Easy Meditation For Beginners

Meditation is an important tool used in most ancient cultures, spiritual practices and new age groups. The purpose of meditation is to relax the body and mind, it is ofter believed that while meditating one can gather information or guidance from beings in other realms. Here I will guide you through the process of preparing for meditation and a simply visualization to open your chakras.

When learning to meditate is is important to be completely at rest with nothing to disturb you, (turn off your phones and send the kids out for a walk with the dog!) To begin prepare the meditation space with colours and lighting that suit your mood, turn off big lamps and light some candle if you like, some soothing music might help you to relax or perhaps it will interfere with your concentration. You be the judge of what best fits your personality, don't get discouraged if the setting you imagine in your head is not what works in reality.

Breath is very important during meditation so find a comfy spot to sit (you will be there for a while) and start by taking big deep breaths. Fill your lungs right down to your abdomen, relax every muscle one at a time. Now take your right thumb and close your right nostril, take a deep breath (this opens the left lobe of your brain) relax, open your right nostril but keep you hand up, put your index finger over your left nostril and breath. Rotate between both nostrils for between 3-5 full breaths to insure both lobes of your brain have adequate oxygen. When you have finished rest your hands on your thighs.

Close your eyes, let all tensions flow out of you like water running off your body in the shower. Visualize in your minds eye you are holding in your left hand eight balloons on strings, each balloon is a different colour on the visual color spectrum plus one pink balloon. Next, visualize the red balloon moving across your field of vision from left to right. Let go of the string and focus on the balloon as it floats up and out of sight. One at a time let each balloon follow the same path, each one being the next colour in the spectrum (ROY G. BIV) visualize the orange balloon floating in the same pattern as red one took. Continue through each colour balloon until only the pink balloon is left, now it too moves across your field of vision and floats away as far as your consciousness will allow. Imagine each balloon goes progressively farther than the one before it. Next envision the balloons in your right hand and repeat the exercise.

By doing this meditation you are balancing the chemistry in your brain, which will open up your chakras, allowing your body to release pent up stress and negative energy. It is a simple meditation that can take as little or as long as you would like. It can be a quick panic reliever or a deep relaxation technique.

The Location of the Chakras

The Seven major chakras of the body each have their own purpose in the body. They are arranged in ascending order from the root close to the earth to the crown at the highest point in the body. Each Chakra is vibrating at it's own frequency which means that each has a specific purpose in the body. No chakra is more important than another they must all work together in order to create balance and harmony in the body.

The Root Chakra or Muladhara is closest to the earth, it is the base support for the 3 main psychic channels, ida, pingala and sushumna. Unless you are born with a “gift” these channels remain dormant in the body until the kundalini shakti, also known as great spiritual potential, is taped into and refined, thus causing an evolution in human psyche. Muladhara draws down spiritual energy and allows that energy to assume a physical existence. The Root Chakra is located at the perineum near the anus, it is closely related to the reproductive process and feelings of fear and guilt. This chakra's symbol is represented on a lotus flower with four petals,by the colour red and the Earth element.

All of the lower chakras govern emotions, which is where you get the term “gut feeling”. The Sacral chakra is located about two finger widths below the belly button where it governs feeling and sexuality. When this chakra is balanced, your feelings will be able to flow freely, and you can express yourself without being over-emotional. The Navel chakra is helpful when asserting yourself in a group, when balanced you feel in control and you have positive self esteem. It is located just below the sternum and can be recognized by it's yellow colour. Naturally the Heart chakra is about love. When it is balanced, you are more freely compassionate and friendly. The heart as you can imagine is located in the chest and is represented by green which is the next colour in the spectrum.

The upper chakras are in charge of logical processes and creativity. The Throat chakra governs self-expression and talking which make sense because it is located in the throat. When it is balanced, you will have no problem expressing yourself, but is it is easy to block this chakra by telling lies and talking too much. The Third Eye is found on the forehead where it governs insight and visualization. The third eye does not help you to see the physical world, but intuition and dreams grow here. Be aware of an over-active third eye where you begin to live in a world of fantasy. The Crown chakra also known as Sahasrara is the center of wisdom and being one with the world. It is located at the top of the head and is the most subtle of all the chakras. The Crown is represented on a violet lotus flower with 1000 petals, arranged in 20 layers each with 50 petals. This chakra is related to pure consciousness, and it is from here that all other chakras emanate.

Each of the Seven major chakras have a distinct purpose in the body. Where they are located, as you have seen, is indicative of the task each Chakra is responsible for. The vibrations tell the body how to act and respond in any given situation. Without our chakras our bodies would be empty shells and they must all work together in order to create balance in our lives.

Chakras: Tradition verses New Age

Traditionally Chinese medicine relies on the model belief that the human body is an energy system, consisting of seven chakras located through the body on a horizontal line from the Root chakra on the genitle area up to the Crown chakra at the top of the head. The New Age movement has created an increased interest in Western cultures including the chakras. Some people in New Age practices claim that there are chakras, besides the seven major ones, for instance, ear chakras. Although it cannot be proven that this is entirely untrue it is certainly up for debate.

People from the East and West who study or tap into the chakras energy system know that there is a correspondence between the position and role of the chakras, and those of the glands in the endocrine system. Each chakra is responsible for different aspects of the body just like each organ is responsible for its own functions.

The chakras are described in the tantric texts as Sat-Cakra-Nirupana, and the Padaka-Pancaka, where they radiate an electrical consciousness, an energy which pours down from the spiritual like the suns rays. They then create these distinct levels of chakras (simular to oil settling on top of water), which eventually settle in the Muladhara (root) chakra. This energy that came into creation, called the Kundalini, will lie coiled and sleeping until it is taped into through tantric yogi, reiki or meditation to arouse the energy, and encourage it to flow back up through the increasingly subtler chakras, until union with god is achieved in the Sahasrara (crown) chakra at the top of the head.

It is believed that the energy of the chakras is continuously flowing (like a stream), if it is not respected and given the proper care then the energy can become blocked (by a dam). For instance when a child gets and ear ache it could be caused by a number of things ranging from physical illness or a damaged ear drum. But physicians tend to over look the chakras energy system which could be blocked causing the tissues in the ear to break down. To ease the discomfort in the child's ear many doctors will mask the pain with medication. But the inflammation can be reduced simply by placing a hand over the ear and concentrating on the corresponding chakra. As the energy pulses through the blockage it will allow the body to heal naturally.

In the end it does not matter which set of beliefs you follow, all that matters is that you treat your energy centers with the same care and respect that you would treat any other part of your body. when you can find balance in your life it becomes much easier to focus less on the negative and more on what is positive.