How to make meditation more effective

Meditation is excellent and has incredible healing and transformative powers for our body and mind. It is highly effective for managing stress, calming the mind, reducing pain, improving sleep, and even influencing hormonal health. But just because it offers all these benefits does not mean it should be imposed on everyone as a one size fits all solution for their problems or challenges. And in this article, I'll help you understand why.

People who are highly stressed, going through difficult times or who do not like to sit still can struggle to sit in meditation, which is natural. Because the mind won't settle down simply because you decided it should. Forcefully trying to meditate can also backfire and worsen their anxiety; a person can come out of it feeling overwhelmed, agitated, frustrated or discouraged. It can be like asking someone with pain in the ankle to run a marathon. The person needs to fix the root cause first – the debilitating pain before they can even walk.?

That is why the system of Yoga has multiple steps that help make your meditation practice more productive and efficient. Of course, you may not always need these interventions, but depending on your life stage, environment and everyday experience, you may need one, some or all from time to time.?

Here are the four interventions:

1. Lifestyle

The first intervention relates to making your lifestyle and physical environment more peaceful and supportive of your life goals. While there are general recommendations like non-violence, truthfulness, cleanliness and discipline, Ayurveda takes this further by helping you create a lifestyle suitable to your unique personality type. Specifically for meditation, it can help you create a personalized morning routine that can supercharge your practice and give maximum results for your time.

2. Physical movement

The next step is creating a regular movement practice. Any physical activity helps create a calmer state of mind as long as you inherently enjoy it and do it within capacity. So choose a physical activity that appeals to you. It could be dynamic yoga practices like Vinyasa yoga or a gentle Hatha Yoga practice with various Asanas; it could be going to the gym for a run or a walk. Any physical activity requires a proper cooldown, and that's a perfect time to include 5-6 mindful Yoga stretches where you unwind while focusing on your breath. This is important – choose any activity you like, but wrap it up with some mindful asanas.

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3. Breathwork

Meditation per se is not relaxation, but being relaxed and calm is a prerequisite for yogic meditation. The good news is doing breathing exercises, or Pranayama practice, helps you instantly reduce your stress levels and get meditative. Equal Breathing, Nadi Shuddhi or Box Breathing are some simple and effective techniques that can help bring the sense into a peaceful, zen-like state within a brief period. Practice these regularly, as they'll help you at the moment and increase your resilience toward stress in general.

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4. Preparatory Meditation techniques

Sometimes, it can be difficult to understand or grasp what we are supposed to do in meditation. To better understand that state of consciousness, you can practice techniques like Yoga Nidra / NSDR, 61 Point Body Scan or MSRT (Mind Space Resonance Technique). These techniques help you understand what sensory withdrawal can feel like, so you have your lived experience as a reference point.

These are the four levels of intervention, and they work wonderfully. Sometimes people can effortlessly sit in meditation; other times, one may concentrate better after Pranayama practice. Yet others may find the most substantial gains when they practice Asana first, followed by Pranayama. And even others may feel they can only sit in meditation after intense physical activity. All approaches are valid, and one person alone may need all these approaches at different times/phases of life. All you need to do is find the proper protocol for your needs *today*.

Namita Piparaiya?is a former corporate executive; she spent over a decade, from management trainee to business head, with leading MNCs, including Citibank, Aviva, and Generali. She is now the founder of Yoganama Wellness. The?Well-Balanced Newsletter ?is her initiative to bring practical wellness tips to the workplace. Please feel free to connect if you'd like to discuss Corporate Wellness Programs at [email protected] or book a 1:1 Ayurvedic Lifestyle consultation with her on?yoganama.com