Start Your Morning Off Right with These Five Meditations
Rise & shine, SKILLR fam! These days, it's safe to say we could all use some positive energy in our lives and to manifest a peaceful, productive and enjoyable day. Starting your morning with a meditation exercise is a great way to get your day going on the right foot.
Research shows that meditation can stimulate the release of endorphins which can help boost your energy and focus, and invite inner peace before a busy or stressful day. If you’re struggling to keep up with a regular meditation routine, we’ve got tons of Skillrs on standby ready to help you get started and keep you on track. And the practice itself doesn't have to take forever. A good meditation session can take as little as ten minutes, but you can choose whatever length of time works best for your schedule. Here are five zen practices you can use to have a kickass day.
Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation has origins from Buddhist theology and is the most popular form of meditation in Western society. With mindfulness meditation, you listen carefully to your thoughts as they pass through your mind. You don’t judge these thoughts or become attached to them. You simply discover and take note of any patterns that come up for you. This exercise combines focus with awareness. You may find it helpful to concentrate on an object or your breath while you notice any bodily sensations, thoughts or feelings. This type of meditation is ideal for those who enjoy silence and prefer meditating alone.
Movement Meditation
Many people think of yoga when they hear of movement meditation. However, this practice can also include walking, dancing, flow art, tai chi or other gentle forms of movement that create therapeutic relaxation. This is an active form of meditation where the movement guides you into deeper connection with your body and mind in the present moment. Movement meditation is good for people who find enjoyment and peace in action and want to develop greater awareness of the body.
Visualization Meditation
Visualization meditation focuses on enhancing relaxation and calmness by visualizing positive scenes and images. This practice involves closing your eyes and clearly picturing a scene, using all five senses to add as much detail as possible. Similarly, you can imagine yourself succeeding at specific goals for the purpose of increasing focus and motivation. Many people report that practicing visualization meditation boosts their daily drive and eliminates stress. This meditation can be done alone, but is generally best when you have a guide to partner with. Lucky for you, you can book one of our trained mediation Skillrs to help walk you through the visualization process.
Mantra Meditation
Mantra meditation is renowned in many teachings, including Hindu and Buddhist ways of life. This type of meditation uses repetitive sounds in order to clear the mind. This practice can be a word, phrase or simply a sound, one of the most common being “om.” Your mantra can either be spoken loudly or quietly. After chanting the mantra for a period of time, you’ll be more alert and in tune with your surrounding environment. This allows you to reach deeper levels of personal awareness. Some people feel called to this type of meditation because they find it easier to focus on a word or sound rather than breath. Other people enjoy feeling the sound vibrations within their body. Mantra meditation is ideal for those who don't care for silence but enjoy sound and repetition.
Loving-kindness Meditation
Loving-kindness meditation is used for the purpose of strengthening compassion, kindness and acceptance toward oneself and others. It commonly involves expanding the mind to receive love from others and then sending positive vibes to loved ones, friends, acquaintances and all living beings in the world (pretty cool, right?). Because this type of meditation is intended to encourage compassion, empathy and kindness, it may be ideal for those holding on to feelings of anger or resentment.
Ready to kickstart a new meditation habit? Hop on the app and get it going!
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