How many times have you found yourself unable to focus? No matter what you try to do you can’t keep your mind on task. You almost feel like you have a touch of ADHD. Your mind is changing channels faster than a bored teenager.
You have tried several different tactics to try to focus. Even went as far as having a rather difficult day being coffee free and still no luck. The next step is you went to go see a doctor. What type of pills are they going to throw at you? Who knows but there are other solutions.
What if I told you your inability to focus is more likely related to your mind not being trained? Your ability to stay on one topic is a lot like balancing on a ball or a tightrope. It is difficult but it is possible. all you have to do is practice. The more you practice the better you get. Many people call it mindfulness
Mindfulness
Whether you call it meditation or mindfulness. The outcome is the same. You become aware of when your mind starts to wander and you are able to redirect your thoughts back to the task at hand. You can focus on your tasks longer. Yes as mentioned earlier you have to practice. Before you can practice you have to know what to look for.
You completely reject this if you like, I understand you may be a little standoffish. Some Christian denominations reject anything that resembles meditation because it is from another religion. If you think that, that’s OK, but is prayer not also a form of meditation? Prayer for me is a time to stop my day’s activities and reflect on my day with God. When I spend time in prayer it is just me and God. I block out all others. To me, that sounds a lot like a meditation on my terms.
So take the apprehension and set it to the side. We are not doing some deep transcendental meditation. It is just you and your mind. Training it to focus on the task at hand.
Now there are many different types of mediation. According to LifeAdvancer, there are at least 7 popular types of meditation. Let’s cover these
Transcendental Meditation
If you take all of what you read about on the internet and boiled it down to the very essence of what Transidental Mediation really is it would be. A common Hindu practice to rise above all negativity in order to gain enlightenment.
This is the type of meditation most people think about. There are religious aspects that can definitely turn off anybody from another religion.
Kundalini
Kundalini means coil. Now when I was younger. I dabbled a little in mysticism. I was on my Wayward son’s journey. Many youths go on this journey just to make sure they are firmly seated in their faith.
Now with all that said, this type of meditation covers different zones of energy in your body called chakras. These zones are
- The Root
- Sacral
- Solar Plexus
- Heart
- Throat
- Third Eye
- The Crown
Through meditation, you can manipulate these zones of energy to help you. I have pretty much forgotten most of this type of meditation but the internet is chock full of information that you can read and discern more about it if you are interested.
Heart Rhythm Meditation
This is close to the type of meditation I like to do. Instead of focusing on your breath, you focus on your heartbeat. Many Buddhist also chant the mantra
I am a part of all things and all things are a part of me.
Guided Visualization
This type of visualization focuses on, What you think you will become. This sounds a bit like mindset does it not? You normally do this with a teacher so that they can help you achieve your goals. A lot of meditation apps barrow from this and Mindfulness.
Qi Gong
This type of meditation is good for posture and breathing. It also allows you to relax a lot faster.
Zazen
This is the main form of meditation for Zen Buddhists. The main point of this type of meditation is to get rid of judgmental thoughts and ideas.
Mindfulness
This is the type of meditation I like. I like it so much that is why I use the name Mindfulness and meditation interchangeably. The key is to be mindful of what you are thinking. Some may think this is an oversimplification but it is easy to understand.
How to Meditate
The premise is simple. You sit and quietly focus on your breathing. As you focus on your breath you will notice that your mind has drifted off to some random thought. When you catch yourself doing this, just redirect your thoughts back to your breath. Eventually, you will be able to keep your thoughts at bay. and you will be able to bring one thought at a time to the forefront and think solely about that.
You can start with 5 minutes or even 10 minutes. Just set a timer and focus on your breath. If you need some help there are some good apps that help you with that.
Apps that can help
This is my go-to app. If I need to just have white noise I turn it on to the Wind on the plains scenario and away I go. I also like their breath feature. If you want some good breathing exercises This is a good way to get some guided practice.
They have several different scenarios that can help you out if you are a beginner or maybe you are experiencing some anxiety and are not sure what to do. There is sleep, focus, relationships, stress, different emotions, self-care, Personal growth, inner peace, and much more.
You can also tap the full power of this app with a $13/month subscription fee. You can also take different master classes even a class on overcoming fear by Elizabeth Gilbert.
This is more of a guided meditation app. You think of what you are experiencing and it helps you work through the different barriers you might be having.
You can take a break and grow a tree. Well, that is a very simple way to look at Oak. This is meditation with a touch of gamification. You earn different badges for completing different tasks
However, you want to do it. Using a mindful approach to gaining control of your focus is a powerful way to make the needed steps to achieving your goals. You are able to process your day and be able to find ways to improve your productivity.
A good time to start is in the morning. There are benefits of starting your day off in quiet. It allows you to focus on what you want to achieve without the distraction of the obstacles in your way.
If you want to have some help let me know let see if we can achieve our goals together.
Featured Photo by Photo by Simon Migaj on Unsplash
This is a great post, and I really enjoyed learning about the different types of meditation. I don’t do it as part of any religious practice, so I hadn’t really investigated the intricacies – it was good to learn! Thank you also for sharing some useful apps – I use Calm at the moment like you, but I will definitely consider checking out the others in future if I want to switch it up.
such thing as standing meditation and walking meditation, but sitting meditation is the most common and the best place to start.
Breathe in and out through your nose, but don’t otherwise try to control the rate or depth of your breath.