Everything you need to know about meditation: origins, benefits, dangers, different types. Why try meditating and how to get started?

Meditation is not the preserve of a hundred-year-old yogi living in a temple deep in Japan, Tibet or even India.

This practice is accessible to any human being who wishes to improve their existence, or simply experience the power of the present moment .

I therefore invite you to immerse yourself in this article by removing all your mental barriers that could hold you back from discovering this wonderful practice!

Read these lines with an open mind to discovery and experience …

That being said, I wish you an excellent read, my Mouvers!

But also a confident passage into action .

What is a meditative state?

It is a question that is both complex and very simple.

First, the meditative state is accessible to each of us !

It is a natural state.

For some, the natural state of every human being.

Our brain, our body, is designed to easily enter this state and you experience it without knowing it, several times during the course of your day.

Have you ever contemplated nature in its simplest form?

A leaf falling from a tree, waves crashing onto a beach, the beauty of a flower, of a sunset?

This is called contemplation.

And contemplation is a form of presence that is similar to the meditative state.

Also, for athletes and artists, even those on Sundays, you have surely found yourself in a state of Flow .

This famous state where you are fully present, connected as much as you can be to your body, to your art.

Where the minutes pass without you realizing it...

Well, this state is also a form of meditation.

Then, to come to the origin of the term, meditation is only a French word which originally wanted to translate another term.

The Buddha used the word Bhavana .

If we translate Bhavana, it means habituation and training .

Far from the term meditate which means, if we look in one of our dictionaries, to think, to remain in silence.

Bhavana will include both body and mind , it does not distinguish between the two.

You are going to train, and for that you are going to involve yourself in your entirety.

Unlike meditation, which in the collective imagination often involves only the mind.

In the vast majority of cases, when you do your first meditation session, you will manage to keep a focus on your breathing for a moment and very quickly the chaos of thoughts will intervene.

It can become very frustrating, you feel like you're a failure.

However, as my friend Pierre Dufraisse explains very well, this term designates nothing more nor less than training.

Everyone has access to this state but it can be difficult to achieve.

Since you won't run a marathon overnight, maintaining a meditative state over a significant period of time will only be possible with training.

Meditation training is knowing how to undertake this back and forth between the here and now , and abstraction , that is to say thoughts dedicated to the past or the future.

With time and effort you will become more adept at staying in the present moment for a long time.

In other words, train yourself to be non-distracted .

The more you practice, the more you will become aware that your mind is pulling you into a thought,

The less you get caught up in these thoughts,

And the more you will be able to come back to the present moment.

That state where all your worries and concerns no longer exist, and where you can feel a deep inner peace.

What are the origins of meditation?

I put this question in the plural for obvious reasons...

It is known that meditation appeared in Asia, but even today researchers are unable to define its precise origin.

However, what we do know is that meditation is a practice that is thousands of years old .

The first traces that researchers have found date back to ancient times, to civilizations such as India and China.

Around 1500 BCE , sacred Indian texts called the Upanishads describe meditative practices.

These are, to date, the oldest texts concerning this practice...

From such writings we learn that the sages of ancient India sought to understand the nature of reality, consciousness and the soul through deep meditations and inner explorations.

But it was in the 6th century BC that meditation really took off...

Siddhartha Gautama , better known as Buddha , developed a new approach to meditation within Buddhism .

The Buddha taught that meditation was the path to liberation from human suffering .

Yes, just that!

He popularized vipassana meditation , a form of meditation that encourages careful observation of bodily sensations and thoughts to achieve wisdom and liberation.

In China, it was Taoism, which emerged around the 4th century BCE, that advocated meditation as a way to live in harmony with the Tao , the universal force.

The Taoists practiced meditation with full awareness of their breathing and nature.

Finally, it took several centuries for meditation to arrive in the West...

In the 20th century, the popularity of meditation in the Western world was greatly influenced by teachers such as Paramahansa Yogananda , who introduced yogic meditation to America in the 1920s.

