Meditation, regardless of the type and how it’s performed, always opens the doors to personal transformation and mindfulness. Read on to learn about the different types of meditation to get grounded, release stress, and support your wellbeing. 

 

Meditation is an incredibly old practice that stayed with us till today - and for a good reason. According to research on Healthline, practicing meditation and mindfulness can help reduce anxiety and stress.

We meditate to release tension, gain insights, awaken, or manifest, and it helps us cope with everyday challenges in a healthy way.

For those exploring the world of meditation and its benefits, we have prepared a real treat. In this articles, we're introducing several types of meditation that can easily find their place in your schedule.

Let’s dive into it...

11 Different Types of Meditation 

Meditation is always a transformative experience. It's always positive, and it soothes, calms, and balances us. Although usually associated with lotus position, mantras, and stillness, meditation is so much more and isn’t limited to sitting with legs crossed and eyes closed. 

There are a few very powerful ways we can enter into a meditative state, all of which have unique mental, spiritual and physical benefits for us. With that being said, here are 11 different types of meditation you can try today.

Guided Meditation

Guided meditation is narrated meditation. This is where the meditation teacher or online narrator steps in to help the meditation process unfold, from start to finish. The teacher guides the process by explaining the step-by-step internal process, giving meditation the needed direction.

No matter if it’s a live meditation session or a pre-recording, the teacher is there to guide how to position, breathe and navigate what is felt internally as meditation unfolds.

Depending on what the main focus and intention are, this meditation can be specifically directed towards awareness, self-discovery, tranquility, or insight.

Silent Meditation

Silent meditation can include a lot of different types of meditation within itself, such as zen meditation, transcendental meditation, loving-kindness meditation, breath awareness, and others.

This is an unguided process that serves to increase mindfulness and calm the mind. It can be performed in the comfort of your home, or in a group, but is always done to silence the mind, bring in peace, and increase awareness - without a single word said or mantra repeated.

Silent meditation helps us go with the flow and introduces us to the transformative power of silence, as it is done with as little sensory disturbance as possible.

It is done to quiet the mind, do a spiritual deep-dive, and take a break from the noise that clouds our intuition.

Focused Attention Meditation

This meditation is a real treat for those who find it difficult to stay relaxed and focused, or for those who easily snap out of the meditative state.

Focused attention meditation brings the whole focus onto one thing. This can be an actual physical object, such as a healing crystal or a candle, or your own body. 

However, the focus can also be mental and internal and include repetition of a mantra, a specific word, an imagined object, a smell, or a sound. The more we practice, the better we become in mastering our focus.

Try These Crystals for Meditation!

Body Scan Meditation

The essence of Body Scan Meditation lies in increasing awareness and feeling present in the body. This is one of the types of meditation that helps us mindfully direct focus on body parts, starting from the feet and slowly moving towards the temple. 

During meditation, we are internally and energetically scanning our body, and really feeling each individual part - the warmth, cold, tingling, discomfort, or comfort.

This type of meditation is here to relieve tension by helping us become conscious of these sensations. This way, we gradually release tension and stress accumulated in the body, while working on mindfulness and calming the inner chatter at the same time.  

Visualization

Among other types of meditation is also visualization. This is a powerful tool not only for manifesting, but for calming the mind, helping us find some much-needed motivation, and releasing tension, stress, or past events.

By focusing on mental images, we slowly enter into another, much more positive state of mind. Visualization meditation is not only used for achieving that calm we need but is also a powerful manifestation and spiritual awakening tool.

These envisioned images, sceneries, or symbols are positive, which helps instantly raise our vibration. The effects of this meditation vary depending on what we visualized and what our intentions are for our meditation. It can both be used to invigorate and motivate us, but can also be calming and incredibly therapeutic. 

Chakra Meditation

This form of meditation is one of the most powerful practices for opening chakra centers. We can either focus on all seven chakras or direct our focus onto one specific chakra only.

In the first case, which is similar to body scan meditation, the focus slowly shifts from the root chakra towards the crown chakra.

The focal point of meditation can be solely on the chakra center on the body, but it can also include visualizing colors associated with chakras as the focus flows from one towards the other.

It serves to help us with chakra imbalances, assisting the energy flow through us. This stimulates the circulation of prana or life force through the body and helps "awaken" the under-active and stimulate the overactive chakras, creating a sense of inner balance.

Movement Meditation

Movement meditation is one of the types of meditation that is all about making the best of physical activity and combining it with this practice. No matter if it’s walking, yoga, Thai Chi, or something as simple as gardening, it combines the power of the physical and spiritual body, merging them. 

This is an active form of meditation and is also known as dynamic meditation. In contrast to any form of meditation that requires stillness, this type encourages growth and transcendence through movement.

It can be practiced anywhere, anytime. Because it combines activity with mental focus, movement meditation is great for practicing mindfulness and learning how to truly feel present in the moment.   

Flow Writing

This is another meditation that includes movement, although a slightly different kind. Flow writing combines mental power, the power of intuition, and the movements of the hand to help us "get lost" in a meditative state.

Just like psychics use automatic writing to channel spirit messages, flow writing can help us get a deeper understanding and gain awareness about who we are, what blocks us, where our inner power lies, etc.

This type of activity helps us tune into ourselves and express deep thoughts, ideas, fears, and hopes - without thinking too much about it. As we do it, we release negative energy, gain insights, and can even have powerful awakenings and enlightening moments.

Reflection

Reflection is one of the types of meditation practices where the focus is on taking a step back and giving into contemplation. Through the process of reflective meditation, we are diving into a process of mental evaluation and deep thinking.

It can be done anywhere, anytime, and is the most effective when we have our intention set on one meaningful question. Getting completely "lost in thought" this way, when it’s done with such intention, is there to provide insights and open the doors to new ways of thinking. 

In the process of searching for answers, we train our mind to focus, and we release anything that distracts us and is actively looking for enlightenment.

Mantra Meditation 

Mantra meditation is one of the oldest types of meditation. Mantras are phonemes or sounds that have a transformative power on our consciousness. They are used to help us align with a new state of being, align our chakras, and clear the mental space.

Mantra meditation includes the repetition of these sacred sounds, in a chanting-like way, while sitting in a meditative pose. Similar to listening to a favorite uplifting song, these sounds have a specific vibration that raises our frequency and re-wires us internally. 

Different mantras are used for different purposes and intentions, such as for gaining clarity, practicing gratitude, or releasing tension. There are seven mantras associated with seven corresponding chakras, which are used for purposes of alignment and balancing of the chakras.

Mindfulness Meditation

This practice brings light to sensory sensations, regardless of their nature. Whether they are tactile, auditory, or visual, these sensations are meant to be experienced, felt, and observed. Mindfulness meditation brings focus on sensations as they are, without judging or analyzing them.

During this meditation, we release thoughts and let them simply pass by while experiencing the object of our focus on an energetic level.

It is about feeling textures, touching, holding, gazing, smelling, or hearing sounds. This way, we get in touch with our surroundings and feel more present and connected with our surroundings. 

Final Thoughts

The benefits of meditation are enormous, and they are even greater if we listen to our inner guide and choose the variation of meditation we are called to perform. Regardless of personal preference, every meditation practice has its benefits and has the power to help us elevate.

The best part about meditation is that it can be practiced anywhere. Even more importantly, it helps us make all the necessary changes in our energy, triggering powerful internal shifts we all need to grow.

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