01722 632155 [email protected]

Meditation Tools

by | Apr 27, 2023 | Meditation

Meditation looks pretty simple in theory, doesn’t it?

If you’ve ever tried meditating or do so regularly, you’ll know first hand that it can be more challenging than it first appears. Maintaining a mindful connection with your breath and the present moment takes patience and commitment.

Luckily, there are a few things designed to make things a little easier for you…

Meditation tools help you calm your mind, maintain focus, and reduce physical discomforts (especially for prolonged sitting).

They’re easy to use and can be beneficial whether you’re just starting out with your practice or a seasoned meditator.

Many of these tools have been used for thousands of years, but it’s important to remember that no size fits all, and it all comes down to personal choice!

 

What are Meditation Tools?

Just to clarify, you don’t need tools to practice meditation but they can make some things a little easier. If you’re a beginner, you might find that any extra help getting started with your practice is extremely valuable.

Meditation tools are intended to help you maintain focus on your practice by reducing outside distractions. A comfortable seat for example can help you stay attentive on your breath instead of focusing on how much your knees are aching. It can also help you maintain proper posture and alignment, making it easier to take long deep breaths.

Other tools such as singing bowls serve as an auditory connection to your practice. The sound draws your attention back to the present moment and helps you connect with your breath or mantra.

There are so many different meditation tools available that sometimes people, especially beginner meditators, find it overwhelming. Tools can also be things that we do and not just physical objects…

 

The Meditation Tools

1. Focusing on your breath – this is a great one as you can do it from anywhere. For example, if you are nervous whilst waiting to go into a meeting, or even just to focus on your body rather than the thoughts running through your mind.2. Waves – for most people, imagining the waves drawing in and out on the beach really helps with synching your breath. It helps people to feel calm and work on the gentle flow of breath in and out.

Note: some people can be scared of the water so this isn’t for everyone. However its worth a go as the reassurance that you know the next wave will always come is like the constant cycle just like when we breath. We can also add in a pause to the breath if it feels comfortable to do so.

3. Counting – This one can be a bit like marmite! Some people find this really helps them stay focused during the meditation practice. However for some people, they can become too focused on the counting or find it distracting.

During class we often add drawing the shape of a triangle, square or rectangle on the thigh with a finger to help focus further. Children really seem to enjoy doing this.

4. Using nature – we can often use nature as a tool to stay focused during a meditation. Imagine calming scenes; walk outside doing mindfulness walking meditation or sit in the garden or a park and listen to the birds, the wind in the trees to stay present in the moment

Some people are quite surprised to learn meditation can be done walking, it doesn’t have to be stationary!

5. Sounds and music – Meditation doesn’t have to be a silent practice, you can use sounds like being outside in nature, music, singing bowls etc to help you stay focused within your meditation practice.

6. Flowers – We can use flowers in meditation as a focus – we can look at shapes, colours, texture but also focus on one petal at at time before moving onto the next one. This is a lovely meditation to try.

7. Visualisation – This can be a really great technique for your mind and body. Some people are actually unable to imagine situations – if this is you, then you can use past experiences or images you might have previously seen.

Some of the types of visualisations we use are gardens, beaches, hot air balloons etc, whatever you find soothing. Most people often don’t want to leave their calm imaginary scene once they have settled into it.

8. Mantra – This is using words to focus the mind and possibly change your energy. We often use ‘may I be happy, may I be healthy, may all things go well for me.’ But we also use ‘Calm’ or other words which are specific to the individual. The repetition of repeating the words during meditation can help you stay focused and grounded.

9. Chanting – This is can be a very powerful and energising practice. People are often worried about how they sound but the combination of using your voice the vibration this creates can help to feel freeing and releasing. The practice can be as simple as humming, which is shown to calm down the nervous system, hence why singing or humming to a baby calms them down!

Try to be open to this practice as you will probably be surprised by the results.

10. Pebbles or objects – We often use a pebble to focus the mind in our beginners meditation, that being said you can use anything you find in your house or office to focus on. During our meditation sessions, we invite you to explore the shape, weight, colour and texture of the object which helps you to keep the mind focus and relaxed.

Objects as tools in Meditation

Meditation Seats
Meditation seats promote proper alignment and posture while reducing any strain in the body if you are meditation whilst sitting on the floor.

Meditation seats come in several forms such as cushions, wooden benches, zafus, zabutons, folded blankets and bolsters. These seats are a simple yet effective way to maintain focus during your meditative practice while limiting any physical discomfort associated with prolonged sitting and improving your posture.

Incense
You may have never realised it, but incense (and candles too) are meditation tools. The burning of incense is seen as an offering to both religious figures and also a way to clear a space of negative energy.

The lighting of incense is itself part of the meditative practice that is meant to help you direct your focus to this ritual and clear your thoughts.

Blankets
A Meditation Blanket is a blanket used to cover the body whilst meditating. For a good meditation, one needs to be able to sit comfortably and not be distracted by anything other than one’s breath. A meditation blanket is therefore a further tool to help give you that high-quality meditation you so well deserve and aim for. Additionally, they can be worn over the shoulder like a poncho or shawl, when you’re on the go.

Shawls
Many meditators find added comfort and warmth in the soft material or a shawl and wrap it around them, much like our Yak Wool shawls!

Sources: https://www.yourbodythetemple.com/best-meditation-tools/