However, the real meditation revolution in the West took place in the 1960s and 1970s,

When teachers such as Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche brought the benefits of Transcendental Meditation and Buddhist meditation to the attention of Westerners.

In the West, meditation has long been associated with religion.

It was thanks to figures like the psychiatrist Christophe André that this practice was popularized and adopted by a large number of followers.

As proof of the effectiveness of meditative practice, we can take the example of the various companies in Silicon Valley, such as Apple and Google .

These companies paid for meditation classes for their employees within the company!

The reason why major companies have made it a point to offer meditation classes is that meditation is not just a simple relaxation practice, but rather offers real benefits in terms of creativity, productivity, and overall well-being.

What are the benefits of meditation?

Stress reduction

Meditation is spending a special moment with yourself.

As my friend Staiv Gentis likes to say :

Maximum intensity of presence .

In such a mental state, events that have happened, or those that have not yet happened, no longer have any importance .

They are erased by the light of the present moment, and thus lose all their fictitious importance.

During this time your stress level will be able to reduce.

After a few sessions you will even be able to feel a deep state of serenity.

That's interesting, Slim, but after my session I'll be back to daily stress.

Well, imagine that by placing yourself in a state of relaxation every day, your production of cortisol , the stress hormone, will significantly decrease ...

This means that meditation has a direct impact on your own biology !

On your hormone production!

So, after several meditation sessions, you should be able to feel your anxiety level decrease.

On the psychological side, you will be able to see your problems for what they are , without all the mental parasites that you have attributed to them.

Improved concentration

Have you ever heard of Deep Work ?

This expression refers to a style of work where the subject will be in deep concentration in order to be productive.

It's a form of total immersion in a task or project, all without distraction .

Deep Work will allow you to make rapid progress on your projects, whether personal or professional.

It makes you want to, doesn't it?

However…

You can acquire this ability by having the right attitude, but you must also and above all have a significant capacity for concentration .

And it is precisely this skill that has been in free fall over the last decade!

In the era of Tik Tok and Instagram, short and very attractive content, the attention span of some people is close to 0...

Do you realize, some people watch 10 minute videos in fast forward, or will fast forward a TikTok video that's less than a minute long!

And maybe that's your case, my Mouvers...

But no worries here, only solutions.

The one I'm suggesting to you here, as you might guess, is meditation !

When you meditate, you must bring your attention to the present moment , whether it is a landscape, a sound, your breathing, the sumptuous flame of a candle, etc.

As I told you before, meditation is a real training of the mind.

By training yourself in concentration, you will necessarily be able to reuse the gains you will have from your meditative practice in your everyday life .

Better management of your emotions

When you sit down to meditate, there is no room for judgment.

Obviously, at first it will be difficult to restrict your automatic thoughts.

But little by little, as you feel the benefits of this practice day after day, the noises in your mind will become more discreet.

You will have to learn to be kind to yourself , to your emotions.

And for some people it won't be easy, our personal demons are a convenient excuse in the twenty-first century...

But with practice you will learn to observe your thoughts like clouds in a blue sky, without pushing them away or judging them, they will pass without leaving a trace.

This self-centered moment will give you the space you need to understand your emotions without being overwhelmed by them.

First of all, meditation will give you space .

A space to explore your emotions in depth.

For example, if you feel sad, meditation will allow you to understand the underlying reasons for this emotion.

Additionally, it will give you the ability to choose how to react rather than reacting automatically, under the influence of emotion.

Indeed, between consciousness and mind , perception and reaction , we have a space where we can choose the response .

Your emotions will return to their proper places.

By being aware of your thoughts, your feelings, your emotional movements, you will be better able to give reasonable responses to the stimuli around you.

Strengthening the immune system

And yes, it is not only up there, in your brain, that meditative practice will modify elements.

