Stress is the leading factor that aggravates menopausal symptoms. It triggers the occurrence of signs such as hot flashes, mood swings, sleep disturbance, and fatigue. Practicing meditation has significant effects in the reduction of stress that eventually helps in menopausal symptoms. Meditation has numerous benefits to human, not only that it can uplift your soul and bring you to a different altitude of spiritual healing; but could as well let you have the perks of a healthy mind and body.
Why you should try Meditation
Products, supplements, and medications for menopausal relief can bring varying effects from one woman to another. Some can be considered as the solution for symptoms, while some medications do not affect the individual as expected. Meditation is considered a natural relief to sicknesses, especially with menopausal symptoms where stress is a great factor. Also, through meditation, unwanted side effects from medicinal use are also avoided.
Meditation affects our stress hormone called cortisol, which plays a role in weight gain and hormone balance. It prevents the excess production of cortisol, which helps in the rebalance of other hormones such as progesterone and estrogen. Through the breathing techniques practiced in meditation, the heart rate slows down that results in relaxation. Anxiety and depression are also reduced in menopausal women who meditate. The brighter perspective of life is viewed, and the negative thoughts are washed away through meditation, leading to a better quality of life.
Types of Meditation
Usually, when we hear about meditation, we immediately think of a person in a lotus sitting position, eyes closed, and chanting “ommm”. But what most people do not know, is there are many types of meditation that could fit every varying individual. A reserved time of just focusing on eliminating negative thoughts can already be considered as meditation. Whether just by continuously repeated passage of the mind can already bring you to your meditating self. However, there are lots of meditation techniques that are honed for years and have been used by gifted individuals that are considered as “teachers”. Here are the 5 types of meditations that you could choose from, and whatever works are the best approach for you:
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction is quite different from other meditations, as it is commonly taught by modern healthcare providers like physicians, nurses, psychologists and workers. It is started by Jon Kabat-Zinn in the year 1979, and is now being provided at hospitals, medical centers, and clinics worldwide. It uses body scan and breathing awareness. Regarding the breathing practice, the person will focus on his breathing sounds: inhalation and exhalation. And the body scan involves focusing on physical features starting from toes to the upper part of the body. Its purpose is to increase awareness and release the tension. MBSR can be practiced while sitting, laying down, or walking, depending on the discipline of practice.
Learn Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for free here!
Check out Leo, from Actualized.org, with his video about proper mindfulness. He discusses this type of meditation, which is best especially for beginners. Learn a lot from this clip and practice a good meditation technique. Try to be mindful and learn how to win over your emotions! Here you go (14.38 mins)
Primordial Sound Meditation
Primordial Sound Meditation is founded by Dr. Deepak Chopra and Dr. David Simon. It is the same technique used in Chopra Center in different parts of the world. PSM is a silent chanting practice of a particular mantra. This mantra is the same sound produced by the universe at the same time and place of your birth. The mantra is created by using the mathematical Verdict formulas, which means it is very unique and personal.
It should focus on comfort, so it is practiced while sitting. The repeated mantra will take you to a deeper realm of awareness, somewhere far from your intellectual mind.
Donna Miesbach, a certified meditation instructor, talks about primordial sound meditation and her quest to her goal of reconnecting with her inner soul. Learn how to approach things at a more peaceful level with this method of meditation and everything you need to know about primordial sound meditation. Check out this very informative video by Donna through this link.
Zen Meditation
Also known as zazen, zen is a popular philosophy of Buddhism. It means “seated meditation” that has been practiced by great philosophers like Dalai Lama and Richard Gere. Interaction with the teacher is vital for zen. It also involves observing the breathing and the mind, and sometimes with chanting. It consists of thorough meditation practice, insights, and expression of these insights to daily life. Zen emphasizes its doctrine and sutras, which are acquired through interaction with the teacher.
You can begin practicing the base of Zen with these easy steps. However, learning the actual zen practice involves training with an accredited teacher of Buddhism. You can check this site to be a student.
Check out this video by the Yokoji Zen Mountain Center. Get information on how to perform Zen meditation especially for beginners. (7.56 mins)
Vipassana Meditation
Vipassana Meditation is a traditional Buddhist meditation, popularized by S. N. Goenka and the Vipassana movement. In Pali’s words, it means, “insight” or “clear seeing”. Vipassana Meditation is known in the West as “mindfulness” due to its popularity for mindfulness of breathing.
