It wasn’t that long ago that only people who used meditation as part of their religious ritual realized the benefits of meditation. But fortunately for all of us, meditation has become popular enough that all of us can get help from the many advantages of meditation.

As more and more people have become aware of meditation, many have come to realize that meditating brings tremendous advantages to its disciples. The benefits of meditation can be identified in three areas - the mental, the physical and the spiritual.

The Mental Benefits of Meditation.

It can probably be said without fear of error that peace is a benefit of meditation that extends to all of the areas we are discussing today. Peace of mind is a state that many describe as a life goal and a higher level of existence that is worth striving for. Meditation can help us come to a state of peace in the way our minds work and handle anxiety and change.

The act of meditation gains us the freedom to allow our minds to relax and recuperate from the difficulties of life. As we focus our thoughts, our breathing and our spirits on the mantra or other object of focus that we use while meditating, the act of meditation slows the breath and causes troubled thoughts and fears to drift away. As you meditate you will notice the changes to the atmosphere in your consciousness and that change of mental state that you gain is a powerful benefit of meditation and will include…

• Reduced anxiety. The mind reacts to stresses and worries and begins to get agitated. When that happens, it can generate anxiety that is as much of a problem as the source of the worries. Meditating eases those anxious thoughts and gives peace of mind within grasp again.
• Clearer thinking. One of the huge advantages of meditating is that the discipline helps calm, reduce or eliminate anxious and emotional thoughts that so often plaque us. As that happens, our rational calm nature can take charge and we make better decisions. Our mind gains peace and serenity that is a fertile garden for clear thinking.
• Balance. When something upsets us, we tend to obsess about it and that worry dominates our thoughts. We need help to put that concern in context and get balance back to our thought life. The benefit of meditation is that such balance is given back to us and the peace and confidence that comes with it is invaluable.

The Physical Benefits of Meditation

We think of meditation as a spiritual or mental exercise but the physical benefits of meditation are almost more compelling than the help meditating gives to our minds. It makes sense because we do put ourselves into a physical state when we meditate. We calm and regulate our breathing. We work on our posture so our energies can flow easily. These short-term gains and the long-term effect on our health can become noticeable in time.

The reduction in anxiety and worry can have a powerful effect on our sleep. You will sleep deeper and more peacefully gaining huge physical advantages from meditation. The same gains in reduction of anxiety can also have a positive influence on your digestion which can influence your energy and drive as well. Because we are intricate and amazing human machines, once we feel the benefits of meditation begin to have positive effects on us mentally and even spiritually, those advantages begin to help us physically as well. It’s just a natural outcome of meditating.

The Spiritual Benefits of Meditation

This brings us around full circle. While many of us have different opinions on spirituality. When we speak of spiritual benefits of meditation, we are not necessarily referring to religious spirituality. Humans have a side of them that is above and beyond the mind and logic. We sometimes call it our soul. It is that part of us that can appreciate art or fine music.

Meditating can help the spiritual side of us begin to strengthen and deepen. This is no doubt why meditation and the advantages it brings is so integral to many religious disciplines. And as our spiritual sides become more developed, our quality of life improves significantly. And after all, isn’t that one of the best benefits of meditation that we can achieve?

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The tools of meditation instruction differ quite a lot from any other classroom you have ever been in. And its natural it would be unique because the things we are teaching are so much different. Teachers utilizing the tools of meditation instruction are not just teaching facts and figures. The training of meditation seeks to guide the student along the path of learning relaxation, contemplation and serenity as much as meditation techniques.

So too the tools of meditation instruction and the “classroom” are drastically different from any school you ever spent time in. But if we use the right tools for meditation instruction, our students will enjoy enhanced learning and come away with a training that will last a lifetime.

The Classroom as a Tool of Meditation Instruction.

We probably didn’t think about it when we were in school but a classroom is carefully designed to focus the students on learning. You will do “whatever it takes” as a teacher to make the environment a meditation instruction tool itself. So what teaching techniques can we use to make our room the best tool for meditation instruction it can be?

• Focus on Relaxation. Look at the room where your meditation training will take place. Unlike a class where we want stimulating thought, the room should communicate relaxation and serenity. Remove anything in the room that would draw the mind away from learning successful meditation techniques.
• Calming Colors. Color is a silent teacher. Some colors are naturally stimulating and can literally change the blood pressure of a student. To make our classroom setting a tool to enhance meditation instruction, we want to employ soft relaxing colors. Pastels, yellows and bright but subdued colors communicate relaxation and learning.
• Make the World Go Away. One of our goals in meditation training is to help our students maintain a sanctuary from the cares of the world. So help your classroom become that sanctuary and a tool for your meditation instruction by removing pictures, globes or other items that would take the student’s mind away from their meditation training.

Knowledge as a Meditation Instruction Tool.

Like any area of learning and training, meditation is something we have to grow in our knowledge of. Of all the tools of meditation instruction that will help our students master their meditation technique and grow in their ability to conquer greater challenges, the knowledge that you bring is the best tool you can give them.

