Thursday, October 01, 2009

Meditation: Choosing the Right Meditation Pillow

By Chris Le Roy

Whether you realize it or not choosing the right meditation pillow can make a huge difference to the success of your meditation session. Most people when starting out on learning the technique of meditation will simply sit on the floor and try to meditate with no support at all. However, trying to maintain the right posture for any period of time is quite a challenge and will simply lead to an unsuccessful meditation session.

Before choosing a meditation pillow you must first understand where you are going to be undertaking the meditation session. For example, you will need a different style of meditation pillow for soft grass to meditating on wooden floors or on concrete.

If your meditation session is to be undertaken on grass then you simply need a light weight pillow which has a soft inner fill. Generally a nylon based fill for this type of session will suffice. It is also worthwhile getting a meditation pillow that is machine washable as well because if you are sitting on this pillow on the grass it will get dirty and if you do not wash it, you may find that the grass stains will not wash out after a while.

If you are meditating on harder surfaces like wood or concrete, I recommend using a two stage pillow. Essentially, the base of the pillow is a solid style foam, with the top part of the pillow being made of either duck down or a soft synthetic inner fill. You will find that if you use a normal pillow on harder surfaces for any period of time that you will find it difficult to get up or more so, a sore rear. If you are not comfortable during your meditation session then the bottom line is that you will focus on the discomfort rather than the meditation.

If you find sitting up straight on the floor difficult to do, you can purchase from quality meditation suppliers, meditation pillows that also include a back support as well. The meditation pillows that contain this are almost like chairs for the floor. The key advantage of this style of meditation pillow is that by keeping your back straight, during the meditation session you will be helping ensure that you control your breathing more effectively.

I certainly encourage you to try out your meditation pillow before you buy. Ensure that when you sit on the pillow that it supports your weight and that you are not sitting directly on the floor. Make sure also while you are sitting on your pillow that it does support your back and that you do not naturally slump over on the pillow.

For an effective meditation session, you need to ensure that you have a well structured posture, that you are comfortable and that you can relax without any niggling pain or pressure. Be aware that if you feel an unusual pressure as you sit that this is the first warning sign that you are about to experience pain in that area.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Are Meditation Chairs Really That Good?

By Tia Ormond

Meditation is a simple ancient art to clear the mind and refresh the soul, so why would you need to buy a meditation chair ? Read on to find out why it is money well spent!

The health benefits of meditation are well known, but so many people give up before they enjoy them because they find that sitting in traditional meditative or yoga-style poses gets very uncomfortable, very fast. It's difficult to relax and unwind your mind when your back is hurting, your legs are stiff and sore, your ankles are pressing into the floor or your bottom has gone to sleep!

When you are new to meditation these problems can be worse, because your body is not accustomed to being in meditative poses. These aches and pains may prevent you from achieving a deep and calming meditative state, and may mean you abandon the practice before you realize all the tremendous benefits of meditation. Being more inflexible because of age, injury or medical conditions like arthritis may also prevent a comfortable and productive meditation.

It would be a shame to give up because of these discomforts, because meditation can help ease and even prevent some of these conditions. So whether you are a beginner or experienced, young or old, healthy or injured, a meditation chair will help to make your sessions much more enjoyable and productive .

Meditation Chairs are specially designed to make your meditation experience more rewarding. They can help you maintain an upright but relaxed and comfortable state, where you can fully appreciate and enjoy your meditation experience .

Meditation chairs help relieve aches and pains by supporting your body. Most have ergonomic angles that relieve the pressure on your lower back, or cushions that raise the hips and provide padding for the ankles.

The early Chinese Meditation chairs were simply a chair with a widened seat to allow the legs to be drawn up and crossed. They didn't look very comfortable, but they did give support to the back and the option of meditation up off the floor.

You can still find simple, wooden meditation chairs which are designed to support your body . But there is also a wide range of softer, more supportive meditation chairs available now, each with various features that suit different body types and meditative positions.

