why is meditation important for buddhists? For Buddhists, meditation is a means of heightened awareness. Meditation helps people cultivate the awareness of their dreams, goals,and self-identities and the means to engage in good karma.

In a Theravada tradition, mindfulness might be developed by paying attention to the breath, or to body and feelings, or the current of ideas and images that moves through the mind as meditators sit and observe themselves. But what Buddhists get from meditation is more than just calm.

Anapanasati

Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment (bodhi) while meditating underneath a Ficus religiosa. According to Buddhist texts, the Buddha meditated without moving from his seat for seven weeks (49 days) under this tree. A shrine called Animisalocana cetiya, was later erected on the spot where he sat.

The following seven examples are some of the best-known ways to meditate:

1. Loving-kindness meditation.
2. Body scan or progressive relaxation.
3. Mindfulness meditation.
4. Breath awareness meditation.
5. Kundalini yoga.
6. Zen meditation.
7. Transcendental Meditation.

“The only real way to not fall asleep during meditation is to get enough sleep,” says Jon Lieff, MD, a Harvard Medical School-trained neuropsychiatrist who specializes in the relationship between neurology, psychiatry and medicine. “Currently, almost everyone is sleep deprived.

How to Meditate: Simple Meditation for Beginners

1. Sit or lie comfortably. You may even want to invest in a meditation chair or cushion.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Make no effort to control the breath; simply breathe naturally.
4. Focus your attention on the breath and on how the body moves with each inhalation and exhalation.

You have the ability to engage in the practice anytime, anywhere. The key is focusing on what’s happening inside your head. Even though thoughts might creep into your mind, you are still able to meditate. “As long as you don’t forget your breath, anything is okay,” Rinpoche said.

Meditating prior to workout allows you to relax and stretch your muscles. At the same time, you can improve focus and control that are much-needed when working out. On the other hand, meditating after a workout reduces cortisol levels which tend to elevate when you’re exercising.

morning

Daily meditation can help you perform better at work! Research found that meditation helps increase your focus and attention and improves your ability to multitask. Meditation helps clear our minds and focus on the present moment – which gives you a huge productivity boost. Lowers risk of depression.

With a daily practice of 10 to 20 minutes, you should see positive results from within a few weeks to a couple of months.

Calmness – This is a deep and peaceful type of serenity, a feeling of time slowing down whereby the mind stops racing and thoughts slow down. It is among the most favorite meditation feelings that keep many returning to the practice even after several instances of frustration.

• 10 Meditation Prompts That’ll Challenge You to Think Bigger. Improve your mind, heart and body with regular meditation.
• Focus on your breath. Start your meditation by taking several deep breaths.
• Do a body scan.
• Evaluate your energy.
• Practice gratitude.
• Choose a mantra.
• Reflect on the day.
• Reflect on the past week.

Sounds Of Nature: The sounds from nature can also give you great music while meditating. Be it the fluttering of the leaves or the chirping of the birds; nature’s hums are always enlivening. The best way to go for this is to get CDs. You can find CDs which contain the recordings from nature.

“The key is awareness of the thoughts and allowing them to exist without having to take action right then and there,” Barajas says. “You don’t have to think about anything. There is no ‘should. ‘ The thought process is whatever you’d like it to be.”