All meditations can be conditionally divided into active and passive in terms of the participation of the meditating person. Passive meditations involve listening to external sources (voice, sounds, special recordings) or meditation in silence (work takes place inside). Active meditations involve working with the meditator’s voice (mantras, chanting sounds, etc.), using instruments, singing bowls, etc.
Recommendations
Now there are many audio meditations freely available, for example, on the video hosting service 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 of the specific meditation, as there may be instructions on the order of meditation, exceptions to the general rules.
For beginners, we recommend using audio meditations in which the actions you need to perform are spoken aloud; we recommend starting with a gentle practice
yoga nidra (“yoga sleep”). Special recordings of practices for targeted purposes (for example, to eliminate body clamps, get rid of fears, adjust for deep sleep, etc.) are also effective.
How to Listen to Meditations Correctly
For listening to audio meditations, we recommend using headphones that completely cover your ears (or earbuds if you don’t have others). Some meditations, if the specifics require it (for example, cleansing and harmonizing the space), should be listened to through speakers; the vast majority of meditations – through headphones.
The fact is that specialized meditations (in particular, those related to waves - contain special frequencies that directly affect the brain, and headphones transmit them better).
Sound volume should be moderate, comfortable. Too loud doesn’t mean good. The playback device should not use an equalizer or any other sound enhancements (bass, etc.).
Breathing is the most important thing in meditations. Only breathing will allow you to achieve the goal of meditation. Focus your attention on your breathing – this will also help you free yourself from obsessive thoughts that pop up in your head. Inhale-exhale, slow down, slow down with each breath – longer inhaaaaale and longer exhaaaale.
As soon as a thought comes into your head – immediately look with your inner vision at the tip of your nose and breathe: inhale and exhale. If thoughts still don’t let you go – just observe them as if from the outside.
The main thing is that thoughts should not be negative; this is unacceptable during meditations! Intentionally replace such thoughts with positive ones and breathe.
Body position, as a rule, is associated with a person sitting in the lotus position. Let’s start with the fact that if you are only trying to meditate, haven’t practiced yoga before, then start with a “semi-lying” position. The lotus position is good for those who can already hold their back straight and legs crossed in this position without much tension. The lying position is also not suitable, as you will most likely fall asleep during meditation. Therefore, a semi-lying position or sitting leaning against the back of a sofa/large pillow is the most suitable for starting meditations.
Darkening the room and other external conditions objectively do not matter, but if you are particularly sensitive to light – you can wear an eye mask.
Time of day, as a rule, also does not matter, except for individual cases when this is directly recommended in the meditation (for example, delta meditation is recommended for practice in the evening hours).
In conclusion, we will answer the question: is it possible to listen to audio meditations in the background? It is really convenient to combine business with pleasure – turn on the meditation while cleaning the apartment, on the way to work, during a jog. However, as the authors of audio meditations (specialized ones) claim, the effectiveness of such listening is much lower than conducting a full-fledged practice with complete immersion in the process.
Nevertheless, we believe that you can always choose a suitable meditation for the corresponding activity (for example, listening to nature sounds – is always meditation, especially if there will be general positive settings with a voice or even without it), but specialized practices such as theta, alpha and similar meditations should, of course, be given separate time.