Meditation chairs can help both beginners and the experienced achieve a comfortable, more rewarding meditation, which is why many feel that a specialized meditation chair is well worth the investment .

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Adapting To Change By Meditation

Adapting to any kind of change in your life can be very stressful. The one thing I have learned when it comes to any kind of change is to keep it on a positive level. To do that I stay calm by meditating and keep it all in perspective. I was talking to a friend how I was very apprehensive about a change I would soon have to make in my life.She told me that almost over twenty years ago she had bought a brand new car and it was parked in an alley next to her house.

She walked out of the house just in time to see and old vw bus scrape the front fender of her car. As she continued to tell me what happened she let me know she was trying to stay calm and knew she had to meditate and get focused on the situation. She went on to tell me that the driver got out of his car,threw his hat on the ground,then hung his head,holding it in his hands. She knew that he obviously didn't have the money to pay for the damage to her car and he almost started to cry.

My friend still meditating to keep things in perspective walked up to the man and you could tell he was very nervous and expected her to say something like What an idiot,Are you blind,or just something so mean that he would just feel terrible.As she walked up to the man she simply said don't worry about the scrape and to have a nice day.He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He began to cry tears of happiness and hugged my friend. He then ran to his wife who was in the car wondering what they were going to do and he hugged his wife and introduced her to my friend.

As they were talking my friend told them how she used meditation to keep as calm as possible because she had a temper in the past that caused her a lot of problems. The man and his wife and my friend became the best of friends. Here it is 20 years later and even though the man has now passed away and his wife is in a home for the elderly my friend still visits the woman every week and still talk about the day they had met.

Using meditation will certainly help you think about the situation your in and to not act on impulse,but to handle whatever situation it is you are in you will act responsibly.After my friend and I talked I thought how I could adapt to the change I would have to make by positive thinking and could make a bad situation into something that will have a very special meaning in my life.After our talk I went home and started using meditation to relax myself and now I feel better about myself and my life.

Friday, June 05, 2009

Creating New Experiences Through Meditation

How can you change what you believe when the experiences you have had has convinced you otherwise? The simple answer to that is to create a new experience. The best way for you to get that new experience is to meditate about how you can change the way you respond to what happens.The new response will create new results,which you will then experience it as a new reality.

To reach your goal of happiness,you have to act as though the following statement is true: Everything that happens to me is the best possible thing that can happen to me. meditating to help turn a bad situation into something good can be as easy as: 1+ 1 = 2. Acting as though what happens to you is the best possible thing that can happen to you plus the new results just equals happiness in your life.

When you are convinced of the truth that everything that happens is the best thing that can happen,life will Begin to be much more fun.It is like opening a new channel to happiness.All you need to know when meditating is happiness is there,waiting just for you.All you need to do is follow the formula that creates it.You have to remember also that unhappiness is also out there,waiting just for you.

The way you respond through meditation will determine which one you will be experiencing in your life. It is not necessary to have all the ingredients of a project in hand at the outset. They will come at the appointed time. It's only important that you move forward with the project that you have started until that appointed time comes.With the energy you create through meditation by moving forward as if you had the money to start your project,you actually put into motion a start of events that will lead you to your success.

Your actions create an energy that draws in the necessary ingredients of your project you have ventured into. Everything that you need for your venture is,in actuality,already out there,waiting for you.You only need to draw in what is needed. There is really nothing more to all of this other than just you remembering to keep an open mind and find that peace that is buried deep within you.

The result that come with meditation that causes you to experience happiness,which then proves to you that this is how things really do work-and this leads you to soon believe that everything does indeed happen for your benefit. When you realize that is true,that is when the deep sighs of relief will come and that meditation can certainly help you see the light.