Vipassana is done by sitting on the floor, cross-legged and spine straight. It begins with focusing on your breathing from the air that passes through the nose, and the skin of the lips. You should also notice the movement of the abdomen as you breathe, as it rises and falls. The practice involves a primary and secondary object. The primary is the focus of the practice (e.g. movement of the abdomen), and the second is your perception, meaning your 5 senses (smell, sound, hearing, feeling, etc.)
Every once in a while your focus shifts to the secondary object, and every time this happens a mental note should be done. Every distraction from the secondary object like knee pain is noted by the mind as “feeling”. Or when you hear barking dogs, it will be generalized as “hearing”. When you smell a particular scent it will be thought of as “smell”, and so on. Then you turn your focus to the primary object.
This mental noting is called, “access concentration”. The practice of awareness from the objects without attachment lets the thoughts and sensation just pass through. Letting your feelings just pass away. Mental labeling is a practice to not let you get carried away from your thoughts, and make you notice things objectively. This results in inner peace, freedom and harmony of one’s wholeness.
Take the nearest Vipassana Meditation course by going here.
Vipassana brings you deeper into your sensations, where mere feelings and thoughts can be temporarily shut off to make you feel better. If you have been fighting off stress, but failed to do it, Vipassana can help you with that. In fact, this practice is used by many people around the world to control their emotions, feel a lot better and live a happier life. Could this be something we can use to heal the world? Find out in the video below and let us know your thoughts about it. Learn more about the Vipassana Method by listening to Eilona Ariel talk about Vipassana Meditation and Body Sensation. (13.02 mins)
Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation is derived from the ancient Verdict of India. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi brought it to the US in the 1960s. It involves avoiding distracting thoughts and focusing on relaxed awareness. TM is done by sitting comfortably, with eyes closed, while silently chanting a mantra. The meaningless sound of the mantra came from the old Verdict assigned by the certified teacher. The process of thinking that happens within meditation is called “transcended.” It is where the mind has no boundaries, still, resting, stable and in order.
Studies suggest that regular meditation can reduce chronic pain, high blood pressure, cholesterol and anxiety. Numerous menopausal women have been trying TM and claimed that it brought positive effects. Unlike other meditation, TM is not a philosophy or religion and does not require lifestyle changes. However, it is a seven-step course from a certified instructor. Transcendental Meditation is usually done every morning and night. A short quick 15-20 minutes of meditation is done before breakfast, and before dinner.
Begin your course to learning Transcendental Meditation here.
Here’s Certified Transcendental Meditation teacher, Louise Allison, to discuss the basics of Transcendental Meditation. Watch her teach you the ways on how to do meditation using the Transcendental practice. This video specifically shows how to make all the aspects of your life clearer and better! Check out Transcendental Meditation for women: The First Step (29.52 mins)
Guided Meditation
Guided meditation as its name suggests, is a form of concentration that involves getting instructions for a meditation teacher. Especially for beginners, it is not very easy to go into a fully meditated state especially if you don’t know what to do. With guided meditation, a professional is there to guide you throughout the process.
Guided meditation is done to help you develop a more positive outlook. This is one good type of meditation you use for anxiety as it allows you to be more aware of the positive aspects rather than focusing on the negative ones. Usually, a guided meditation is heard from an actual person in the room giving you instructions. Some others may be heard from prerecorded guided meditation sessions that you can just follow through.
The UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center has provided a list of podcasts by Diana Winston. She is the Director for the Mindfulness Education at UCLA. You can listen to the podcasts here today!
More audio meditations by the Fragrant Heart – Heart Centred Meditation can also be accessed easily. Listen to their audio files now!
Have you tried any type of meditation? What is it like? We’d like to hear from you! Share it with us below.
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Gita is the founder of My Menopause Journey. Since 2014, she has been supporting midlife women by sharing hard-earned learnings from her own experience. To advance her knowledge, Gita puts a lot of her time and effort into understanding the broad spectrum of women’s health. She immerses in extensive research about the physical, mental and emotional aspects of menopause. Gita believes in the life-changing power of healthy, holistic living — this is where she anchors her message to all women. Learn more about her marvelous mission in About us - My Menopause Journey.