I stumbled across meditation trying to find peace in my life. I had been through several years of depression that started after I had my children. I could not get back to myself and who I was before children. I know we change when we have kids, we have to, they need us and we love them with all our hearts. But this was different, the me I had always known had disappeared. There was constant anxiety, a lot of sadness and frustration. I did not have Joy in my life. I loved my daughters, they brought me much happiness but that was about the only thing that did. I struggled with postpartum depression. I was fed up with the way I was feeling and I said, "ok, that's it, I'm becoming a Buddhist." I was mostly kidding at first, but I kept saying it. Then I began reading about Buddhism and that led me to meditation. What I found in meditating was something that I never knew existed. It was a calming, quiet way of getting in touch with myself. It was a way to listen without hearing anything, to focus without thinking, to do nothing but feel everything. I really cannot explain the experience you just have to try it!! You do not have to be Buddhist, or Hindu or identify with any group or religion. It is a human experience not a religious one. It can be religious if you choose it to be, you can practice prayer and repeat a religious mantra but you do not have to. It is for mind, body and soul and can be done anyway you choose. There are many different types of meditations.Transcendental Meditation, is a type of mindfulness practice that uses the repetition of a mantra to help clear the mind.
Zen Meditation, in Zen meditation you focus all of your attention on you breath going in and out through your nose, you are aware of your thoughts but you let them pass without engaging or dwelling on any one thought.
Mindfulness Meditation, Here you focus on the rise and fall of your abdomen upon breathing. You again do not focus on any thought, you acknowledge that you have had a thought and then bring your mind back to your abdomen.
There are many more as well. But how ever you practice just give it a chance it can take a little bit until you are able to clear your mind and calm your thinking. There are so many potential benefits from meditation. It reduces stress, improves concentration, increases self awareness, increases happiness, help with cardiovascular and immune health, reduces anxiety, lowers blood pressure, better sleep....I could go on and on.
I have just a few suggestions that will help you get in to the meditation more deeply. The first is be comfortable. You don't want to be in any pain or feel discomforted in any way. That will distract your mind from the meditation. Try using a pillow underneath you if you're a sitting in lotus pose. You can purchase an inexpensive meditation pillow from yogaoutlet.com and many other online shops. They help to align you spine while in the lotus position.
Another is essential oils. Use of essential oils during meditation can enhance the experience by grounding you and promoting a sense of calm. Oils such as Vetiver, Patchouli and Palo Santo have a grounding effect while Clary Sage, Cedarwood and Lavender have a calming effect. Helichrysum and Frankincense are said to enhance enlightenment and spiritual connection. I get my oils from Young Living https://www.youngliving.com/vo/#/signup/new-start?sponsorid=3188849&enrollerid=3188849&isocountrycode=US&culture=en-US&type=member
Music can help during meditation to keep you calm and distract your mind. I find this app very helpful, Relax Melodies, you can find it in the Play Store. I like it because you can choose from many different sound and you can also layer them and use more than one at a time. I personally like the flute and the rain or ocean. But choose what's most calming to you.
Any method you decide to try remember don't give up there is a reason people have be practicing meditation all around the world for thousands of years.
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