5 Meditation Hacks For The Stressed-Out Bride!

Unlike the pants from your childhood flick, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, when it comes to meditation, one size does not fit all.

Contrary to popular opinion, there are different ways to meditate and introspect, each style having its own benefits. So, we spoke to celebrity yoga expert Grand Master Akshar about the most common reasons why some people feel they cannot meditate and how to tackle them: 

Meditation makes me feel sleepy and lethargic.

It is not the process of meditation that makes one feel sleepy and lethargic but it is the condition of the body and mind.  Meditation brings different benefits to your life and your practice and is subjective to each practitioner.  You don't need to start with a complicated process of meditation rather you can begin with the technique known as Sthithi Dhyan. In this technique, the practitioner keeps their eyes open during the practice.  There are many different meditation techniques that require you to keep your eyes open which include Jal Dhyan, and Tratak. You can simply keep your eyes open, build your energies and reap the benefits.

Can we meditate in a chair or lying down instead of cross-legged on the floor?

To know if you are practising the right way of meditation you need to be given the right technique to practice. Vichar Dhyan is a type of meditation to contemplate your thoughts and this can be done sitting on a chair. Anand Dhyan, Yog Nidra can be done while lying down. There are different types of meditations depending on the posture that you want to assume.  If you want to sit on a chair that is a different type of meditation routine, to sit in padmasana or lie down there are different meditation techniques for each posture.  There are even meditation techniques suited for walking, or that can be done in a standing position.  

Does meditation not suit people with depression or anxiety?

Meditation, like any applied science, needs to be practised regularly to reap the benefits. People suffering from anxiety or depression will benefit a great deal with the right meditation techniques.  Meditation can have a remarkable therapeutic effect on the practitioner. There are three levels of meditation – for beginners, intermediate, and advanced.  For those with anxiety, meditation will be prescribed like medicine that needs to be given in certain doses.  By following this strictly for a specific duration we can then progress to higher levels of meditation.

Is it okay to listen to music while meditating? 

Music meditation or Sangeet Dhyan is another variation of meditation where one can practice meditating along with the music. This is different from Shanth Dhyan where one sits quietly in silence to meditate. Nirvichar Dhyan on the other hand cannot be done with music.

Do I have to keep my mind blank? How can I do that? 

No, it is not required that we keep our mind blank.  Our senses capture millions of information every second of the day which we need to process.  With this many sensory stimuli stored within us, it is not possible for us to immediately turn a mind into a blank canvas.  Rather, it is a gradual process where we begin to fill the void of a mind with something powerful and evolve towards keeping it blank.