7 Meditation Techniques to Help You Achieve Greater Focus, Calmness and Self-Awareness

Posted by MasonMiller on April 13th, 2023

Meditation is a practice that can help you achieve greater focus, calmness and self-awareness. It's a great way to enhance mental health, and it can be done at any age. However, some people find it difficult to meditate and may need guidance from an experienced therapist.

Daily Exercise: Yoga, tai chi, walking and other forms of movement are excellent ways to engage your body in meditation. These exercises encourage relaxation and mindfulness while also working your muscles, improving balance and posture. Try meditating while you're exercising by focusing on the breath and the movements of your body as you move.

Visualization: Seeing a picture of yourself or something in your environment can be a helpful tool for achieving a meditative state. It can also be a helpful technique for achieving goals, particularly if you have a goal that requires a lot of concentration and mental energy.

Metta Meditation: Concentrating on the idea of loving kindness can be a powerful meditation for cultivating compassion and empathy in your life. It can be a useful exercise to practice at the beginning of your day or whenever you need some extra support. For more information on daily exercise read here.

Object Focus: When you are feeling stressed or anxious, it's easy to get caught up in negative thoughts. Practicing focused meditation can help you break out of your negative thinking pattern and gain peace. By concentrating on one thing, like an object or a specific color, you can calm your mind and feel a sense of peace in the spaces between your thoughts.

Prayer: Praying is a popular meditation that has been used in most spiritual traditions. It's a simple and effective meditation that can be done anywhere, anytime. It can be done alone, or in a group, and it is a good place to start if you're new to meditating. 

Two Breaths: Taking two breaths before answering the phone, calling a friend or starting your car is a simple yet effective way to incorporate meditation into your day. Just a few seconds of mindful breathing can engage your meditative state and help you be more present in the moment, even when you're busy or stressed.

Body Scan: Lie on your back and concentrate on the different parts of your body. Begin by focusing on your feet and noticing how they feel on the ground, then move up to your legs, arms and head.

Repeat this process a few times, focusing on each area of the body. Once you've mastered each area, move on to the next, breathing in and out as you relax each part of your body.

Daily Check-up: Bringing meditation into your life can be a simple and powerful way to increase self-care and promote healthy lifestyle habits. It can also be a powerful way to boost your mood, relieve stress and improve your sleep quality.

Ideally, you should practice meditation at least once a day for about 30 minutes. But if that doesn't work for you, try to find a time when it is most convenient for you. This might be before you go to bed, or during a quiet moment in the middle of a busy day when you're more likely to have some free time.