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Meditation

Meditation therapy is “a method of relaxation and consciousness expansion by focusing on a mantra or a keyword, sound, or image while eliminating outside stimuli from one’s awareness” (Mosby’s Medical Dictionary, 2009).

There are many types of meditation. Examples include mindfulness, body scan, loving-kindness, walking, Zen, mantra, and transcendental meditations. They can be further categorized into insight or calming and guided or unguided. In the world of meditation, there is an approach for everyone.

Each type of meditation has a few things in common: choosing a quiet spot, finding a comfortable posture, and focusing your attention while remaining open (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, n.d.).

The duration of a meditation practice is as short as one minute to several hours. There also is not a “right” or “only” way to practice. It is as diverse as the people who practice it.