If we think globally, without separating the body and the mind, it is quite logical that an improvement in your mental state will influence your biology .

I am sure that in your close or distant circle, you have already had the example of a person who developed cancer following an emotional shock.

The excess of unexpressed negative emotions, coupled with anxiety, triggered a direct response from the body.

Unfortunately for the worse.

Only, if the infernal spiral exists, the virtuous spiral also!

And you can start it now, by taking action, even a small one, towards your personal development.

As you will have understood, meditation goes in the direction of the virtuous spiral, and your biological factors will be improved.

It's not cancer that will develop, but your immunity that will be boosted!

This is done by reducing your stress and letting go of things you have no control over.

I'm not pulling these effects out of thin air; studies confirm them.

But more broadly, meditation will help you improve your overall health, especially if you are naturally stressed.

The further you go into the realm of self-awareness and relaxation, the more benefit you should get .

Even if we will see it later, this trend is not a general truth!

Have more positive emotions

To meditate, as I have been saying since the beginning of this article, is to know how to appreciate the present moment .

When we are in a meditative state, the past and the future no longer exist, as Eckhart Tolle, a best-selling author in the field of personal development, likes to point out.

It's only the moment that counts!

The very second you find yourself!

The constant impermanence …

And in this moment, you will be able to realize the beauty of existence...

You will be able to feel gratitude , love and inner peace .

You have to live it to believe it.

This is why I strongly encourage you to try this practice.

Moreover, by practicing presence in your daily life you will be able to be literally dazzled by the beauty of a flower, the pleasant temperature of the water when you do the dishes, the sweetness of a lover.

Here too, studies point in this direction: meditative practice increases feelings of happiness, love and compassion.

Live longer

Another crazy promise?

Not really, this millennia-old practice would have survived the ages for several reasons...

The mental, and therefore physical, well-being that it provides leads to increased longevity.

Indeed, as seen previously, meditation will give you more positive emotions which will ultimately influence your level of happiness and well-being.

From there, you don't need a PhD to understand that regular meditation practice will increase your longevity.

But let's not stop there, let me elaborate on my point...

Meditation first has a direct effect on the aging of your cells, because it impacts the expression of your genes within them.

The expression of your genes will determine what color your hair is, what shape your nose is, and also how you will cope with the passing of time!

Meditation is therefore not only a practice that will improve your health on the surface, it will actually have a deep impact on the billions of cells that make you up from head to toe.

Also, everyone can see the increase in the number of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's.

Well, meditation will prevent these problems by greatly improving memory skills, even in the space of just a few sessions!

Meditation has also shown very good results in promoting a healthy body composition, by limiting food compulsions, but also all kinds of addictions.

Obesity, one of the major ills of our modern society, could perhaps be reduced through presence sessions...

Finally, sleep, one of the pillars of optimal health, will be improved by meditation.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, about 45% of adults say that lack of sleep affects their health .

It's terrifying, almost one in two adults...

The positive thing is that many people will be able to put things in place to see their health improve and their potential grow.

Meditation, through its de-stressing and relaxing effect, will promote deeper and better quality sleep.

Obviously, studies have also been produced on this subject.

A meditation session before going to sleep will help you fall into the arms of Morpheus in just a few minutes.

Attention insomniacs…

With so many benefits, it's hard to believe that meditation won't help you live a longer, healthier life!

Pain resistance

This is a very interesting benefit, especially for people who suffer from chronic pain .

Discomforts that are difficult to match.

Several studies have shown that meditation can increase pain tolerance .

And this for several reasons…

By meditating regularly, you can develop a better ability to endure physical discomfort.

This improvement in pain tolerance is attributed to how meditation alters the perception of pain in your own brain!

Brain imaging studies have revealed that experienced meditators show reduced activity in areas of the brain associated with the sensation of pain.

This means that even if the pain is still present, it may be perceived as less intense.

So, it seems that we are not all equal when it comes to pain!

