All meditations can be roughly divided into active and passive in terms of the participation of the meditator. Passive meditations involve listening to external sources (voice, sounds, special recordings) or meditation in silence (the work takes place inside). Active meditations involve working with the voice of a meditator (mantras, chanting sounds, etc.), using instruments, chanting bowls, and so on.
Recommendations
Now there are a lot of audio meditations in the public domain, for example, on the video hosting Youtube, and this is a great help, not only for beginners. Not everyone knows how to properly listen to such meditations in order to achieve the maximum effect from the practice, so we have prepared this article for you.
Be sure to read the specific recommendations in the description for a particular meditation, there may be instructions on the order of meditation, exceptions to the general rules.
For beginners, we advise you to use audio meditations, in which the actions that you need to perform are pronounced with a voice, we recommend starting with the gentle practice of yoga nidra ("yoga sleep"). Special recordings of targeted practices are also effective (for example, for removing body clamps, getting rid of fears, attunements for deep sleep, etc.).
How to listen to meditation correctly
To listen to audio meditations, we recommend using headphones that completely cover your ears (or in-ear headphones if there are no others). Individual meditations, if specificity requires it (for example, purification and harmonization of space), should be listened to through the speakers, the rest of most meditations - through headphones.
The fact is that specialized meditations (in particular, those associated with waves - contain special frequencies that directly affect the brain, and headphones transmit them better).
The sound volume should be average and comfortable. Too loud doesn't mean good. The playback device should not use an equalizer or any other sound add-ons (bass, etc.).
Breathing is the most important thing in meditation. Only breathing can ensure you achieve the goal of meditation. Focusing your attention on your breathing will also help release the obsessive thoughts in your head. Inhale, exhale, slow down, slow down each time - longer inhalation and longer exhalation.
As soon as a thought comes to mind, immediately look with your inner gaze at the tip of the nose and breathe: inhale and exhale. If thoughts still do not let you go, just watch them as if from the side.
Body position , as a rule, is associated with meditation a person sitting in the lotus position. To begin with, if you are just trying to meditate, have not done yoga before, then start with the reclining position. The lotus position is good for those who can already hold a straight back and crossed legs in this position without much strain. The lying position is also not good, because you will most likely fall asleep during meditation. Therefore, a reclining position or sitting reclined on the back of a sofa / large pillow is the most suitable for starting meditations.
The room, The darkening of the room and other external conditions do not objectively matter, but if you are especially sensitive to light, you can wear a sleep mask over your eyes.
The time of day , as a rule, does not matter either, except in some cases when it is directly recommended in meditation (for example, delta meditation is recommended for practice in the evening).
Instead of a conclusion, let's answer the question: is it possible to listen to audio meditations in the background? Indeed, it is very convenient to combine business with pleasure - to turn on meditation while cleaning the apartment, on the way to work, while jogging.
But, as the authors of (specialized) audio-meditations themselves claim, the effectiveness of such listening is much lower than conducting a full-fledged practice with full immersion in the process.
Nevertheless, we believe that you can always choose the right meditation for the corresponding activity (for example, listening to the sounds of nature is always meditation, especially if general positive voice settings sound or even without it), but specialized practices such as theta, alpha, etc. this kind of meditation should, of course, be given a separate time.