But you did not invent the wisdom of inner peace through meditation. There are great meditation “bibles” that will pass the great wisdom of the masters to your students. In that way, their sage counsel through these revered texts can be the best set of tools for meditation instruction of them all. A few to include in your library include…

• Theravada Meditation by Winston L. King
• The Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali : A New Translation and Commentary by Georg Feuerstein
• The Practice of Tranquillity and Insight by Amadeo Sole-Leris
• The Heart of Buddhist Meditation by Nyanaponika
• The Yoga Matrix: The Body As a Gateway to Freedom
• Seeking the Heart of Wisdom : The Path of Insight Meditation by Robert K. Md Hall

These are just a few of the wonderful texts that can help your student’s training in meditation technique. Always be open to new books, tapes and teachings to enhance your ability to be a meditation teacher.

Furniture and “stuff”

In addition to the fine tools for mediation instruction we have already listed, there are numerous other helps you can provide to enhance the learning experience of your students. As their teacher, you can reflect on your own mediation techniques and the training in relaxation that you received.

In doing so you will get a vision for the perfect training environment and the meditation instruction tools that will make that setting perfect for training students in relaxation techniques. Some meditation instruction tools that have worked so well for others in the past include…

• Candles - Provide a soft lighting, a sweet aroma, a calming environment and an excellent point of focus for learning relaxation techniques.
• Pillows to help you and other teachers of meditation guide your students in using posture and position in their meditation discipline.
• Gongs - are a melodic and appropriate tool of meditation instruction to be used to signal the beginning of a session and call students to attention in a tranquil way.
• Incense - to utilize all of the senses in the moments of contemplation that are central of the learning setting.
• Music - It has powers to sooth the savage beast they say. But as a tool for meditation instruction, music can guide the student into deeper realms of contemplation and self discover like nothing else.

What is great about your quest to enhance your skills as a teacher and your tools for instruction in meditation is there is always more you can do. It’s exciting to continue to improve from week to week in our skills and in how we present this very important part of life.

Want to calm your mind, super-charge your energy level and manifest what you truly desire in life?  We’ve created a FREE audio e-course to get you started.  You’ll get guided meditations, free tips and techniques to help you transform your life from the inside-out.  If your happiness is important, click here to sign up

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Do you remember the first time you realized there were specific meditation techniques to make you a better disciple of meditation? It can be a little puzzling when you are learning your meditation techniques that there are definite tools and methods that can make us better at meditation.

Meditation techniques resemble sports disciplines in that way. In any discipline, there are tools and methods. And just as in sports there are workout techniques to practice, we have meditation techniques to make us stronger, more skillful and more successful in attaining our goals. That is why we study how to meditate from the masters of meditation in both the medical and religious communities. By getting tips from the masters, we can get the basics down and have a firmly rooted meditation technique that will move us to the next level.

There are even tools that we can take advantage of to make our meditation techniques better. While the discipline of meditation is profoundly spiritual and cerebral, the masters of meditation technique can teach us a lot about how to use tools and meditation techniques to help us overcome frustrations others have experienced. These tips are focused in three primary areas.

1. Posture
2. Location
3. Accessories

Is It All About the Lotus Position?

The lotus position is a seated position in which the student crosses his or her legs and the feet are placed on in the middle of the opposing thigh so the body is somewhat locked into position. Now there are some advantages to the Lotus positions but tips from the masters of meditation technique teach us that there are alternative meditation techniques that will benefit our discipline and accomplish our goals.

The posture of meditation is an important part of our meditation techniques to be sure. But many people shy away from meditation because they know the lotus position is uncomfortable. They think that this position is the sum and total of the practice of meditation. Masters of meditation technique teach us to focus on the goal of meditation not one particular posture. They can give us valuable tips on how to select the right meditation posture…

• The sitting position removes the distracting discomfort of Lotus while preserving the peaceful posture of an erect seated position.
• The sit-stand method helps reduce the incidence of drowsiness. It takes some practice to achieve contemplation in this way but the benefits are worth the effort.
• The recliner chair posture is a highly productive meditation technique because it can enable the student to meditate for longer periods of time.

The Meditation Shrine

How to select the perfect location for meditation is more about the student than it is about the place. But there are some tips we can use to reduce the amount of distractions our location might cause. And selection of our meditation location is an important meditation technique that we learn more about as we grow wiser in our knowledge of the art. Some of the tips to follow are…

• Select a place that is quiet and not prone to interruptions.
• Select a place where there will be no alarm as we practice our meditation techniques.
• Select a place from of distractions and temptations.
• Select a happy place.

Tools of the Trade

Now that the masters of meditation technique have given us tips about posture and location, what more do we need to know? You wouldn’t normally think of there being “tools” of meditation but there are aids and physical items that we wish to take into consideration to make our meditation practice is rewarding and enlightening.

• Clothing is a tool of meditation technique. It must be loose and comfortable.
• A Mantra can be a powerful meditation tool. Selection of words or other ways to focus our thoughts is a big part of our growth and practice.
• Candles can be helpful.
• A point of focus can aid in achieving a degree of concentration that we desire.

How to select the point of focus whether it be a small object, a flame or something else and how to customize our meditation techniques is highly personal. The masters of meditation technique would have us concentrate on the outcome, not the process. But it is worthwhile taking time to consider these tips as we move into our meditation regimen so we can see good progress in our journey toward more successful meditation.

Want to calm your mind, super-charge your energy level and manifest what you truly desire in life?  We’ve created a FREE audio e-course to get you started.  You’ll get guided meditations, free tips and techniques to help you transform your life from the inside-out.  If your happiness is important, click here to sign up

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