What is meditation?

Meditation is a set of mental techniques that help train your attention and awareness.
Meditation often involves concentrating on your breathing or on a particular phrase,
object, or idea to create a calm, focused, and relaxed mental state.
Meditation is an ancient practice with a rich cultural history. It has been used for
thousands of years in Eastern medicine and traditions. Nearly every major religion—
Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism—incorporates some form of meditation
into its religious practices.1
Today many people use meditation for nonreligious, non-spiritual purposes: to help
manage stress, to increase their focus and awareness daily, to improve their mood, and
to get. mental clarity.
Starting a meditation practice is a great way to enhance your mental well-being. Plus it
is free, with no special equipment, memberships, or training required.

How to use it?

Find a quiet place free from distractions: Turn off your phone, your tv, and
other electronics. If you want to have music or sound in the background,
choose something calming and repetitive, like rain or ocean sounds.
Find a comfortable position: Most meditations occur in a seated position. The
key is to find a position you can comfortably hold for several minutes. This
could be sitting cross-legged on the floor, sitting in a chair, or sitting on the
floor with a blanket, pillow, or cushion elevating your hips.

You can find more information about meditation in our blog.

Meditation tools we love in 2021
What are the best meditation tools, equipment, and device you have
ever used?

• Zen chairs
• Buddhist malas
• Muse Headbands

As a mindfulness instructor, I’ve used all sorts of meditation equipment

over the years.  And in this list, I will show you my absolute favorite aids
for meditation. 
A Meditation Mala (Yoga Beads)
Capabilities

Malas are prayer beads that are used for counting breaths
and for Japa (mantra recitations). They are one of the most
important Buddhist mindfulness tools to buy. And they are
also important for yoga. After all, according to the Eight
Limbs of yoga by Patanajali, meditation is as important as Culture Structures
asanas.
Most malas have 108 beads. As we practice, we count the
beads from 1 to 108 so we know how many breaths we have
taken (or how many times we have recited a mantra) and to
help us focus on meditating.
Malas come in varying sizes and there are a wide variety of
materials to choose from. Strategy
Meditation Chair

“When sitting, sit”. So says the old Zen proverb. 

That proverb basically means to sit still, not fidget, and to be mindful of
sitting.
If you want to sit still and not fidget, then the best meditation tool to
buy is a good chair to sit on.
The posture we use when sitting is incredibly important for most
meditations, especially Zazen (seated Zen meditation, as taught by
Thich Nhat Hanh). Andy Puddicombe from Headspace states that
proper posture is imperative for good meditation.
The best chairs don’t just support your back, they actually help you
meditate because they support your posture, and good posture
improves cognitive performance (such as by helping you focus). 
As someone who spends a lot of time sitting on rocks doing Vipassana,
I’m always aware of the difference a comfortable chair can make.
Check out our collection of the best meditation chairs.
A Meditation Cushion 
A good cushion can be used either with a chair or as a standalone
product.
I remember when I used to sit on the floor to meditate. I would fidget
all the time. It was difficult to find the right stillness in my body. And if
the body is not still the mind will not be either.
That’s why a cushion is one of the best meditation tools to buy. It aids
by providing more comfort and by promoting good posture. It’s also
one of the best items of meditation equipment to take on a retreat or
whenever you travel.
Plus, a great cushion looks beautiful in your Zen room. You could
always go with a traditional Zen meditation cushion, which is called a
Zafu. You will have seen these if you have ever visited Zen monasteries.
They are important for protecting the knees when kneeling to
meditate. 
 A Tibetan Singing Bowl
My favourite musical equipment has to be a Tibetan Singing Bowl.
Tibetan Singing Bowls are so much more than just musical instruments.
They have been scientifically proven to put our brains into more restful
states. And they help us meditate.
These beautiful instruments became incredibly popular after Yogi
Bhajan brought sound healing to the West and explained how certain
frequencies of sounds can help with the mind and body. One
instrument Yogi Bhajan advocated was the Tibetan Singing Bowl,
famed for its healing powers.
These are one of the best Buddhist meditation tools to buy because of
the powerful effect they have on the mind. Cathy Wong on 
VeryWellMind says, “Research does support the idea that these singing
bowls can enhance meditation and deep breathing, which may help
maximize the stress-relieving benefits of those practices.”.
Take a quick look at my guide to Tibetan Singing Bowls, which I wrote
to explain the power and beauty of these instruments. 
Get your Tibetan Singing Bowl Now
Meditation Apps
There are so many Android / iOS apps on the market, like 
Calm, Headspace and other daily meditation apps.
Some apps work as timers. Others offer guided sessions designed to help you
relax. However, do bear in mind that there are major limitations of the guided
method, and it is not a suitable replacement for proper practice according to
Harvard Medical School.
The sheer variety and versatility of mindfulness apps makes them one of the
most essential meditation tools to buy now. And many are even completely
free! 
I will mention that, despite what Headspace founder Andy Puddicombe might
say, meditation apps are not as powerful as traditional forms of meditation.
Indeed, in 2019 Harvard Medical School released an article in which they
stated that mindfulness apps do not provide nearly as much benefit as
proper, traditional meditation. However, they are an easy way to get started
and can help you to form the habit of meditating.
Some of the best apps include:
• Synctuition
• Calm
• and InsightTimer
A Meditation Book 
Hands up who loves reading? I know I do. And as a meditation instructor, I
especially love reading books on the practice [here is one of the 
best meditation books].
Some of the best meditation book authors you should look out for are:
•Sharon Salzberg (New York Times bestselling author and teacher of Buddhist
meditation)
•John Kabat Zinn [American professor emeritus of medicine and the creator of
the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health
Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. ]
• Thich Nhat Hanh [Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk, peace activist, and
founder of the Plum Village Tradition.]
•Pema Chodron [American Tibetan Buddhist., ordained nun, former acharya
of Shambhala Buddhism and disciple of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche.]
•Me, obviously.
 Zen Meditation Music
Meditation music is much more than pure entertainment. It is a tool for
meditation. It helps us to relax and focus.
Meditation music is specifically composed to promote relaxing brainwaves
and to calm the mind.
My absolute favourite musician is Deva Premal. She’s a singer with a simply
angelic voice. And the music she creates is like pure nectar for the spirit. It’s so
relaxing and healing. She is famous for producing music that uses Sanskrit
mantras. Truly sensational. Also notable is Krishna Das [American vocalist
known for his performances of Hindu devotional music].
There is a ton of meditation music to listen to on Here ,

