Meditation exercises can be an effective way of reducing your stress and teaching your mind and body to relax. Plus these exercises can also help you to build self-confidence and self-esteem. But most importantly, like any other exercise, it helps you maintain good health as well as great shape.

There are many different types of meditation exercises you can do. For instance, you could try a walking meditation. This is a form of meditation that monks in monasteries practice. All you need to do is walk in a quiet area for a little bit of time while contemplating or meditating about something.Because it is so easy to do, it makes a great starting point for those just getting into meditation exercises.

When practicing walking meditation, you should try and find a set path for yourself. You could use a circular track, a sports field, or even a large garden good enough for walking in. First, start by walking the path so that you get to know the route. Once you’ve gotten used to it, begin taking in breaths slowly and deeply and then let it out slowly. As you do this, try to be conscious of your body. Feel or sense your entire body and be aware of its every parts. Try to walk slowly. As you are walking try to mentally be aware of how your body is functioning as it moves. Do not attempt to criticize every function or movement. Just try to be aware of how your body moves or works as it walks.

Some people may feel silly at first. But just like with other forms of meditation, it isn’t something that you should rush. It may take time for you to get comfortable with it. Distractions may come from time to time in fact, they usually do. It is normal, especially on the initial days that a thought comes into your head like: “This is silly” or, “I have to do the dishes”. When these thoughts come into your mind, just try to push them away and continue walking. Try it for just 5 minutes to start, then take a short rest, then work up to 10 or 15 minutes, then take a little rest and get on with your normal routine.

Another simple meditation exercise you may want to try is known as the “Step inside a Painting” technique. Start by finding a painting or picture that you enjoy looking at. Place the picture a few feet away from you at a comfortable viewing distance. Find a comfortable place to sit, preferably somewhere you will not be disturbed.

Once you have your picture ready and you are sitting in your quite area, close your eyes. Be aware of how you breathe and be attentive to how your body functions as it is breathing in and breathing out. Keep breathing like this, without changing anything. After a few minutes, you will notice your body starting to slow down.

At this point, open your eyes and look at your picture. Just gaze at the picture. Look at the scenery, the lines, and the colors of the painting. Try to paint a picture in your mind. Once you capture the picture in your mind, close your eyes again. Now, mentally create the picture in your mind and picture yourself walking into the picture. Stand inside the picture in your mind. Now, look back through the frame to where you were sitting. Let yourself be aware of your surroundings as you are inside your picture. If you don’t have a painting, you can use a picture out of a magazine or a book. It can be quite an adventure trying to learn some of these meditation exercises.

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Tags: meditate, Meditation, meditation exercise

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008 at 8:12 pm and is filed under Meditation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.