By Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
What, why, and how of meditation for beginners simplified! Take a comfortable seat and start meditating with these beautiful guided meditations now!
Meditation and mental health
Today, the issue related to mental health affects an estimated 350 million people around the world, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Unfortunately, many people don’t even acknowledge that they are depressed, and nearly 50 percent of major depression goes untreated.
Neither at school nor at home are we taught how to handle our negative emotions (like anger, jealousy, etc). We teach dental hygiene but forget to teach mental hygiene. Stress does not go away by just talking or advising. We need to learn some techniques and tools to get rid of stress and calm the mind.
Why does an individual get stressed or depressed? Some depression may be because one is hanging onto the past or is over-ambitious and anxious about the future. Life, however, is a continuous process of teaching one how to “let go.” Change is the only constant. When one does not acknowledge the phenomenon of change and becomes stuck in a position, then one can experience stress, frustration, depression, and so on.
Often, you are not aware that you are connected with the whole universe, and you think you are just some small person wanting small little things. How do we get out of this small mind? We must look to enquire into the core of our existence. What is life? Who am I? What do I want? This spirit of self-inquiry can awaken something inside you.
This is where meditation and breathing techniques can play an important role. They are the tools that help you calm your mind, and make you feel happy from within. In fact, I would say that meditation is food for the soul.
What is meditation?
Meditation is the journey from movement to stillness, from sound to silence. The need to meditate is present in every human being because it is a natural tendency of human life to look for a joy that doesn’t diminish, a love that doesn’t distort or turn into negative emotions.
Meditation is the way to take deep rest yet be alert and conscious at the same time! It is the skill to calm the mind and get in touch with your inner joy.
Is meditation foreign to you?
Absolutely not. This is because you have been in meditation for a couple of months before your birth. You were in your mother’s womb doing nothing. You didn’t even have to chew your food — it was fed directly into your belly and you were there happily floating in the fluid, turning and kicking, sometimes here and something there, but most of the time happily floating there. That is meditation or absolute comfort. You did nothing, everything was done for you. So there is a natural tendency in every human being, in every soul, to crave for that state when you are in absolute comfort. And getting back to that state which you have had a taste of, just before entering the hustle-bustle of this world is very natural because in this universe everything is cyclic, everything wants to go back to its source. When the autumn season comes, the leaves fall and go back to the soil and nature has its own way to recycle them.
The natural tendency to recycle all that we have collected in day-to-day life as impressions, getting rid of them, and getting back to the original state that we were in when we came on this planet is what meditation is. Becoming fresh and alive again is what mediation is. Getting back to that serenity which is your original nature is meditation. Absolute joy, happiness is what meditation is. Pleasure minus excitement is meditation. A thrill without anxiety is meditation. A love without hatred or any of its opposite values is meditation.
Why meditate: 12 benefits of meditation
1. Improves communication skills
Meditation frees you from within, which allows you to shed the inhibitions and barriers that prevent effective communication. Finding peace within yourself gives you the confidence necessary to master communication.
2. Clarity of mind and better decision making
Do you sometimes find yourself wavering between different options, feeling confused and indecisive? Meditation provides a mind without agitation, a mind that is calm and crystal clear.
When our mind is calm, we are able to make better decisions, thus creating a more harmonious and positive atmosphere around us. Meditating allows you to see what’s important. When you understand what’s valuable, you are more likely to see and make the best decision.
3. Nurtures creativity
Creativity surfaces when you meditate. Creativity is the core of our personality as individuals, but sometimes it’s suppressed or hidden.
As your mind calms down, creativity can calmly and confidently surface. When we clear the turbulent or cloudy water from our minds, we can see down to the bottom. Inside all of us is a well of creative resources and possibilities.
4. Improves focus and concentration
Meditation improves concentration and helps one be in the present moment. If you observe, the mind vacillates between the past and the future. We are either angry about the past or anxious about the future. Meditation helps bring the mind to the present. When the mind is calm, we are able to perceive things better. When the mind is disturbed, our perception is also disturbed.
5. Refreshes the mind
Most hard-working adults wait for months to go on a vacation, but meditation gives you an opportunity to go on a vacation within yourself every day.
The practice rejuvenates you until you feel fresh and relaxed. Because you know the results, you take the time to close the doors of your daily chatter and spend a few minutes with yourself.
After a peaceful meditation session, you’ll feel energized and ready to calmly take on whatever challenges come your way.
6. Natural process of renewal
A snake sheds its skin and moves on with brand new skin. If cats or dogs have water on themselves, they shake it off. The caterpillar, a worm-like creature, forms a cocoon around itself and emerges as a whole new animal, a glorious, colorful butterfly!
However, we tend to carry our emotional baggage for years. Meditation helps us to shed our old attachments, feel renewed and rejuvenated, and move forward. With regular practice, it will begin to feel normal to only carry around what’s necessary. Use meditation to free yourself from within.
