Are there different types of meditation, I'm genuinely curious?

[Gender Phoenix]

Are there different types of meditation or ways in which to meditate? I'm genuinely curious about how people of different religions meditate.

Most forms I've seen revolve around being mindful of your thoughts while controlling your breathing.

Singing involves breathing and so my own form of meditation mixes singing into it as well. I prefer to move fluidly and gracefully when I meditate rather than sit still.

May peace and love be with you always.

Originally Posted by Gender Phoenix

Are there different types of meditation or ways in which to meditate? I'm genuinely curious about how people of different religions meditate.

Most forms I've seen revolve around being mindful of your thoughts while controlling your breathing.

Singing involves breathing and so my own form of meditation mixes singing into it as well. I prefer to move fluidly and gracefully when I meditate rather than sit still.

May peace and love be with you always.

Meditation is both a practice and a state. While the techniques practiced are vast the end product is a meditative state. There are many doors into the same room.

[wstein]

There is only one meditation state.
There are however hundreds of ways to get to that state (AKA practices).
My favorite practice is walking meditation. One walks a bit slower than normal gait while being fully present (in the now). It can be done anywhere but outdoors on fairly easy terrain works best.

It's not a bad idea to have several techniques available. If one gets stale switch to another for a time. It's like hitting a plateau when lifting weights. Change weight, sets, reps, exercises.

For me my main techniques are vipassana/calm abiding and choiceless awareness/do-nothing meditation. My backups are mindfulness of sound (Tibetan singing bowls) and mindfulness of smell (vanilla incense) and sometimes candle gazing. That's formal practice.

For informal practice anything will do. Walking, eating, cleaning, driving, virtually anything one does during the day.

[RedEmbers]

I was just asking myself the same question last night.

I went on to watch a few videos on this very question and also read some content as well.

From what I could ascertain it seems that the main types of meditation are mindfulness which we are aware of sensations, thoughts and feelings but practice being the observer(which is what I've been practicing), concentration meditation (focusing on a single point of awareness or simply focusing on the breath), visualisation and transcendental which is unfortunately a trademarked name. It uses chanting to help one drop one into the state which is below thought, I think that this might be what people refer to "bliss" state though I'm uncertain.


I'm sure there are some free resources somewhere, techniques on how to access that state without having to pay someone an insane amount of money for a trademarked teqnique to access a state which is readily available for free.

Then their are all the different styles and techniques to help one get into each of those states as well.