You Train your Body. But How about your Mind?
Just like walking and other physical exercises train your body for fitness, endurance, strength etc, Meditation is training your mind for concentration, peace, clarity, joy, creativity etc. Meditation is very easy. But like learning any new subject, art or sport, this too requires consistent practice. It is very important to make it a daily practice - like your everyday walking, gym, yoga or aerobic sessions.
The goal of each of us who do simple physical exercise is not to become an Ussain Bolt or Cristiano Ronaldo or MS Dhoni or Mary Kom. Similarly doing meditation daily does not mean all of us are destined to become a monk in the Himalayas. Each of us have different goals for our physical training. Some of us train to gain endurance, some of us train for losing weight, some of us exercise to build muscles and some of us just want to maintain our fitness.
Similarly there are different kinds of meditations to train the mind for different goals. You may have seen short meditations that purely focus on improving concentration. Some meditations, like Chakra Meditation, focus on healing. There are others that focus on awakening latent energies. And there are some like Breath-Awareness meditation that cover a broader spectrum of benefits.
We usually do physical exercises to get rid of excess fat, maintain flexible joints and strong muscles or simply help prepare for some outdoor events like marathons, dance festivals,.. Similarly different techniques used in meditation help in improving concentration and focus or help heal specific pains and stress-induced illness or help dissolve unhelpful habits, beliefs and attitude. Depending on the expected outcome of our meditation or mind training, the techniques used and discipline required may vary.
The times and environment we live in add a lot of unhealthy emotions and stressful thoughts every day. Our mind gathers irritants like greed, anger, hatred, jealousy and doubt. Meditation practices brings the mind to a state of awareness, tranquility, concentration and insight. Every one needs to know the science and art of meditation to realize and live their great potential.