The internet is a really great place to find out all of the information that you would need about meditation, in case you are interested in learning more about it for your own benefits. This is very important for you to consider doing because it will relieve you from so much stress circulating throughout your life each and everyday. Try practicing meditation as often as you can because you are really going to benefit from it.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Controlling Anger By Meditation

I have never really thought of myself as an angry person.I would always do whatever I could to try and help someone out,nor did I do anything that would hurt someones feelings,or I would try as hard as I could not to. Every month we struggle to get by but I really didn't complain. I was just happy that we did have the money to pay our bills and have a place to live even though we barely had enough to survive on after paying the bills. Meditation is very much needed in most peoples lives, no doubt about that.

Even after all that I did not get angry,That changed last week.I really had to meditate to myself when I went with my sister to the doctor last week.My sister is a very hard worker.She never misses work unless it is absolutely necessary.Last year my sister had become sick and finally after being so weak she went to the doctor.He put her in the hospital and gave her 4 bags of blood and said she had pneumonia.

I just couldn't understand how do you lose blood by having pneumonia.As I meditated thinking about last year I was not prepared to hear what the doctor was going to say as my sister and I were driving to the doctor.You see my sister got sick again. She nearly collapsed at work and was taken to the hospital.This time she needed 5 bags of blood.She would keep telling me she was anemic.After the hospital did a ct scan on her they said she needed to go to her lung doctor immediately.That's where my sister and I were going.

My sister never wants me to worry so she never told me anything and did not want me to go in the room with her when she went in to see the doctor.After I meditated on this I decided when they called her name I would go back with her,and that's exactly what I did.The doctor came in and you could see immediately the concern on his face.He starting reading the results of her ct scan.He was reading something about her lungs.

He talked about something growing in her nodules and spreading to her lymph nodes.He wasn't saying it was cancer but I knew by what he was reading it was. I didn't want to scare my sister so meditating to myself while he was talking I asked what does all this mean? Instead of asking is it cancer I asked could it be cancer?

His response was yes mam.She has to go for a biopsy in a couple of days to see how far it has progressed.I really find myself angry at this point because she has never smoked a day in her life,And here she is 49 years old with lung cancer.So instead of worrying for the next couple of days and getting angry,I simply practice meditation by praying that god please heal my sister.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Different And Helpful Things To Know About Meditation

Relaxation techniques are a great way to help your pursuit to reduce stress. Relaxation isn't just about peace of mind or enjoying a hobby. Relaxation is a process that decreases the wear and tear of life's challenges on your mind and body. Whether you have a lot of stress in your life or you've got it under control, you can benefit from learning relaxation techniques. Learning basic meditation relaxation techniques isn't hard.

Explore these simple relaxation techniques to get you started on de-stressing your life and improving your health.
There are ample of sources of stress in the world now a days. As the old saying goes, "there's no need to look for trouble, because trouble will find you all on its own". All of us have troubles and worries, along with all these stresses, few of us even have time to kick back and relax. If you suffer from anxiety and did you wish to ease that anxious moods you have and feel relax for a while?

There are number of relaxations techniques you have that you take a little time and are highly effective which you can done anywhere even at work.
If I were to find a perfect relaxation techniques I would preferred to make a fortune sharing with others. In this, there are a lot of great ideas, and these ideas published in different places but it seems no one got it gold. I know that the people around me seem to be more and more stressed as time goes along. More people tried many relaxation techniques but they only find nothing work for them.

There are many different things you can try, but you may have to search for a while before you find something that works for you.
Performing breathing can be therapeutic, and with enough practice, can become your standard way of breathing. To breathe with the diaphragm, one must draw air into the lungs in a way which will expand the stomach and not the chest.

It is best to perform these breaths as long, slow intakes of air - allowing the body to absorb all of the inhaled oxygen while simultaneously relaxing the breather. To do this comfortably, it is often best to loosen tight-fitting pants, belts, skirts as these can interfere with the body's ability to intake air. The old-fashioned remedy of breathing slowly into a paper bag works amazingly well to relax you and restore proper breathing. Another version of this relaxation technique involves taking slow deep breaths. At first you may find you need to force yourself to breathe slowly, but persist and you'll soon be back to normal.

