Approaching meditation for the first time? Which

technique is right for you?

Or maybe you’re no newbie, but you’d like to spice up your meditation practice or broaden your experience by learning a different path to Zen-land.

Some say that you won’t really know which path is for you until you’ve tried it. But I believe in “callings.” As in, I think if something sounds appealing to you, it’s worth a try. And if it turns you off, maybe there’s a reason.

Full disclosure, I can’t do the Mantra thing. You know, where you repeat the same word to slip into your bliss. The word might be a Sanscrit word and therefore perfect in it’s audio imprint and of course, thereby holy. Or maybe it’s a secret name given to you by a guru or the name of a god or just a weird word like “Lalapoluza.” Doesn’t matter, I’m not going to chant it. And I’m sure as hell not going to chant It in a sweaty yoga studio with twenty other people. It just freaks me out. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it for others, but I just can’t, for some inexplicable reason.

Of course if I was forced to explain this in a court of law, I would alienate the judge and jury and blame it on my Virgo rising. I sorta need to know what I’m saying — to really know — or it makes me uncomfortable. Also, saying words I actually do know over and over and over renders them meaningless to me and THAT freaks me out worse.

And yet, there are millions of people throughout time who have chanted in worship and devotion and it has brought them great peace, or maybe even enlightenment. Versions of chanting have united people in the most difficult circumstances — think: slaves or prisoners working on chain gangs who chant to stave off weariness and exhaustion , or soldiers chanting as they march off to war.

The way I see it, life offers so many choices. Why not choose the ones that appeal to you first?

In the spirit of that: here are3 popular meditation techniques to consider:

Chakra Meditation

The energy centers of your body are always whirring, spinning colors, animating your being on many levels and in many dimensions at once. You can think of Chakra Meditation as tuning your inner karmic wheel. Awakening and discovering the seven major nerve centers emanating from your spine just may be your path to achieving physiological and mental balance, integrating all the segments of your body and self in a conscious manner.

If you feel called to explore Chakra Meditation or are just intrigued by it, here are some resources for you.

Yoga

Like, duh!

Yoga is so popular now that it had become more of a lifestyle than a meditation practice. You may get the full effect of Yoga by taking a class, or, like so many I know, you may find that yoga changes your entire life path, inspiring you to move differently, eat differently, hang out with different people and, well, alter your entire paradigm.

However far you take it, there’s a good chance that stretching, flexing relaxing and finding your spiritual center (or ‘one point’) will provide you with an uplifting experience in both body and mind.

As for myself, I’ve drifted in and out of yoga classes and “scenes” and it’s pretty cool. I’ve never been swept into it or hooked on it, but my experiences have been mostly good. You can hurt yourself though. You really can. If I have one word of advice on the topic it’s that you should never give the instructor more credence than your own body. No matter how revered

the guru is, listen to yourself. It’s your body and mind and if you pull a muscle, suddenly you won’t feel so at one with the entire universe. Because YOU are the one who has to feel the injury, not Baba Don Whosit (or whomever.)

Guided Meditation

Well, I really like this kind, obviously. If you peak in my meditation store you’ll see that I like it so much I have created a series of guided meditations for various purposes. The reason I did that is because I wanted these meditations for myself.

Through the years I have purchased guided meditations for different purposes — to help me fall asleep, be more assertive, have greater confidence, feel worthy of having money, etc. Some of the products I liked, others not so much. Once I spent hundreds of dollars on a whole set of self-development guided meditations and I HATED THEM. I thought I’d get used to them, so I kept trying different ones. I still hated them. Then like a dork I didn’t return the product and it’s still sitting in my closet, a hot pile of shame. What a waste.

But at least it inspired me to create a guided meditation product that would remedy everything I despised in the products that annoyed me and wasted my money.

So here’s what I like in a guided meditation:

1. A PRO recording. The audio quality has to be good. It can’t sound like someone made a crappy recording in their bathroom. And I don’t want to hear every creak and smack of someone’s dry mouth either. Ew!

2. There has to be music or sounds that don’t make me feel like I’m in an elevator. I hate generic, gross music. It makes me feel edgy and frankly a little violent. Meditation should put you in a harmonious state, not make you feel like smacking someone with their own synthesizer.

3. The speaker’s voice must be soothing. The speaker should sound knowledgable, kind and — this is a big one — NORMAL. I’ve purchased a lot of meditations featuring weirdish speakers who sound strange and creepy — like they’re trying to hypnotize me with a fob watch so that when I’m really relaxed they can start hacking me into bits. Being creeped out is the opposite of relaxing.

4. There meditative journey has to engage me and make me want to fully participate.

5. I have to feel better at the end. And I have to feel that I will get my desired results because my mind is primed for success.

If a guided meditation has those five qualities, I’m into it. And if that kind of thing matters to you too, check out my store. There are FREE meditations in there too, so try it out!

Obviously there are many more types of meditation to explore. I’ll take on more of them soon, so check back.

PEACE OUT,

Holiday