Additionally, meditation can stimulate the production of endorphins.

Endorphins are hormones that are often associated with well-being, but in addition to that they will have a natural analgesic effect, they will reduce your pain .

Finally, painful sensations can be exacerbated by negative emotions such as fear and anxiety.

As we have seen together, a deliberate practice of mindfulness will allow you to have more optimal management of your emotions, which can contribute to reducing the emotional impact of pain .

So what are you waiting for? Sit down cross-legged right now!

What are the dangers of meditation?

Meditation, a harmless practice ?

Mmh…

Not really !

Uncomfortable physical sensations

First, let's just talk about the position in which you will be able to meditate.

Just above I mentioned the cross-legged position.

For the form of the article.

Only this position is not accessible to everyone!

And I know something about it, myself a movement and mobility coach.

So it is not obligatory to take a confirmed Yogi position.

Tailored position, Seiza position or even the lotus position which requires even more flexibility.

But to put yourself in a comfortable posture .

Often just sitting is an interesting position.

Without a seat in the back, it could prevent some possible drowsiness.

But again, certain types of meditation can be done horizontally, lying on the floor.

This is the case of Yoga Nidra for example.

So the first point of vigilance that you will have to have is the position of your body during the session.

You may feel tingling, numbness, or pain in your spine.

If so, change position.

During your first meditation sessions you will already be using willpower to concentrate, so you should not make things more difficult by adding discomfort!

Increased anxiety and stress

But Slim, I just read that meditation can help me reduce my stress and anxiety!

It's rather counterintuitive indeed, but I learned this from listening to Dr. Andrew Huberman 's podcast.

Some people with anxiety may feel overwhelmed by their negative thoughts and emotions during a meditation practice.

This effect can be amplified during difficult life events .

Like the death of a loved one, for example.

In this case, meditation can be a harmful practice.

This technique, especially if it is interoceptive , that is to say if you focus your attention within yourself , will put you face to face with your fears, with emotions that are too intense.

Because you will be very attentive to the racing beats of your heart, to your shortness of breath, etc.

If you feel this during a session, stop immediately, it is not the time to meditate.

Maybe you could come back to it later today, in a few days or weeks...

This is not your time.

Mental disorders

For people with serious mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia , meditation may, in some cases, worsen their symptoms .

If you don't know what this disease is, or if you have prejudices...

Schizophrenia is an illness that results in cognitive restrictions , generalized anxiety , withdrawal from social life and in the most advanced cases, hallucinations and delusions .

It is a psychiatric illness which often requires extensive medical monitoring.

Additionally, some forms of meditation involve introspection and increased concentration.

For people with a history of obsessive-compulsive disorder , that is, repetitive and unreasonable behaviors , this would not be a very effective solution either.

If you are suffering from these symptoms and you absolutely want to try this practice, the best thing to do is to be accompanied by a teacher or coach specialized in the field who will be able to adapt to your profile.

If you don't fall into any of these three specific cases, welcome to the wonderful world of meditation!

How to meditate?

Meditation is a very accessible practice, but for some people mental barriers will get in their way.

And maybe that's you!

For most of us, we were raised in a very Cartesian Western culture , which unfortunately rejects, or questions this type of practice.

Your grandparents might not understand what meditation is at all and find it completely useless.

However, throughout their lives our ancestors continued to practice a practice that closely resembles meditation!

Without smartphones, most of their work or daily life tasks were done in a state of intense presence .

Well, we don't have that luxury anymore...

Telephones, televisions, tablets of all kinds have taken possession of our attention and of those famous moments of calm which previously dotted our daily lives so wonderfully.

This is why meditative work is, in my opinion, absolutely essential !

Enough talk, here's a simple protocol to help you get into that flow state that will make you appreciate every breath...

A Simple Protocol

For this protocol, I suggest you try mindfulness meditation .

For me, and for many experts, it is the simplest method for calmly reaching an adequate meditative state.