And bear in mind that some people, especially those with significant psychological problems and a history of abuse, may experience feelings of emotional discomfort during relaxation exercises. Although this is rare, if you experience emotional discomfort during relaxation exercises, stop what you're doing and consider talking to your health care professional. Some relaxation techniques will work for some people, while some will leave others feeling cold. Write down all of your ideas and move through your list one at a time. This may help you find relaxation techniques that work best for you and your lifestyle.

I know that the people around me seem to be more and more stressed as time goes along. More people tried many relaxation techniques but they only find nothing work for them. There are many different things you can try, but you may have to search for a while before you find something that works for you.
Performing breathing can be therapeutic, and with enough practice, can become your standard way of breathing.

To breathe with the diaphragm, one must draw air into the lungs in a way which will expand the stomach and not the chest. It is best to perform these breaths as long, slow intakes of air - allowing the body to absorb all of the inhaled oxygen while simultaneously relaxing the breather. To do this comfortably, it is often best to loosen tight-fitting pants, belts, skirts as these can interfere with the body's ability to intake air.

The old-fashioned remedy of breathing slowly into a paper bag works amazingly well to relax you and restore proper breathing. Another version of this relaxation technique involves taking slow deep breaths. At first you may find you need to force yourself to breathe slowly, but persist and you'll soon be back to normal.
Meditation can help you throughout your entire life.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Different Forms Of Meditation

There are no special tricks to meditating; no special posture or breathing rhythm is required. Once you have gotten the knack of it you can meditate anywhere during any activity. Some readers have succeeded in reaching this altered state of conscious while reading about my sand meditation, perhaps you too may realize this transformational state of consciousness as you read on…


Sometimes meditation opens a door into the mysteries of creation. If we allow ourselves to pass through this door there is no telling what we may encounter on the other side. Do not become discouraged if you have tried to meditate in the past and not gotten any remarkable results. Meditation is a mystical process and it may take awhile to learn how to quiet your mind and open yourself to all the present moment has to offer you.

My meditation began while sitting on a beach. My hands were sandy. I rubbed my thumb and forefinger together feeling the grains of sand between them slipping away until only a single grain of sand remained.
I could feel the shape of the grain of sand distinctly as I rolled it back and forth between my thumb and forefinger.

The longer I rolled the grain of sand about the more defined my awareness of the grain of sand became. The more detailed my experience of the grain of sand became the larger it appeared to be.
While I could clearly feel the tiny grain of sand trapped between my thumb and finger roll about across the grooves and ridges of my fingerprints the grain of sand appeared to be growing larger and larger as I contemplated it.

The grain of sand continued to grow, encompassing the beach and then the world. Before long the grain of sand had grown to an infinite size and it now encompassed all of creation; yet I still held the tiny grain of sand between my thumb and forefinger, rolling it about across the grooves and ridges of my fingerprints.

The tiny grain of sand was intimately connected to every part of creation and all of creation existed within it, even as it existed within my grasp. I communed with the grain of sand, aware of its infinite connectedness to everything else; through the medium of the grain of sand I became aware of my own infinite connectedness with all of creation.

The sand spoke to me of eternity. It told me tales about creation and the infinite nature of our existence in creation. From the grain of sand I learned that every tiniest part of creation is a living being experiencing creation and sharing in the process whereby creation makes everything manifest
.
My meditation with a grain of sand always produced a feeling of intense bliss. It was an eternal meditation that transcended the time and place where it began to continue throughout all of creation. From time to time I would return to this meditation, engrossed by the wisdom and experience of a single tiny grain of sand.

