7 Styles of Meditation to Enhance Your Yoga Practice

Yoga is an ancient philosophy and practice that traditionally includes more than the asanas most western practitioners are familiar with. In fact, in traditional yoga practice, doing sequences of poses is a way to prepare for meditation, one of the eight limbs of yoga. 

Also known as dhyana, meditation is a fundamental part of a complete yoga practice. It complements and enhances other aspects of yoga. There are many ways to meditate and really no wrong way to do it. Try these popular meditation styles to find one that works for you. 

What Is Meditation? 

Meditation is a practice of awareness, focus, and quieting the mind and body. Using any of various techniques, the goal of meditation is to clear the mind and become aware of the sensations, thoughts, and feelings that are present without engaging them. 

In other words, you are aware of your thoughts and feelings, but you don’t push or pull against them. They are simply there, passing in and out of your consciousness. 

Traditional yoga is an eightfold path. Meditation is one of the eight paths, or limbs, and is called dhyana. During dhyana, your mind and body are aware but don’t focus on any one sensation or thought. It is a state of stillness in the mind and body. 

What Are the Benefits of Meditation Practice?

Many yoga sessions end with a minute or two of quiet meditation in corpse pose, but meditation is not generally a primary focus of most western yoga classes. 

There are several good reasons to make meditation a bigger part of your yoga practice. Potential benefits of meditation include (1): 

• Reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression

• Manage stress

• Lower blood pressure

• Lower resting heart rate

• Manage chronic pain

• Improve quality of sleep

• Improve self-awareness

Here are some lesser-known benefits of meditation. 

7 Styles of Meditation

It’s easy to feel intimidated by the idea of meditating, as if it is a deeply spiritual practice that requires skill and experience. In reality, anyone can meditate. Sit down, close your eyes, stay still, and just be. This is meditation. 

Of course, sitting still and existing is easier said than done. Most people have little experience sitting still with their own awareness. We are generally more comfortable moving, doing something, or doing multiple things at once. 

To get into meditation, it helps to have strategies and techniques. This gives you something to “do” as a form of meditation. These seven styles of meditation are great starting points for a regular practice. Give them a try and find the one that works best for you. 

1. Object-Based Meditation

In an object-based meditation, you turn to your five senses as an area of focus. This is a good place to start for beginners in meditation. It gives you something to focus on, something to do when it feels like just sitting still is impossible. 

Choose a sensation in the body, such as your breathing and the feeling of your breath going in and out, a sound like white noise from your phone, or an image that you can visualize with your eyes closed. 

During object-based meditation, the chosen sensation serves as an anchor for your focus, but the focus should be light. You should still be aware of other sensations around you and thoughts and feelings passing through your mind. 

The chakras can be a useful focus for an object-based meditation. Learn more about the seven chakras here. 

2. Mantra Meditation

If you need more focus when meditating, a mantra can help. Mantras are traditionally used in many Buddhist and Hindu meditation practices. They are phrases, words, or simple sounds repeated during meditation. 

You can speak your mantra at any volume, but it should be spoken out loud. The vibration in your body is part of the experience. The most effective mantras are short enough that they don’t require much concentration to repeat. A classic example is Om. 

Transcendental Meditation is a trademarked type of meditation that involves mantras. Experts recommend that you learn from a trained transcendental instructor. It can be a useful type of meditation for clearing and resting the mind. 

3. Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness meditation is a popular type of open awareness meditation. Rather than focusing on a sensation or a phrase, the mind remains open to anything. During mindfulness meditation, you give light attention to all passing sensations, thoughts, and emotions without lingering on or judging any of them. They are like clouds passing by in the sky. 

This style of meditation requires concentration in the sense that you must focus on not lingering on anything or following distracting thoughts down a rabbit hole. It also requires awareness of whatever your consciousness produces during the meditation. Mindfulness is a useful tool for noticing patterns in your thoughts and emotions. 

4. Loving-Kindness Meditation

Also known as metta meditation, loving-kindness meditation brings awareness and focus to thoughts of compassion and kindness for yourself and others. It’s a good style of meditation for times when you feel anger or resentment toward others or when your self-compassion is low. 

During this meditation, you can use a loving mantra or simply think of kindness and love. Direct the words or thoughts to yourself and to others. An example of a simple but effective mantra for this type of meditation is “I wish you well.”

5. Progressive Relaxation/Body Scan

A body-focused meditation can be useful for managing stress or for times when you find it difficult to focus your awareness solely on the mind and thoughts. During this type of meditation, you pay attention to each part of the body, from head to toe. 

As you scan the body, you can simply be aware of sensations in each part. Or, you can try progressive relaxation. Flex or tighten and then relax each muscle. This helps release tension in the body and contributes to overall relaxation. 

6. Moving Meditation

For even greater involvement of the body, try a moving meditation. This is a great fit for asana practice in yoga. Moving or movement meditation simply means meditating while the body moves. It can be as simple as going for a walk while focusing in a mindful way on passing sensations and thoughts or a persistent sensation, like your feet touching the ground. 

There are also traditional practices that combine body movement and meditative thought, including tai chi and qui gong. You can meditate while doing yoga sequences by focusing the mind and breath while moving through poses. 

7. Contemplation Meditation

In this type of meditation, focus your attention on a particular thought, problem, or question. You could also call this a reflective meditation. It can also be a spiritual meditation, for instance using traditional Christian prayer in a reflective, meditative way. 

In Zen Buddhism, practitioners meditate on koans, short, paradoxical stories or riddles. The classic example is, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”

Contemplation can also be reflective and spiritual in a non-religious way. For instance, meditating on the question of what you are grateful for in your life can bring a sense of peace and satisfaction.

Guided vs Open Meditation

An open meditation (unguided meditation) is when you sit down and do it with no direction from an outside source. Guided meditations are led by an instructor, an app, or another type of recorded session. The person leading the meditation will provide basic guidance on what to do and then give the meditator periods of uninterrupted time to try the meditation. They might interrupt periodically to help keep you on track.  

Guided meditation is particularly useful for beginners. The idea of sitting and doing nothing without direction can feel a little overwhelming before you’ve had some practice. An instructor or guide provides a starting point. 

Expand Your Yoga Practice with ISSA

Meditation is a part of yoga, but it can also be a separate practice. Get started with these popular types of meditation and find what works best for you. 

The ISSA Yoga & Wellness Academy’s Yoga Alliance-approved 200-hour teacher training program includes instruction in teaching yoga, cueing students, sequencing flows, guiding meditations, and more. 

References

1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2022, June). Meditation and mindfulness: What you need to know. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation-and-mindfulness-what-you-need-to-know