First of all, I invite you to settle down comfortably , in a position where you will not feel any discomfort or stiffness.

Find a place, usually at home, where you know you wo n't be disturbed for several minutes.

Distraction due to possible intervention by an outsider should be avoided as much as possible.

If there is a chance that you might be disturbed, it is better to wait for a more convenient time.

Then close your eyes .

Thanks to this you will enter into an interoceptive process which will allow you to concentrate more easily.

In fact, removing visual information will remove about 70% of information that could distract you .

Take a deep breath

Breathing is an incredible phenomenon, mastered in the right way it can easily defuse a negative attitude.

In just a few breaths you will be able to feel a gentle serenity settle in your limbs, in your chest, in your heart.

To relax, take slow, deep breaths .

On the contrary, to awaken yourself, take controlled and intense breaths .

Focus on the air moving in and out of your lungs, from the tip of your nose to the bottom of your stomach.

Practice Mindfulness

You will slowly be able to let go of your overly present thoughts .

Let them escape.

Be fully present in the moment, the here and now, that's all that matters.

If your mind starts to wander, that's completely normal.

Work on gently bringing him back to the present moment , without judging yourself.

Meditate for as long as you need...

In most cases, you don't need 30 minutes.

According to Dr. Andrew Huberman , three minutes is enough to feel the first effects of meditation.

To begin with, it is not necessary to meditate for long periods of time, often 5 to 10 minutes a day is enough!

Maybe you will increase the time, and the sessions later.

Maybe you'll be happy with just 5 to 10 minutes of presence a day...

It doesn't matter, it's always your relationship with the practice that's important, not what you read on the internet...

The Mouvers blog is one of them!

I'm just here to highlight elements that seem relevant to me, to give you a few tips, a few gems that seem useful and interesting to know.

It’s up to you to create the recipe that works for you!

Finish Smoothly

Let’s get back to the pure protocol…

When your meditation time is up, take a few deep breaths, gently open your eyes, and return to your usual level of consciousness .

Take a moment to stretch and wake up fully.

To feel that relaxation and tranquility that meditation has brought you.

How to improve?

We saw together how to meditate using the mindfulness meditation technique.

This method is called interoceptive, meaning that it focuses on everything that happens inside you, right down to the surface of your skin.

You should know that interoception is part of a continuum , and on the other side of this continuum, there is exteroception .

Exteroception is the perception of everything outside of you , outside of your own body.

These two states are accessible to everyone, and can vary depending on the person and the time of day.

For example, you may generally be prone to interoception and at a certain time of day be more efficient on the exteroceptive side.

On this subject, Dr. Andrew Huberman made a remark that may help you progress in your meditation practice.

When you sit down to do your meditation session, you can ask yourself which part of the continuum you are on, between interoception and exteroception.

For that you only have to observe yourself ...

Are you more attentive to what is happening inside you?

Or to the parameters that are outside of you?

According to Dr. Andrew Huberman , you'll be more likely to progress by going in the opposite direction of where you are at the time .

If you are currently more interoceptive, it is best to choose a meditation style that focuses on exteroception.

Choosing the option that will produce the most effort will lead you to evolve more quickly.

So, if this action represents a challenge, that's perfect!

To put it neuroscientifically, this will create new neural connections, and eventually, perhaps even create new neural networks.

Perhaps you are not familiar with the terms neurons, or neural networks.

Well, let me explain them to you with a very simple metaphor...

The first time you meditate on your weak point, interoception or exterioception, your brain will have more difficulty maintaining the meditative state,

He will wander in the future, in the past, be ineffective at the task.

Between your neurons there are structures that allow information to be transmitted , a sort of large wire, which links the neurons together and allows messages to be passed on, in chemical or electrical form...

Well, during your first meditation session, these chemical messages might be associated with a postman riding a bicycle on a winding path.

The factor must connect point A to point B.