Sunday, February 08, 2009

Finding Relief With Meditation

I would like to take you beyond the limits of your customary thoughts and experiences.This new way of life begins with two questions that are very simple.The first question is would I want this to be true: "Every event that will befall me is absolutely the best possible event that could occur." Meditate before answering this so that you can think about it with a clear mind and answer it truthfully. The second question is the more difficult part,is to truthfully answer this question: Will I give that a chance to be true?

Imagine using meditation that God has appeared before you this instant and said: "I promise you that everything that happens to you from this moment forward will be of the greatest benefit to you and will bring you the utmost good fortune," Suppose God went on to tell you,"Even though what happens will appear at times unfortunate or even hurtful,in the end your life will be wonderfully blessed and hugely benefited by whatever may happen to you.Stop and meditate.How would you feel about that wonderful news? Happy? Perhaps you may even be filled with joy.

Wouldn't it be the greatest news that you could ever hear? Wouldn't you heave a deep sigh of relief and feel as if a great burden had been lifted from your shoulders? Wouldn't you then respond to the next thing that happened-even if it was hurtful or took something from you or seemed bad or even unlucky-as though it was going to be wonderfully beneficial for you,the best possible thing that could have happened? If you have not enthusiastically answer yes,clear your mind,meditate on it.Perhaps you mistaken what I am talking to you about.

I am not talking to you about the common phrase we commonly hear, "try to make the best of things," which basically means  " The situation or event really is bad and terribly unlucky,but do what you can possibly think of or meditate to salvage some good out of it." Nor do I mean that within even the worst event possible,there can be found a tiny bit of good.I am not thinking in terms of such limited ideas. I am thinking in unlimited terms,where every event that befalls you is absolutely the best event that could occur-that there is no other event imaginable that could benefit you to any greater degree.

So,again,while you meditate ask yourself wouldn't that be the best piece of news you could hear? If you are willing to give this new concept a chance and actually believe that everything that happens to you will happen for a reason. When thinking about anything,to get a great deal of relief just clear your mind and meditate about the good things that are to come to you in the future. Meditation can be much better than medication and you might just be real surprised how much better you will begin feeling after practicing it for awhile.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Healing Your Past With Meditation

 We all know it is not possible to roll back time or undo or change bad decisions we made in the past,however using meditation we can change the way we feel about the bad decisions we made in the past so that they will stop tormenting us here in the present. We all carry a lot of baggage from the past,such things as maybe a broken heart,hurt feelings,or bad memories of friends or loved ones that have lied,cheated,or betrayed us,events that may have brought us pain,or we may torment ourselves over opportunities we may have missed out on or even wrong choices we made in our lives.

We absolutely cannot allow ourselves to let things in the past we cannot change take over our present lives.Meditation is simply collecting our thoughts in a relaxing atmosphere.If you take the time to learn how to heal your past it will enable you to be happy in the present. You may ask how can you heal the past? You can look at past situations you cannot change in a brighter light with a new understanding on the events in the past have hurt you.When your by yourself in a quiet place start your meditation.

Think about how whatever may have happened to you in the past may even be a benefit to you.You know how bad you felt when something or somebody said or did something to you that you felt that you had no purpose in life or was not good enough to associate with others.Meditating about how those things in the past made you feel helps you to understand how others who are now in the same situation you were in then feel about themselves.

You know how they feel so you maybe can tell them your experience back then and how you turned it around and made a life for yourself.So many of us just need someone to take the time to just say hello or nice day isn't it? Just a kind word to someone who has had a bad day can make all the difference in the world. My dear sweet mother told me all the time that you can kill more flies with honey. Meditation can make you feel so much more positive and give you a different outlook on life in general, it is something very positive you can do to help yourself.

What she meant was if you have been around someone that wasn't pleasant or had a bad attitude don't act like that person does, instead just turn the other cheek and it may rub off on the person who has a bad attitude. Meditation could be the key to this happening. So you see meditation can be used to turn bad situations into something good or even good situations into something great. Shining the light of the new understanding on those events that happened in the past will help you have a feeling of acceptance, peace,and happiness.