Meditation

Meditation is as individual as the person using the relaxation technique; try the one that best suits your needs and your schedule and that provides you with the alternative healing you need.

Walking Meditation
This is great for beginners because everyone can do it, requires almost no training and is very relaxing; simply go on a very slow, deliberate walk. This is not a walk for fitness, but a walk on which you are completely mindful of everything that's going on around you, the feeling of your foot lifting off the ground, the muscles of your body working.

Find a secluded spot in nature such as a neighborhood park or nature trail where people won't be walking for fitness or riding bikes. Choose a time of day when there will be less crowds and concentrate only on your movements as you breath deeply in and out.

Basic Meditation
Lie down comfortably, close your eyes and attempt to clear your mind. Begin focusing on nothing specific and let your energy flow from there. Maintain a regular breathing pattern and try to forget your surroundings.

The key to this meditation is not to focus on the thoughts that will inevitably creep in. If you are having a thought let it come into your mind and just as quickly let it go. It takes a lot of practice to clear your mind, but eventually you will feel relaxed faster and faster and the results will be more noticeable. The practice of meditation is not about having no extraneous thoughts, but having them and not following them.

Focused Meditation
Focused meditation requires you focus on something specific. That something can be internal, such as doing a body scan and focusing on eliminating tension in your body or focusing on your breathing, or it can be external, like a candle flame or a picture of your loved ones. Imagine the object of your focus bringing you strength and peace.

All meditations should be done regularly and for at least10 minutes. You might find it difficult to start at 10 minutes, so to build your meditation muscle, simply start with as little as one minute a day.