Meditation can be an incredible tool for healing your body, mind, and soul, but you don’t have to sit cross-legged on the floor all day in order to reap its benefits. That said, these three types of meditation are particularly good at helping you restore your energy and balance after life’s rigors get the best of you: meditation on breathing, self-love meditation, and meditation through writing. Learn how each one works and where to begin with this guide to 3 meditations for healing your body, mind, and soul.
Summary
- Meditation on Breathing
- Self-Love Meditation
- Meditation Through Writing
Meditation on Breathing
Take a few deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. Pay attention to the sensation of inhaling as you fill up with air, like a balloon or a jar being filled with water.
Breathe steadily as you imagine yourself going deep into your body to explore every organ from head to toe, one by one. Focus on breathing normally and not holding your breath until you reach the last part of your body—your toes at the bottom of your feet.
Focus on all the sensations coming from those parts of your body: the tickling feeling in your stomach or throat; how heavy or light that ankle feels; how warm is it right now? Where are all those good sensations?
Self-Love Meditation
Self-love meditation requires no tools other than your own body. Before you begin, take a deep breath in through your nose and exhale out through your mouth. Once you are feeling settled into the stillness of the moment, give yourself some gratitude for what is going well in your life. Take another deep breath in to bring all of the qualities that come with self-love into the depths of your being. Close your eyes as you exhale, sending all of those wonderful feelings back to yourself before opening them once more and starting over again with deep breaths in through the nose, fully exhaling out through the mouth while concentrating on gratitude to yourself and appreciation of who you are.
Meditation Through Writing
Writing meditations are quick, five-to twenty-minute focused writing sessions that foster creativity through attentive, mindful focus. They assist you in reflecting on significant activities or decisions and in developing original points of view. Don’t concentrate on grammar, is some advice. Here is an illustration of how to write a letter for meditation: Organize a 10-to 20-minute timer. “Letter to [ancestor]” should be written at the top of the page. You might address this letter to a grandparent, great-grandparent, or even a distant relative you have never met. Tell them about your life and the situation you are in in a letter. The letter could take a lot of different forms, like a brief introduction of your identity, circumstances, aspirations, and goals. A timeline of the family’s events starts with them. An expression of gratitude for things you have in common with them, such as genetics, personality traits, physical characteristics, heirlooms, difficulties they have faced, or other things you may be happy about or grateful for. In place of “Dear diary/journal,” you could address a distant relative in your daily or regular journal entries using this writing meditation. When you catch yourself thinking about something other than the letter to an ancestor, turn your attention back to the writing meditation. Keep going until the timer rings.
