Whether you're new to meditation or simply looking for a way to refresh your practice, knowing the various types of meditation techniques will help you choose one that's best suited for your goals. Meditation often uses some sort of anchor to help keep your awareness focused on the present moment. Techniques like sound meditation and visualization help guide you through your practice
Key takeaways
- Body scan meditation and loving-kindness meditation helps focus on self-awareness.
- Sound meditation uses music and sounds to anchor your practice.
- Visualization meditation guides you through your practice by using mental pictures and visualizations.
There is no one-size-fits-all with meditation. When deciding which mindfulness technique(s) to incorporate into your daily routine, it’s helpful to understand the subtle differences and to try each one for yourself. Below we’ll take a look at some of the most popular, time-tested meditation techniques, including:
- Body scan meditation
- Visualization meditation
- Loving-kindness meditation
- Sound meditation
Body Scan Meditation
The Body Scan meditation technique is one of the most common guided meditation practices, and it is great for beginners who are new to the practice. This method helps bring awareness to your body and the present moment, preventing your mind from wandering.
Step-by-step guide:
- Find a comfortable, safe place to begin your practice.
- Close your eyes and focus on your breathing.
- Bring awareness to a specific part of your body and make a mental note of how that one area feels.
- Visualize the tension being held in that part of your body releasing with each exhale you take.
- Release the focus on that particular part of your body and move onto the next, ending your practice only once you’ve brought awareness to every section of your body.
Start your practice: PM Body Scan
Visualization Meditation
Visualization meditation is a guided practice that focuses on a mental image to anchor your practice. This mental image gives your mind something to hold onto throughout your practice to prevent your thoughts from wandering.
Common visualizations:
- A flower opening and closing in the body.
- Inhaling and exhaling rays of light in and out of the body.
- Visualizing areas of the body where you feel tension expanding.
Start your practice: Visualization for Sleep
Loving-kindness Meditation
Loving-kindness meditation is a guided technique that focuses on generating love and compassion toward yourself and others. It is one of the four Brahma Vihara meditation practices taught by the Buddha to cultivate positive emotions. A Loving-kindness meditation practice is rooted in visualizing and thinking about loved ones and positive affirmations that wish well on those beings all around you.
Benefits:
- Reduced self-criticism
- Enhanced well-being
- Reduced pain
- Greater resilience
- Improved mental health
- Improved relationships
Start your practice: Transcendent Love
Sound Meditation
Similar to visualization meditation, sound meditation utilizes the tangible element of sound to anchor your practice. The technique is rooted in the concept of deep listening – both an opportunity to practice presence and expand the boundaries of our perception. Deep listening isn’t about what you’re hearing, but how you’re hearing what you’re hearing. The depth comes from your willingness to be affected by what you hear. Like any form of meditation, it requires practice. Research shows that there are sound waves that can enhance the benefits of a traditional guided meditation practice.
Start your practice: Sound Meditation Snack