Is meditation a religious practice? 10 myths about meditation BUSTED! Know how to practice daily

From calming our senses, and helping us to cope with stress to boosting our physical well-being, meditation is known to have benefits. But there are several myths surrounding meditation that prevent us from deriving its benefits fully.

Meditation: In an increasingly stressful world, meditation is becoming extremely important, both for our emotional well-being and our physical health. It can be a relaxation technique as it gives one a sense of calm, peace, and balance. Meditation also helps us to cope with stress, but as experts point out, meditating with an objective is likely to be counter-productive. So while the benefits are many, the practice of meditation is shrouded by several misconceptions.  Bach flower therapist and Psychotherapist Indroneil Mukerjee, founder and principal alchemist of All That Bach, busts certain myths about meditation.   

1. Meditation does not necessarily mean sitting for a long time, with your eyes closed. You can be meditative while brushing your teeth, having your breakfast, driving your car, or even attending a meeting.

2. You cannot ‘do’ meditation. Meditation is non-doing. Even in active meditation, where one is required to move, through guidance s/he is made to dissociate from the movement to be a witness, thereby getting into a non-doing state.

3. Yoga is not meditation. You do not need to bend your body and twist your limbs to meditate. You can meditate while standing, sitting or even lying down.

4. Addictive substances have nothing to do with meditation. They alter your consciousness and mimic the state of expanded consciousness that you may achieve through meditation.

5. You do not have anything to achieve, or any objective to meet in meditation. Trying to reduce stress through meditation can make you more stressed. Meditating with the objective to attain enlightenment will take you farther, farther away from it.

6. Meditation is not consciousness, awareness, or mindfulness. It’s a tool or a path to conscious awareness.

7. There are many methods of meditation and none of these is better than another. It completely depends on the one who meditates, the guide and the ambiance on how effective a method can be.

8. Meditation is not necessarily a group activity, needing a lot of gizmos. You can be meditative alone in your own space without any prop, whatsoever.

9. Awakening, cleaning, or alignment of chakras is not meditation. These are healing techniques with physical implications, having little or nothing to do with awareness, which is what meditation is a pathway to.

10. There is nothing religious or even spiritual about meditation. You do not need to learn stringent methods and rituals for meditating. You are, as a human, by nature meditative. All you need is a compassionate guide.

(Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the expert quoted and do not reflect the views of Zee News)