Home InsightsMeditation: What is it and What are the Types?

Meditation: What is it and What are the Types?

5 Minutes

Edited & medically reviewed by THE BALANCE Team

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At The Balance, we champion the art of meditation in all of our treatment programs. We understand the power of being in touch with one’s self: on a mental, physical, and spiritual level. The way we practice meditation is deeply personal, and can be attuned to our lifestyle and value systems. It has historic roots, transcending time and culture. It’s important to remember that meditation and mindfulness is a muscle, anyone can develop it with time, patience, and practice. We sat down with our Founder & CEO, Abdullah Boulad, to discuss what meditation means to him, the history behind it, and the many ways it can be practiced.

People often associate meditation with emptying your mind, but this is not correct.Meditation, and mindfulness, is an active way to restoring the mind and body connection. It’s switching from being a passenger in your own mind, to being the driver – aware of all your surroundings, and how they affect you. “It’s an attention to stay within,” says Boulad.

It is extremely normal for your mind to resist this practice at first. We have been tuned out of doing this that developing the practice can be a slow burn, but practice is all it takes. Mindfulness and meditation is a muscle. It has to be exercised regularly in order for the body and mind to be comfortable with the process. To Boulad, meditation feels like “restoring a piece of me that was lost.” He went on: “Mindfulness was my tool to look at my feelings and be aware of how my body and brain were reacting. Becoming the awareness behind the feeling became an exercise that I truly cherish. I was able to look at those passing feelings, know their nature, their causes and decide on the best course of action. Those feelings and I became acquainted with each other; they became visitors rather than invading entities.

It starts simple. Eating a meal and being aware of what you are eating, the taste and the texture. Walking and feeling your muscles contract and release, seeing your surroundings and noting them. You can apply mindfulness and meditation to anything that engages your senses: taste, touch, smell, hear and see.

The art of meditation can be found in the foundation of every religion. The connection and awareness to a deeper part of the self has been reflected in diverse cultures and spiritual traditions across time. The earliest recorded use of meditation comes from the Vedic texts of ancient India, around 1500 BCE. The practice was integral to Hinduism and later influenced the development of Buddhism and Jainism. In these traditions, meditation was used for spiritual insight and achieving moksha, or liberation. Around the same time, Taoist practices in China began incorporating meditative techniques to harmonize with the Tao, the fundamental principle that is the source of all existence.

Meditation spread to the Western world through Buddhist missionaries, especially in the 20th century. The teachings of figures like the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh introduced Western audiences to mindfulness and loving-kindness meditation. In the 1960s, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi popularized Transcendental Meditation in the West, focusing on the use of mantras to achieve a state of restful awareness. TM gained widespread attention and contributed significantly to the meditation movement in modern culture.

Meditation has transformed significantly as it moved from spiritual and religious contexts into mainstream wellness and self-improvement practices. The late 20th and early 21st centuries saw an explosion of scientific research into meditation’s benefits. Studies have demonstrated its effects on reducing stress, improving emotional regulation, and enhancing cognitive function. With the rise of technology, meditation has become more accessible through apps and online platforms. Guided meditations, mindfulness training, and virtual retreats have made it easier for people to incorporate meditation into their daily lives. Meditation has largely shed its religious connotations in the modern world, making it more accessible to people of all backgrounds. Secular forms of meditation, like mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), have gained popularity in both clinical settings and everyday life.

Mindfulness Meditation

A practice based in Buddhist teachings and has been widely adoped in western countries. Its the art of not-judging. A person learns to observe their emotions and thoughts passing as if they are objects. It’s your mission to take note, and allow your consciousness to expand. In order to engage in this, you will need to focus on an object or focusing in on your breath.

Spiritual Meditation

This is a practice with the intention of connecting to a higher power, not dissimilar to a prayer. It can be experienced in the form of religious rituals, with religious objects or with holy oils. This is often practiced in the Middle East.

Focused Meditation

This is a practice is not unlike the concept of flow. This is a way to drop into the self through doing something that requires deep focus.

Movement Meditation

This is the practice of finding stillness while in motion. It’s a deep drop into the body, and a merging with the mind. It can be anything from a long walk, to an intensive movement session like running, biking, or martial arts.

Mantra and Transcendental Meditations

This is the practice of using sound to connect to the body. In some traditions, the “om” sound is used repeatedly. In more modern versions, an actual sentence or word is repeated.

Progressive Relaxation Meditation

This practice, also known as the body scan, teaches an individual to focus on different parts of the body in a specific order and to relax the muscles, and let go of tension. This is a practice that is often used as a nighttime meditation to prepare for sleep.

Loving-Kindness Meditation

This is the practice of actively opening yourself up to love and kindess, and the receiving of these emotions from others. It’s a way to actively release feelings of loneliness, anger, and resentment. It is an important process of the healing journey.

Visualization Meditation

This is a practice that shifts the imagination from an enemy to an advocate. It involves using your mind’s eye to visualize something. It can range from your ideal future self, relaxing scenery, or a guided practice.

Meditation is a practice that takes on many different forms, and has its foundations in religions and spiritual practices from across the globe. It captures a deeply human desire to understand one’s self deeply, connect to a higher consciousness, and gain an awareness of the thoughts and feelings that move through the body. There are eight different types of meditation: Mindfulness Meditation, Spiritual Meditation, Focused Meditation, Movement Meditation, Mantra and Transcendental Meditations, Progressive Relaxation Meditation, Loving-Kindness Meditation, Visualization Meditation. The Balance champions this practice in all of its treatment programs.

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