Living Well

Finding the Right Meditation for You

For decades, it was something that only monks and hippies did. But today, it's a nearly $2 billion industry.

I first learned about meditation during my freshman year at Carleton College in Minnesota. My roommate from Michigan practiced something called Transcendental Meditation ("TM"). He swore by it. So one day, I took a bus up to the Twin Cities for a weekend TM class. I came away with the basics, a mantra (a phrase to say to myself to help focus), and an appreciation for how meditation affects my physiology.

For instance, meditation isn't just great for focus and concentration. It also improves your health in other ways, such as:

  • Increasing your longevity
  • Reducing the number of visits to your doctor
  • Reducing the likelihood of a hospital admission
  • Reducing insomnia
  • Reducing inflammation
  • Boosting the immune system
  • Lowering blood pressure

Since that weekend away, I have discovered and tried variations of TM through reading about meditation, relaxation, and awareness (for instance, the works of writer Jon Kabat-Zinn, famous for popularizing the phrase "mindfulness meditation").

Although I haven't yet taken another class or traded my dress shoes for Birkenstocks, I still practice meditation on a weekly basis. If you learn to meditate and practice it regularly, you'll be amazed at how good you'll feel.

But for all my talk about meditation, not many people have tried it. And plenty of folks who have tried it tell me they can't meditate. I want you to change that today – I know it'll make you feel better if you stick with it.

And that might be – in part – due to the fact that "meditation" comes in many different varieties and flavors... So certain types may not be for you, while other kinds may hit the spot nicely. That's why I'm here to share that finding a style of meditation that is well suited to you is essential in developing a lasting meditation routine.

We've all heard of mindfulness, and maybe you've heard of mantra meditation before... Today, we're not talking about those styles. I'm going to tell you more about three lesser-known forms of meditation that you may not be familiar with... See if any sound familiar to you...

Loving-Kindness Meditation

Loving-kindness meditation will strengthen feelings of compassion, acceptance, and kindness toward yourself and others. In practicing loving kindness, you open up your mind to send and receive love and good wishes from other people, places, and things.

Studies show that loving-kindness meditation increases people's positive emotions and decreases negative emotions. Other studies show loving-kindness meditation increases positive social connections, and it can even have a positive influence on your "vagal tone."

Vagal tone is an indicator of how well your vagus nerve is functioning. And your vagus nerve is an essential part of your body's digestive system...

Studies also show that loving-kindness meditation can decrease chronic pain and improve migraines. Practicing loving-kindness meditation can also slow your biological aging.

It's a helpful practice for folks who need to let go of negative thoughts or feelings that they've been holding on to.

Sending out loving kindness is a great way to start or end your day – much like practicing gratitude or journaling. Loving-kindness meditation is also great for getting past an argument or fight with someone else. It can help you put old grudges behind you.

If you want to get started, give this 13-minute loving-kindness meditation a try.

Movement Meditation

While some folks confuse movement meditation with yoga, it is actually much broader than that. You can also do movement meditation while walking, gardening, or doing qigong or tai chi.

Movement meditation is any form of exercise that incorporates "meditative attention" to the sensations of your body – like noticing how things feel as you make contact with them, for instance.

Some examples are feeling your shoes clomping through the grass... feeling your hands grabbing at a clump of weeds... and noticing the precise amount of force it takes to pull them out of the ground.

Studies show that movement meditation is good for depression and anxiety, as well as:

  • Cognitive ability
  • Inflammation
  • Immune function
  • Arthritis
  • Cancer
  • Bone density
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Diabetes

Movement meditation also improves the shape and performance of your muscles...

Eutonis occurs when every muscle is behaving exactly as it should, and you experience a completely balanced muscle tone. Eutonis is effortless and feels light and open, while also feeling stable and "well rooted" in the earth.

Eutonis – as opposed to hypertonus (tension) or hypotonus (slackness) – develops through practicing movement meditation.

This active form of meditation also helps to guide you into a deeper connection with your body and energy levels. It's a good form for folks who find gentle activity to be relaxing. Check out this five-minute movement-meditation routine from YouTube.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Progressive muscle relaxation is commonly called the "body scan" technique. To do this form of meditation, you simply work your way up the body – using your sense of feeling and by visualizing as you go – and slowly relax different areas.

Start with your feet, then move to ankles, shins/calves, knees, etc. until you reach the top of your head. This form of meditation is great for reducing tension in the body and promoting relaxation.

Studies show progressive muscle relaxation is good for anxiety, cancer, and insomnia. Additional research has shown progressive muscle relaxation also improves self-efficacy and self-esteem.

Do yourself a favor and check out this 11-minute progressive-muscle-relaxation exercise from YouTube.

So, again, not all meditation styles are suited to everyone. That's why you need to try out lots of different types. Don't just stick to what you know or see featured in magazines at the checkout line.

I challenge you to try out some of these meditation styles and see which you enjoy doing. (And let us know what you think! Send us an e-mail to [email protected].)

What We're Reading...

Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,

Dr. David Eifrig and the Health & Wealth Bulletin Research Team
June 6, 2023