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Yoga meditation is a valid cross-training method for athletes that has been known to increase flexibility, agility, muscle strength and body endurance. Meditation classes can also help sufferers of depression, arthritis, joint pain and poor flexibility. People working at high-stress jobs may find that meditation helps them to get through the workday and unwind when they get home. There are many different types of yoga to examine. Here are some of the most popular.

Iyengar Yoga Meditation (as developed by Yogi B.K.S. Iyengar) uses a number of props to help individuals reach certain body positions (asanas) and alignments. Students of varying levels can use wooden blocks to raise the floor level or cotton straps to assist in stretching. Many students find the Iyengar meditation methods effective for treating sports injuries or improving flexibility. Your teacher will pay close attention to your precise posing and will help you correct any imperfections so you can achieve the maximum benefit. Iyengar Yoga is best for new students who like the hands-on assistance and learning all the poses.

Ashtanga Yoga Meditation — sometimes called Vinyasa or Power Yoga — creates heat in the body to purge it of toxins and is considered one of the more rigorous methods. Students will go through a number of asana sequences rapidly, which are designed to improve flexibility, endurance and strength. There is also a spiritual side, which involves eight limbs: Yama (conduct code and self-restraint); Niyama (study and devotion); Asana (mind and body connection through physical exercise); Pranayama (breathing regulation), Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses); Dharana (concentration); Dhyana (quiet meditation); and Samadhi (blissful awareness). Ashtanga classes are great for those who are fit enough to conquer the poses and who also wish to practice transcendental meditation.

Most yoga meditation occurs in a group setting, with 10-20 other students and a trained teacher. Often times, incense is lit and light music plays in the background. If you’re new to how meditation works and how yoga works, then you may want to purchase a book that shows you the various poses so you don’t feel lost in the class. Some meditation styles — like Iyengar, Kundalini and Sivananda — move at a slower pace, which is helpful for beginners; whereas, Bikram Yoga and Ashtanga Yoga are more intense for people who are generally drawn toward more active workouts.

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If you’ve ever wondered “why learn to meditate” before, well wonder no more. The National Institute of Health has spent more than $21 million conducting research on meditation and its effects on the mind and body. Transcendental meditation in particular is one of the most-studied alternative therapies in existence. Over the years, there have been studies on metabolic/biochemical/cardiovascular changes (67), personality development (55), overall health (49), learning/academic performance (49), rehabilitation (44), electro-physiological changes (41), the Maharishi Effect/transcendence (41), motor/perceptual ability (26), psychology (25), physiological changes (24), sociology (17), physiology stability (16), and productivity/quality of life (12).

If you’re an insomniac, then you needn’t ask “why learn to meditate” at all — for the secret lies in deep relaxation meditation. At the June 2009 Associated Professional Sleep Societies meeting, researchers from Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Evanston, Illinois reported their findings that daytime meditation improved the quality of sleep in patients with insomnia. Patients noted marked improvement in their sleep latency, total sleep time, total wake time, sleep efficiency, sleep quality and depression symptoms after two months of practicing Kriya Yoga meditation methods. “Results of the study show that teaching deep relaxation techniques during the daytime can help improve sleep at night,” said study leader Ramadevi Gourineni MD.

Zen meditation, one of the types of meditation, can lower pain sensitivity both in and out of a meditative state. The study conducted by the Universit

Though concentrative meditation has been around for more than 2,500 years, the practice has been making recent headlines. According to USA Today, “Studies suggest the practice can ease pain, improve concentration and immune function, lower blood pressure, curb anxiety and insomnia, and possibly even help prevent depression. Newer research tools, such as high-tech brain scans, show how meditation might have diverse effects” (6/8/2009). The New York Times reports, “This exercise in focused awareness and mental catch-and-release of emotions has become perhaps the most popular new psychotherapy technique of the past decade. The promise of mindfulness meditation is that it can help patients endure flash floods of emotion during the therapeutic process — and ultimately alter reactions to daily experience at a level that words cannot reach.”

