Meditation is an umbrella term for a variety of practices that train the mind or bring about a certain state of awareness.

They can vary from still sitting or lying down practices to movement meditation, like Qi Gong or Tai Chi to short breathing space practices that you can use in every day life. It can be useful to try different practices to see what works best for you and if you already have an established meditation practice sometimes it’s useful to try new practices to reinvigorate your meditation work.

Say the word ‘meditation’ and people often immediately think of the stereotype of the person sat in the lotus position with thumb and finger connecting, chanting ‘Ohm’. However these days,  many classes are held without the religious context and sitting on the floor cross legged is not essential.

What are the benefits of meditation?

Meditation is used to help people cope with the stresses and strains of the modern world. There has been extensive research on the benefits of a long term practice and here are a few of them:

• Boosts the immune system
• Improves emotional balance
• Increased calmness
• Has an anti-inflammatory effect in the body due to normal stress responses switching off
• Lowers blood pressure
• Decreases the risk of heart related illnesses
• Increases fertility
• Anti aging
• Helps with managing pain