How Meditation Can Improve Your Life

Meditation has had a re-birth. Why do you think this is? 
I think it’s a natural progression from the growth of yoga. There’s a yoga class in pretty much every gym and a dedicated yoga studio on every high street. Those who go to classes start becoming interested in meditation as their experience with yoga postures deepens. People are also seeking out meditation because we are living very fast-paced ‘online’ lives in what feel like very unstable times politically. This has led to feelings of disconnection, pressure to achieve more, high levels of stress and feelings of overwhelm. People are finding solace in meditation – I see this every day that I teach. Even the simplest of meditative practices can be a powerful tool for balancing your nervous system to alleviate stress and build resilience, so your body can function at its peak and you can get the most from life mentally, physically and emotionally. 

How does meditation differ from yoga? 
Really, yoga is meditation. When you lie in shavasana – the relaxation posture at the end of many yoga classes – that deep sense of peace you experience is a form of meditation. In particular, hatha yoga postures, breathing techniques and other body cleansing techniques are a physical route into meditative states. It’s often said the postures evolve as a way to keep the body fit and flexible in order to sit in meditation, but there’s also a moving form of meditation in practising yoga postures. 

How many variations of meditation are there? 
There are many, many ways to meditate – it can seem very mystical and confusing. In a sense, meditation is the most natural thing in the world. It can feel so good to just sit and be. However, most of us rarely allow ourselves that space to do nothing; and even if you give yourself the space, it can be very difficult to really switch off. Most cultures or traditions have reflective practices, or ways of coming back to yourself, to. In general, meditation can be divided into four main methods:

•  ‘Be Here Now’: This is like mindfulness; for example, paying attention to your breathing to bring you into the present moment.
• ‘Future Based’: To bring about something in the future; for example, loving kindness meditation, which is meditating for an outcome.
• ​‘Energised Mind And Body’: Moving meditations or embodied practices such as tai chi, chi gung or yoga asanas (postures).

• ‘Non-Directional’: Effortless forms of practice such as transcendental meditation (TM) or vedic meditation.

How do you know which type will suit you? 
To some extent, it’s about trying and experiencing, but it’s invaluable to have the support of a teacher. This is why I have created a Meditation Mentoring ‘menu’ at the Khera Griggs clinic at Urban Retreat, where we offer one-to-one guidance as well as a selection of guided meditations.  

Is meditation something you need to practise daily to see results? 
Yes, ideally it is something you would do every day. There’s no magic solution to bring calm into your life; the deeper benefits of meditation build incrementally over time. Training the mind in meditation is rather like training a muscle. You wouldn’t expect to be able to run a marathon without putting in some training. Consistent, regular practice is the way to go, but it does not have to be a huge commitment – you can start with just five minutes, even two minutes. It’s about little and often, particularly at the beginning. The last thing you want to do is become stressed about fitting meditation into an already overloaded schedule, so we have to be realistic.