7. Spreads happiness and peace
Our mind has the ability to affect our surroundings. Only a peaceful and happy person can spread happiness.
Meditation creates ripples of happiness and peace within you, which then spread out in multiple waves all around the world. A better you make the vibrations, energy, and people around you better.
8. Develops a pleasant personality
Think about who you like to be with and why you choose them as companions. Are the ones you love happy and joyful, or sad and depressed? Contented, cheerful, and upbeat, right?
Similarly, when we ourselves are happy, our personality reflects that, and others look to us for good company. These interactions are another area of life where meditation helps. Practice with the intention of becoming the best version of yourself, which will attract other positive-thinking friends to you like a magnet.
Meditation can bring about a balance between the different states of the mind. You can learn to switch from the tough aspect to the gentler aspect within you. You can be firm when appropriate and at the same time let go when needed. This ability is present within everyone, and meditation enables you to switch between these states effortlessly.
9. Gives you an unshakable smile
Meditation brings you to a state of being where nothing can rob you of the smile in your heart.
By resting and releasing all the toxins and negative emotions stored, each cell becomes so alive that our smiles are unshakable in the face of any event that happens to involve us.
10. Makes you a master of time
While happy times fly, don’t sad times seem to drag on? Only in meditation do we transcend time and add hours to our day. We begin to do things more efficiently than we normally did before, which frees up time for leisure and personal interests.
Rather than looking at meditation as a waste of time, think of it as a tune-up. You often clear useless files and data from your computer by emptying your recycling bin, right? And once our circuits shed the excess weight, they run faster, right? The mind is no different.
11. Gives you a glimpse of infinity
Every cell in our body has the ability to hold infinity. However, limiting concepts in our minds impede us from perceiving our infinite potential.
When we culture and purify our consciousness through the process of meditation, we take a dip in the ocean of spiritual bliss and experience deep rest. In other words, we can easily tap into the timeless energy that surrounds us, resulting in a strong feeling of calm and assurance.
12. Heals and harmonizes
Through regular practice of meditation, healing can happen. When the mind is calm, alert, and totally contented, it works like an efficient tool that helps our bodies perform better, which allows us to heal faster. There is a significant body of research on how meditation helps improve conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, heart problems, sleep disorders, and nervous system disorders, among others.
We must nurture our minds to have healthy bodies. Our minds are the engines that drive our reality, our existence. Meditate to not only be alive but to feel alive!
With a few minutes of daily meditation and pranayama (breathing techniques), our thoughts become powerful, and our tasks are accomplished more effectively. Through regular meditation practice and breathing techniques, we can cleanse our minds of negative thoughts and emotions and effectively address mental illness and depression.
Meditate with me: Try one of these guided meditations now
Sit comfortably on your meditation cushion or on a comfortable chair for this sitting meditation and get ready to experience relaxation and peace of mind.
Blossom In Your Smile (English, 15 min)
Inner silence (English, 20 min)
Meditation for concentration (English, 15 min)
Unwind After Work | De-stress After A Long Day (English + Hindi, 10 min)
You may also try even shorter or longer guided meditations with our meditation app. If you are inspired, take a 21-day meditation challenge and see the results for yourself.
If you are new to meditation, this guide on meditation for beginners would be beneficial.
Learn SKY Breath Meditation: Inhale good health every day!
Breath is the main source of prana - the vital life-force energy. Prana is the very basis of health and well-being for both, the body and mind. When the prana is high, one feels healthy, alert, and energetic. Sudarshan Kriya (aka SKY Breath Meditation) elevates the prana by flushing out more than 90% toxins and accumulated stress, every day.
Day follows night, seasons come and go, a tree sheds its old leaves to get new ones ~ This is Nature’s rhythm.
Similarly, there are biological rhythms of the body, mind, and emotions corresponding to those found in Nature. When stress or illness distorts these biological rhythms, we experience discomfort, discontent, and feel upset and unhappy.
Sudarshan Kriya harmonizes these rhythms of the body, mind, and emotions with those of Nature. Being in sync, we experience better health and joy which in turn brings harmony to our activities and relationships. Studies show that Prolactin, a well-being hormone, significantly increases from the very first session. Recent research at Yale University showed that its benefits are even deeper than mindfulness meditation.
It facilitates physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being and is an integral part of the Art of Living programs. Sudarshan Kriya practitioners have reported better immunity, increased stamina, and sustained high-energy levels. It has benefited millions of people on this planet making their lives a celebration!
Join an online introductory session for free, and learn more about SKY. A meditation teacher will be available to answer all your questions and also will share some simple meditation tips.
A daily practice can transform the quality of your life by culturing the nervous system to maintain peace, energy, and expanded awareness throughout the day. You become beautiful yet strong, capable of accommodating different challenges in life without any conditions.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Founder, Art of Living, is a world-renowned spiritual leader, peacemaker, and master of meditation. You can follow him on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.