HOW ABOUT TAKING A REST AND START PUTTING YOUR HEADPHONES ON T

O LISTEN TO THE BEST MEDITATION MUSIC
YOU FELT SOMETHING INSIDE YOU DIDN’T YOU???!!!

Listen to this last one and tell me what do you think here
 Muse Meditation Assistant
Muse [available on AMAZON] is a truly unique and wonderful mindfulness
tool. It’s modern and a little futuristic, but it is definitely a good piece of
equipment to buy.
Muse works as a personal assistant. When you put the Muse headband on
and start the app it plays relaxing music designed to calm the mind. You then
focus on those sounds.
As you practice, Muse measures whether you’re calm or stressed and uses
that information to change the sounds it’s playing. When calm, you hear
peaceful sounds, when the mind wanders you hear more intense sounds that
remind you to relax. This helps you to be mindful of how you are feeling.
Data is then used to show you how you’re progressing.
This is truly 21st Century mindfulness at its best. It is an aid for meditation to
help relax. Highly recommended for anyone who is serious about using
technology to enhance their practice. Probably the best modern meditation
equipment to buy.
GET A Case for your muse NOW!!!
 Guided Meditation Recordings
Guided methods are the easiest way to practice. And although they are
massively limited compared to more traditional techniques, they are very
helpful for beginners who just want some inner calm.  
If you like Zen with zero effort, you will definitely like guided sessions.
These days there are millions of guided meditations on Youtube, and some of
them are truly exceptional.
There are many free guided meditation recordings on Mindful.
Here are some of the best guided meditation recording artists to listen to:
•Michael Sealey 
•Jason Stephenson
•Sharon Salzbery , Jack Kornfield
 Buddhist Gongs
Gongs are definitely one of my favourite musical meditation tools.
Gongs look absolutely stunning, and they sound divine. Of all the meditation
aids out there, this is one of the most impressive to show your friends.
Buddhist gongs are specifically designed to create frequencies that help us
meditate by entering the brain into a relaxed and focused state. [2]
By simply sitting and listening to a gong you can quickly relax and focus the
mind.
My guide to buying gongs shares everything you need to know about these
beautiful instruments.
 Zen Gardens
Zen Gardens are actually Japanese Rock Gardens. Many centuries ago, Zen
monks began to turn gardening into a mindfulness practice. And the hobby
took off from there.
Today there are full-size Zen gardens at temples. Some extremely cool people
have them in their own garden, or even indoors. And others have desktop Zen
gardens.
Zen gardens are great because:
1. Creating them is an exercise in mindfulness
2. We can meditate in them.

See One of the best meditative gardens In the world specifically in Japan.
Click here:
 All The New Meditation Tech
The technology industry really has created some of the best meditation tools
we’ve seen in years.
Some of the best meditation aids include:
• Lights. Click here to enjoy the lights !!!
•Get yours here
• Headbands
• Headphones
• Brain sensing technology
• Software
Meditation Games
In 2021 we’re seeing the rise of medi-tainment.
One of the most popular types of medi-tainment is video games. Check out
these games for examples.
When I’m chilling out I love to play a relaxing game like Flower or Journey (see
the link above for more).
These game are relaxing and help us to get into that Zen-state that we all
know and love. We are just witnessing the rise of the medi-tainment now, and
there are bound to be lots more games soon.
 Incense and Candles

Incense has been used for centuries in various places of worship, and it is a
popular item to have on your meditation altar. Burning incense is usually
done as part of spiritual practice or as a form of offering to various gods. It is
also an excellent way of clearing negative energy.
In the Buddhist tradition, burning incense is part of a meditative practice that
is used to help clean the mind of impure thoughts and to increase focus ready
for meditation, according to Barbara O’Brien, who trained at Zen Mountain
Monastery.
Incense is comprised of spices and oils and can be purchased in various
scents and as clumps, cones, or sticks. They are burnt in metal balls that sway
in the wind.
Candles are also a popular meditation tool. In particular, candles can be used
in types of meditation like Trataka, a yogic meditation in which we meditate
on a lit candle.
  SkyLite ($$)
GET IT ON AMAZON  

This is a really relaxing meditation tool that is perfect for nighttime. If you
don’t feel like going deep in a proper meditation, just lie down and gaze up at
the stars. The soothing blue light will help you to relax and drift off.
The SkyLite features simple button controls you can use to cycle through
lighting effect and adjust the brightness of sky/ceiling.   
If you want to use it during meditation, set the lighting to a relaxing dim blue
and focus on your breath for 10 minutes.