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche comes from a long distinguished lineage of Buddhist meditation masters. “Mindfulness practice is simple and completely feasible. Just by sitting and doing nothing, we are doing a tremendous amount,” he explains. To get started, he suggests creating a favorable environment to make it easier to practice. There should be a sacredness about one’s place of meditation. Mindfulness meditation is best undertaken in a place of silence that is not too disturbing. Some people create special alcoves in the home with candles, plants, yoga mats and fountains, where they can be at peace to meditate each day. Others retreat to their gardens, an uplifting place of respite. Another group of people prefer the company of other like-minded individuals at a special meditation center.

In the comfortable place set aside for mindfulness meditation, one should sit upright on a floor cushion or chair. Meditation classes teach us that posture is important to the flow of energy as it courses from the mind down the spine and back up again. Eyes should be open and cast slightly downward, but not staring. “It’s as if you had an overhead light shining over the whole room,” explains Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, “and all of a sudden you focus it down right in front of you. You are purposefully ignoring what is going on around you. You are putting the horse of mind in a smaller corral.”

The most difficult part of mindfulness meditation is learning to let go of the barrage of thoughts that arrive. Meditation teacher Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche instructs us that “No matter what kind of thought comes up, you should say to yourself, ‘That may be a really important issue in my life, but right now is not the time to think about it. Now I’m practicing meditation.’ It gets down to how honest we are, how true we can be to ourselves, during each session.” He adds that it’s the mind’s natural tendency to run wild and we have to recognize that and refrain from trying to force meditation to happen. As each thought arises, we label it as “thinking” and gently return to our meditative breathing, arriving back at the present situation of training the mind. Over time, the meditation methods fade away and we are left with a sense of relaxation and wellness.

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Some Eastern practitioners say that many people do not really understand meditation. Here in the West, we are fairly new to this Buddhist practice that is over 2,500 years old. We often confuse meditation and relaxation, assuming they are the same, even though they are not. Relaxation releases stress and emphasizes “letting go,” whereas meditation focuses on disciplining the mind and maintaining an altered state of consciousness. It’s true that relaxation often occurs as a result of meditation, but meditation is so much more. There are many different meditation techniques to help you get started.

Most of the modern techniques for mediation fall into one of two categories: Zen-based forms (which involve insight meditation) and Hinduism-based forms (which involve concentrative meditation). With Zen-based meditation, like vipassana or mindfulness meditation, you will become aware of the passing of thoughts and feelings, without becoming emotionally involved. The person meditating sits quietly and allows any thought to pass through the mind, while gently redirecting the focus to the here and now. Breathing and observing body sensations helps to block out distractions to achieve perfect concentration, although there is always a consciousness about the process of achieving meditation.

The concentrative method of meditation aims to help your ability to focus. To do this, you may focus on breath, a mental image, a physical object or a phrase. There are many different breathing methods. For instance, the fourfold breath asks you to breathe-in to a count of four, hold your breath for four seconds and then breathe-out for a count of four. When you are focusing on a mental image, you can choose anything from a beach scene to flames, but the image should have spiritual significance to you. Those meditating focus on items like rocks, flowers, candles or other items with significance attached. Other meditation techniques, such as mantra meditation may involve the repetition of a phrase like “I am that I am” or “Desire nothing — be content with everything.”

There are many ways to learn meditation techniques. You could visit www.shambhalasun.com to look up classes and centers nearest you. Other people would rather read books, listen to a guided meditation CD or watch a video to learn in the privacy of their own home. There are also a number of free resources available online. Spiritual meditation truly is an art that involves much time, dedication and practice. Once you master it, however, you will find you are a better person.

Beth Kaminski is the co-author of Curing Your Anxiety And Panic Attacks which detailed treatment for anxiety attacks as well as tips on the various anxiety attack medications available at anxietydisordercure.com.