person close to you with all their good qualities and to send them only your best wishes. In the third stage, you devote your thoughts and attention to a person you know but are indifferent to. Next, you turn your attention to someone you feel an aversion to. Don't try to gloss over obvious negative aspects, but instead focus on the person in a broader context, because you will inevitably also encounter positive elements. The final stage aims to present all four characters. First, you send everyone your sincere love and then slowly expand this in ever-widening circles to all of humanity and all living beings. Image © arsenisspyros

Meditation for children As we all know, the most important things in life are learned as children. What we learn at a young age usually stays with us into old age, so we can always return to it when needed. It's similar with meditation. Perhaps you're one of those devoted mothers or fathers who want to give your children a stable framework of effective coping strategies for every conceivable challenge they can face. Perhaps your child is particularly bright, active, and at times overly boisterous, so you want to create a natural balance. What has proven successful for adults is undoubtedly good for children too. Especially in an age characterized by hectic pace, noise, and a constant pressure to consume, be it in the form of entertainment media or information technology, knowledge of meditation techniques has proven almost indispensable. The positive effects of meditation for children at a glance While the following list is not exhaustive, we would like to highlight some of the effects of meditation in childhood, which demonstrate that you are truly offering your child only the very best. One important aspect in this context is, for example, that your child learns the ability to self-regulate at an early age. Given that this is an area that even many adults struggle with, the development of this skill is undoubtedly to be welcomed. Closely linked to this is the control of one's own emotions. Anxiety, fear, anger, sadness, and other feelings, as well as tiredness and exhaustion, can be quickly overcome because children know where to find the calm they desperately need in any given situation. Accordingly, the pressure to perform, which often begins in kindergarten, has little effect on them. Even a widespread lack of concentration can be easily corrected through meditation. It is usually caused by sensory overload and a lack of ability to select and prioritize. A challenge that the majority of adults also continue to struggle with. It's no coincidence that meditation is often referred to as a 'journey within'. All external distractions fade, and through the exercises, children learn to focus on what is truly important. Especially during this crucial developmental phase, meditation has a doubly positive effect on the development of cognitive skills. On a physical level, children learn to control their emotions more quickly and thus lead a more self-determined and self-confident life. Meditation can also have a positive effect on physical development. According to studies, children who meditate, for example, suffer less frequently from back pain, eating disorders, and other, primarily psychosomatic, ailments, and are generally healthier. Meditative exercises for children of different age groups To ensure the desired success, it is crucial to find a form of meditation appropriate for the child's age. Kindergarten children cannot concentrate for very long periods of time. A minute of silence is the absolute maximum here. A playful and creative approach to meditation is also necessary to stimulate the little ones' interest. To maintain this interest, a particularly varied program that appeals to all the senses has proven effective. From dimming the room at the beginning to using various sound instruments and mantras, anything is conceivable. Meditation is also often practiced in elementary schools as part of children's yoga , for example, in a four-minute session at the beginning of each school lesson. In India, the birthplace of meditation, children reach a turning point at the age of ten, which means that from this point on they can practice adult meditation. Basically, meditation for children does not differ too much in its effect from its counterpart for adults, but rather in the 'preparation' and the time frame. Image © Wavebreakmedia