Meditation Practices

There are a vast range of different meditation practices which have been developed through Buddhist history and in other spiritual traditions. The two main practices we teach are the mindfulness of breathing which promotes calm and the capacity to concentrate, and the metta bhavana which focuses on the development of positive emotion.

We also help people to work out the best posture for meditating (it is essential to be comfortable!) and teach body awareness meditations as a preparation for formal meditation. If you come regularly you are also likely to be introduced to walking meditation and pure awareness practice.

Mindfulness of breathing
In this elegant meditation practice we simply watch the breath as it comes and goes from the body. Through progressive stages, the practice allows us to deepen and refine our awareness becoming increasingly sensitive to our physical sensations and thoughts, and allowing the mind to settle and calm.

Metta bhavana
Metta is an ancient Indian word which means loving-kindness or friendliness, and bhavana means development or cultivation. So in the metta bhavana meditation we develop a more positive and kindly attitude towards ourselves and others. We begin by simply noticing how we feel and gently accepting our experience (whatever it is), and then we move through progressive stages of cultivating metta to a good friend, a neutral person, someone we find difficult and then on to include all beings.

This is a radical and sometimes challenging practice – it is not unusual for people to find the first stage the most difficult. However it is remarkably powerful and transformative, often leading to a much greater sense of emotional presence in daily life.

For more information on either of these meditation practices visit the wildmind website.