Meditation
Meditation isn't what people think it is.
At its core, meditation is a mental awareness training tool. Like a gym workout for your brain, except it's training your brain to be present. It is designed specifically to cultivate focus, awareness and a sense of calm.
Now, meditation can be mindful as well as focused.
The focused kind is where you focus on your breath, or a specific sound or even a candle flame and keep coming back to it.
While mindfulness meditation is when you just openly monitor your thoughts, feelings and sensations without immediately rushing to correct or engage with them.
There is a very common misconception: that meditation means stopping your thoughts. It's actually not. That is practically impossible to do. Humans are, by nature, thinking animals.
The mind is like a wild horse. You know what happens when you try to tame a wild horse? The more you try to tame it, the more it tries to rebel.
So what do you do instead? You let the horse go as far as it can, then gently guide it back.
For example: you focus on your breathing.
Your mind goes: “I have to water the plants. What should I make for dinner tonight? Wait, do we still have any leftover calamari from last night? I don't really want to eat seafood.” Bring your focus back to your breath. “Why am I hungry? I had a heavy lunch. Maybe there wasn't enough carbs. Wait, did I include fiber today?” Again, bring it back. That's all you have to do.
While most people imagine sitting in a quiet room with your eyes shut and legs crossed, back straight, the word meditation is an umbrella term for different practices. I'll introduce a few.
Walking: You can walk, as a form of meditation. Preferably barefoot. Instead of a destination, you feel the sensation of your feet hitting the ground or your weight shifting.
Tai Chi & Qi Gong: This originates from China and is rooted in Taoism. These are often called “meditation in motion” because of the slow, fluid movements and deep breathing.
Yoga Nidra: Also known as ‘yogic sleep,’ where you lie down and follow a deep scan through your body. It's supposed to keep the mind awake while the body is in the near-sleep state.
There are also others such as Sound Bathing which uses Tibetan sound bowls, and Chanting or Kirtan where you chant “Om” or other Sanskrit mantras as well as Trataka or Candle Gazing, where, as the name implies, you stare at a flame without blinking to improve concentration and visual focus.
Even something that might seem gamified such as biofeedback where you monitor your heartbeat and brain waves as well as the practice of Forest Bathing from Japanese Shintoism, known as Shinrin Yoku, where you just walk through nature while engaging all five of your senses; these are forms of meditation too.
But it doesn't stop there. Visualization, Gratitude Journaling, Mindful eating; all of that counts as a form of meditative practice. The rituals are endless. But if you zoom out, these fall under the same idea. These practices have been around for ages.
Hinduism has plenty of such practices under vedic traditions as well as tantric yoga. Even contemplative prayer from Christian Mysticism is a form of meditation.
Anything you practice with sustained awareness and some level of detachment can function as meditation.
Another thing to remember when researching different meditation techniques from all over the world: India focused more on liberation and enlightenment. Japan and China were more about balance (yin and yang) and finding harmony with the natural flow of life (The Tao). While Tibetan practices focused on high sensory rituals to transform the mind quickly.
Pick what you resonate with and try it for yourself.
If you have ADHD, try guided meditations or fidget meditation where you hold a textured rock or a fidget and make that your anchor instead of your breath. No stone? Use a textured fabric. You could also try micro-mediations. Take three intentional deep breaths when you switch taste, eg: washing dishes, or closing a tab and opening another one your browser.
For individuals with Autism, use stimming as meditation. What do I mean? Repetitive movements such as humming or rocking. Focus on the rhythm or feeling of the movement. You could also try the 5-4-3-2-1 ground technique. 5 things you see, 4 things you touch, 3 things you hear, 2 things you smell and 1 thing you taste. You could also try body scanning while using a weighted blanket, or brown noise.
Meditation Myths For ND individuals:
Myth: You have to sit still.
Fact: You can dance, rock or pace.
Myth: You must clear your head.
Fact: You just need to notice the thoughts like tabs on your browser.
Myth: Eye-closing is required.
Fact: If that makes you anxious, focus on a "soft gaze” at a wall or plant.
What is a “soft gaze”? It's basically ‘Professionally Zoning Out.’ You let your eyes lose focus and your peripheral vision widens. It's the ‘No thoughts, Head empty’ vibes but you're training your brain to stay calm while the world turns blurry in the background.
This is a quick “One Minute ADHD Zone Out” tutorial:
Sit or stand comfortably.
Posture doesn't matter.
Pick a spot on the floor or wall.
Perform the ‘zone out.’
Let your eyes go blurry. If the room looks fuzzy you're doing it right.
Instead of following a daydream, notice the feeling of your feet on the floor.
Do this for 60 seconds.
A hack: If your brain starts “talking,” wiggle your toes and go back to ‘blurry’ vision.
Why bother at all?
Meditation when practiced consistently can have many benefits namely improved focus, emotional regulation and also in lowering cortisol (the stress hormone). It is associated with an increase in thickness in the prefrontal cortex to help to stop doomscrolling too.
Meditation is also said to lower activity in the Amygdala meaning you're less likely to have an intense stress response, as well as helping to increase the gray matter in the hippocampus, which helps with memory and learning.
Regular meditation can also lower blood pressure. It basically helps create a gap between stimulus and response, making you not quick to react to everything.
The bottom line is not to be intimidated by the word or practice but incorporate it into your day to day life.
Even 1–3 minute sessions between a task is more than enough to reset your focus and calm the mind. Not perfect, just practiced.
Meditation is a weapon that, if welded, can be very powerful in making life easier.
Meditation is basically about training your mind to stop yelling at you for 5 minutes so you can enjoy your life.
Related asks:
Hi. Could you please give me at least three ways to practice mindfulness meditation?
Meditation Videos:
Guided Meditation for Detachment From Over-Thinking (Anxiety / OCD / Depression)
A Ten Minute Guided Meditation to Clear Your Mind
Michael Sealey has a range of guided meditations and hypnosis sessions that may be helpful. Note: some videos are quite long, but even 5–10 minutes is sufficient when starting out.
