What comes to mind when you think of meditation?

I used to believe meditation meant sitting cross-legged, hands on my knees, palms up, and completely quieting my mind. Because of that, I thought meditation wasn’t for me. Sitting still for long periods felt impossible, and my mind was always racing with chattering monkey thoughts.

But as I deepened my journey, I discovered something surprising—meditation isn’t one-size-fits-all. In fact, there are many different types, and I realized I had been practicing some of them my whole life without even knowing it!

Another misconception I had was that your mind must be perfectly still to meditate. But here’s the truth: it’s completely normal for your thoughts to wander. The key is to simply notice when it happens and gently bring your focus back. Over time, with practice, you may find moments of stillness come more naturally.

And here’s another bonus—you don’t have to breathe through your mouth! This is especially helpful if you have respiratory issues.

Below, you’ll find different types of meditation. Take a look and see how many you’ve already experienced without realizing it. More importantly, choose the ones that resonate with you. Meditation is personal, and you get to decide what works best, including how long you practice.

Meditation can help with:

• Relieving stress
• lowering blood pressure
• reducing anxiety and depression
• Improves sleep
• reduces pain.
•  Increased cognitive function
• Increased energy
• Improved memory

Mindfulness Meditation

You pay attention to your thoughts with this meditation. Don't judge them, just acknowledge them and take notice if there is a pattern and just let them go on their way.

Spiritual Meditation

This one is similar to prayer. In this meditation you are connecting to the higher power while sitting in silence. You can use aromatherapy with this meditation. This is a good meditation for those who like silence.

Focused Meditation

Use any of your senses to focus on one thing. This one is good for those who need something to focus on to sit still.

• Sight-a candle flame
• Touch- a soft blanket or stress ball
• Smell- aromatherapy
• Sound- soft music or nature sounds
• Taste- a piece of candy

Movement Meditation

Yoga, walking in the woods, gardening, quigong and any other gentle movements are considered to be Movement Meditation. This is perfect for those who have hard time sitting still.

Mantra Meditation

It is like chanting. You choose a word you want to focus on and repeat it. You can say your word silently or out loud. It originated with the Vedic Hinduism and eventually Buddhism. It is now a part of many religions. In order for it to be effective you need to put an emphasis on the correct pronunciation on the word you use.

Some of the words used are:

• "So Hum" which means I am;
• "Shivo'ham" which means I am consciousness;
• "Aham Prema" which means I am love;

You can choose other words that fit the purpose of your meditation such as Joy, Love, Release, Abundance, etc. If you want to use background music with this meditation it is best to use nature sounds or any music that doesn't affect emotions.

Transcendental Meditation

This is also a mantra based meditation, but requires taking a course to learn it. You are given a mantra from an instructor, which is never mentioned outside of your instruction. It is your personal mantra. You repeat this mantra in your mind approximately 20 minutes twice a day.

Progressive Relaxation Meditation

You work through your body focusing on one group of muscles at a time. You tense the muscle and then relax it. It is an easy meditation. It works great for those whose body feels tight/tense in spots.

Loving-kindness Meditation

Focus on unconditional love for others and yourself with no conditions. You start by sitting relaxed and doing your breathing and focus on your solar plexus (chest area). Then feel for any blockages of numbness, self-judgement and/or self-hatred. Then go mentally to the place where you love yourself and where strength, health and safety are needed for others and yourself. Then repeat the following phrases you want to say to yourself or out loud feeling them through your body, mind and heart.

• May I be free from inner and outer harm and danger.

• May I be safe and protected.

• May I be free of mental suffering or distress.
• May I be happy.
• May I be free of physical pain and suffering.
• May I be healthy and strong.
• May I be able to live in this world happily, peacefully, joyfully with ease.

After saying the phrase(s) then focus on a person who makes you think and feel unconditional love and say "May she be safe and protected". Then move to a dear friend and repeat the phrase(s). Then, move on to a neutral person repeat the phrase(s). Then move on to a person who you have a hard time getting along with and repeat the phrase(s). Note you can start the phrase off with "In my best ability I wish...". Finally, focus on all beings and repeat the phrase(s) Starting them with" May all beings be..." Once you are done with these you can continue doing more focusing on different categories of beings.

Visualization Meditation

With this meditation you visualize images, thoughts, symbols basically anything you want to visualize. You can use mantras and affirmations with this meditation. There are all kinds of reasons you can use this meditation for; goals, pain, love, healing. You can use it for yourself or others. To do this meditation get your breathing into rhythm, visualize your image as you inhale and feel the good feelings of the image as you exhale. Repeat this as long as you want.