Two Meditation Techniques

Take time to explore meditation techniques, then try committing to one. With so many different techniques available, it’s easy to get lured away from one—a mantra, for example—before you begin to recognise and feel its power.

Changing meditation techniques has been compared to digging a well and continually abandoning your work for another spot just before you strike water. Listen to your intuition while also recognising that meditation requires patience, discipline, and trust.

Here are two common and accessible approaches:

Mantra:

Find a comfortable seat. Root down with your sitting bones and lengthen the back of your neck.

Inhale, expanding your belly and ribs; exhale, allowing your shoulders to release down. Feel as if your spine is a pillar providing strong support. Bring your attention to your breath.

Choose a mantra. Here are mantra suggestions in English:

LOVE as you inhale, PEACE as you exhale, or use any words that are soothing to you.

I AM PEACE, or replace PEACE with another word such as LOVE or PATIENCE.

Here are a few mantra suggestions in Sanskrit:

OM as you inhale, SHANTI (“peace”) as you exhale.

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA (pronounced Ohm Nah mah shee Vi ya) means “I bow to that which is my highest potential.”

OM MANI PADME HUM (pronounced Ohm Mah nee Pahd may Hum) is an all-encompassing mantra meaning “I am the awakening of the consciousness.”

Silently repeat the mantra. Keep your breath slow. Find a steady rhythm. Stay focused on the mantra but in a relaxed way. When you notice that you’ve drifted into thought, with patience and kindness, come back to the mantra.

Breath Counting:

Find a meditation seat with a straight but relaxed spine. Close your eyes or gaze down. Bring your attention to your breath. Feel your ribs expand on the inhalation and relax on the exhalation. Silently count “one” as you inhale and “one” as you exhale. Then “two” as you inhale and “two” as you exhale. Continue, without speeding up your breath. Relax the space between your eyebrows. Stay with the count. When you realise you’ve drifted off in thought, with compassion, start again at “one.” Remember, this is a practice.

There’s no goal to get to any particular number. Counting provides the guardrails to keep your mind from wandering too far away.