Meditation for Holistic Well-being

It is well established that meditation can have a calming effect on our holistic well-being. However, in the absence of a common understanding of the practice, many people tend to perceive it as either too difficult, expensive, something that requires special training, or a special ambiance. On the contrary, meditation is not just easy but also does not need to demand much from your routine. Read on to learn simple ways of meditation for holistic well-being and mindfulness in our everyday lives.

Why should I meditate?

Many of us operate in an auto-pilot mode. In other words, we are programmed to perform. We sample our lives into milestones to be ticked off, jumping from one task to another. The typical urban, sedentary lives, professional and peer pressure, and the resulting stress and anxiety, all impact our well-being.

Left unchecked, it can lead to burn-outs and/or breakdowns in relationships. Sometimes, we discover it only when things spiral out of control, only when regret, guilt, and/or resentment becomes real. Is the delay in action worth it? If you are still thinking, it’s time to prioritize your core interests.

The pursuit of mindfulness

Research shows that the benefits of meditation are multi-dimensional. It enhances holistic well-being through improved concentration, reduced stress, calmer outlook, heightened awareness, positive energy, and greater emotional regulation abilities. Despite these known advantages, meditation is prone to misinterpretation as something difficult, impractical, or even an outright boring activity.

Many start a practice and leave it within days. If that seems familiar, you are not alone. It is easy to get disillusioned, especially if the activity demands special considerations such as an ambiance or too much time. Sometimes, the structure of a specific meditation technique could be overwhelming. If you have come to believe that meditation does not work for you, its time to reconsider. Please follow along and you just might break the deadlock.

What type of meditation is best for me?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer and you could try a few meditation practices that seem to meet your needs and observe what works. For instance, you could choose a technique that requires days of initiation in complete silence or one that makes you start your day at 4 am or one that demands large chunks of time, every day. Irrespective, any meditation practice you choose should lead you to enhanced self-awareness or mindfulness.

What do we recommend, you ask? After years of exploring a range of meditation techniques, we have selected a few, such as sensory meditation, creative visualization, and Chakra healing. These techniques are special because we can create our versions of each of them to suit our specific contexts and needs. At Unakriti, we continue to practice and use these in our workshops.

Creative Visualization

When fears and worries about a potential future create anxieties, use this meditation technique to manifest a favorable outcome – a healthy life, a satisfying job, or a happy relationship. Through creative visualization, we leverage the power of our imagination and creativity to generate imagery in our minds about the desired situation, just as we would like it to be.

Starting with thought and picturization, the positive effects of this self-guided process transfers to our emotions and feelings and start to influence our actions. Over time, the practice of creative visualization can have a calming effect, converting fearful negative beliefs into promising self–affirming ones to attract manifestations.

Chakra Healing

Negative emotions can lead to ailments in our body. Use the chakra healing technique to deal with such situations. There are seven major energy points in our body, commonly referred to as 7 chakras, each linked with the physical, mental or emotional functioning of our body. When any of these chakras gets blocked, we experience physical symptoms of an imbalance.

For example, when the throat chakra, associated with expressions, gets blocked, we may experience hoarseness of voice, a sore throat, or simply find ourselves clearing our throat more often. It is usually accompanied with difficulty in sharing our point of view, a feeling of not being heard or having other problems related to expression. Regular practice of self-guided chakra healing meditation helps to clear and balance the chakras and positively impact holistic well-being.

Sensory Meditation

From the time we wake up to the time we go to bed, every moment is defined by sensory experiences. Each of our five senses (sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch) play an important role in the way we perceive the world around us. We are quick to identity tasty food, soothing sounds, fragrances, colors, or textures. If these senses are integral to our daily experiences, how about making mindfulness a routine?

When we start to convert our sensory engagements into meditative opportunities, we start a whole new journey of deeper, fuller, and a complete sense of existence. The best part? Sensory meditation does not need a sacred space to get initiated or a specific time commitment! You choose which activity of the day you want to turn into a meditative experience. When being mindful becomes a habit, it opens up possibilities to enhance holistic well-being.

A time to reflect

Meditation is incomplete without dedicated time for reflection. It is during this segment, with practice, you can get insights, answers, and even intuitive guidance. Maintain a journal or a meditation tracker where you note things down such as the chosen meditation technique, how would you rate your experience, what did you learn about yourself, and what were the after-thoughts. This would help you identify what works (and does not) for you, and how is a technique benefiting your overall sense of well-being.

How Unakriti can help?

Our Holistic Well-being Workshops integrate guided-meditation techniques. Participants get to practice as a group, learn how to create a journal for reflections and insights, and receive real-time feedback to improve.

If, instead of a group activity, you prefer something at your own pace, consider our customized Transformation Coaching sessions. We design bespoke interventions that blend meditation techniques in your action plan.

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