But it doesn't roll straight, it encounters obstacles on its path, mud, stones, and it doesn't move forward very efficiently.

After 30 meditation sessions , the bicycle has transformed into a small car, which can move more serenely on a small country road, but which still faces obstacles.

Potholes in the road for example.

But the postman manages to deliver the message faster.

After 300 sessions , your message will be able to be transported in a nice sedan at 130 km/h on the highway.

After 1,000 meditation sessions , your neural circuitry will resemble a high-speed train line that encounters few difficulties during the journey.

You will understand that with a high-speed train, the message will have been transported from point A to point B with great efficiency .

Much more than the way the postman dragged him around with his bike.

Well, it's the same thing for nerve messages in your brain.

Moreover, a neural network will be similar to a high-speed train network between several cities!

And you can use this metaphor for many areas of your life…

Learn to ride a bike, learn to read, learn a new language, learn a new skill, learn a new sport, etc.

What are the different types of meditation?

Here I am not going to list all the types of meditation, for the simple reason that there are far too many to list here.

But I will mention several that seem relevant to me for a beginner meditator to know...

Furthermore, I am not going to return to the mindfulness meditation that I mentioned and explained in the section: Simple protocol for meditation.

Guided meditation.

Guided meditation involves following the instructions of a guide or audio recording that leads you through a meditation session.

This might involve practicing gratitude, focusing on your breathing, or focusing on progressively relaxing your muscles.

You will be able to find thousands of guided meditations via platforms like YouTube or Spotify .

It's a simple method for doing your very first session, or later exploring new horizons.

Zen Meditation or Zazen

It was developed and popularized by different schools of Zen Buddhism in Japan.

Zen meditation involves sitting in silence, usually in the lotus position or seiza,

And focus on your breathing.

The goal of this meditation is to empty your mind of all discursive thoughts and achieve a direct perception of reality .

Again, be in the present moment, deeply feel the moment.

Vipassana meditation

It is also called mindfulness meditation , it is based on fundamental principles which aim to develop mindfulness.

One of these pillars is observing your physical sensations.

In fact, you will have to pay careful attention to all the sensations that manifest in your body, whether they are pleasant, unpleasant or neutral.

This includes awareness of heartbeat, heat, cold, pain, tingling, etc.

Another essential pillar is developing a state of non-attachment.

You will have to learn to observe your sensations without reacting emotionally to them.

Finally, I would like to discuss with you a very effective relaxation practice...

Yoga Nidra

This technique is done with the help of an instructor, or via a guided meditation that you can easily find on the internet.

Yoga Nidra is a meditation that is most often performed in a lying position, with your eyes closed, where you will be able to follow different steps that will lead you to deep relaxation.

During the process you will be able to pay attention to all the different parts of your body.

From head to toe.

So that’s it for the types of meditation I wanted to share with you…

You will have noticed that in this article I have included a lot of scientific studies .

For me it is important to support what I say with scientific evidence.

However, and I want you to understand this, nothing will be more powerful and have more impact on you than the experiment itself!

This is why in my articles, or in the Mouvers Podcast, I always encourage action , even minimal, towards better well-being.

Even though I have just sung the praises of meditation far and wide, it may be that this practice is not suitable for you, at this moment in your life!

Who am I to think that the 7 billion human beings on this earth absolutely must meditate?

The person who knows you best is yourself , so don't let anyone stand in the way of your life experience.

There could be 1,000 studies on the subject, if a practice doesn't suit you, that's it and only that you should follow.

Your feelings.

And one day you might find the Holy Grail in terms of wellness practice.

He who has found the ocean no longer cares about rivers.

If you have read this article to the end, it is because you have enough willpower to improve yourself and become an even better human being ...

For this reason I warmly thank you for reading my Mouvers!

And if you want to bounce back or simply share your experience concerning your meditation practice, I look forward to hearing from you in the comments section 😉

Nomad Slim
Founder of MOUVERS