Meditation techniques

There are numerous methods of practicing meditation. Few of them are as follows :
Breathing Meditation
This is the most easy and direct method of meditation. Taking slow, deep breaths can calm your body and mind in less then minutes. Be quiet, inhale and exhale from the nose slowly and deeply keeping your awareness on the breath. The breath is always with you and you can meditate on it at any place and at any time.
Walking Meditation
When you feel agitated or restless and the thought of sitting itself makes you even more miserable, try this meditation. Walk mindfully for 10 to 15 minutes. Try to harmonize your steps with your breathing. The repetitive motion of your legs and arms helps you to enter a meditative state which takes away the anxiety and anger.
Mantra Meditation
Mantra meditation, also called praying meditation is a good way to comfort you in times of stress and anxiety. Sit in a comfortable meditative pose with eyes gently closed. Keep your back straight and stretched up with shoulders relaxed. Recite silently a pleasant mantra of your choice-Om, Soham, Gayatri, the Serenity Prayer (God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage the change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference) or any other specific one. The mind should be fully focused on the rhythmic flow of the mantra.
Meditation on Thoughts
This is similar to transcendental meditation, TM, the trademark of Mahesh Yogi. Sit comfortably in any meditative posture. Keep your back upright and shoulders relaxed. Close your eyes gently. Concentrate on whatever thoughts come to your mind. Let them come and go without analyzing them. Slowly the thoughts will start disappearing and after about 20 minutes, the mind becomes completely quiet and clam. So, sit in this meditation at least for 20 minutes to feel the effect.
Chakra Meditation
This is an advanced meditative practice in which the concentration is focused on the various energy centres, charkas in the body. Sit in a comfortable meditative posture. Close the eyes gently and breathe slowly and deeply. Feel the breath moving along the spinal column. During inhaling, imagine the breath moving up along the Mooladhara, Swadhisthana, Manipura, Anahata, Vishudhi, Ajna and Sahasrara charka. While exhaling, feel the breath moving down form Sahasrara to Mooladhara charka piercing the various charkas. Adjust your breathing so that by the time you finish inhaling, the attention should reach from Mooladhara to Sahasrara charka. Similarly, your attention should reach from Sahasrara to Mooladhara charka by the time you exhale completely.
One can advance his meditation further after getting some proficiency in its practice. Hold your attention on each charka for as long as you please. Imagine you are breathing in and out from the charka on which you are holding attention. Visualize the important attributes of that charka. Move your attention and breathing from one to the other charka sequentially.
Meditation on Light
Focusing attention on a source of light like a candle or lamp is also a good way of meditation. Keep a burning candle about four feet from you in level with your eyes. Gaze at the candle for as long as you can without blinking the eyes. Now close the eyes gently, and mentally watch the flame of the orange, black, crimson red, etc. When the flame fades away or disappears from your mind, open the eyes and again capture the flame in your eyes. Keep repeating this a number of times till the flames stays bright and steady with your eyes closed.
Image Meditation
In this practice, we visualize some form or image on which we try to hold our attention. This form could be an image of your favourite god or you can visualize anything else that you may like. It may be the picture of a your girlfriend or boyfriend, some interesting and pleasing article-whatever can hold your attention. Sit in a comfortable meditative posture. Keep your back upright and shoulders relaxed. Close your eyes gently and breathe slowly and deeply. Concentrate on the form you have selected. If your mind wanders and shifts away from that form, bring your attention back to it. Practise this meditation for as along as you please.