Exploring the Paths: Types of Meditation
Many Paths, One Destination
Meditation is not a single practice but a family of practices, each offering a unique doorway into presence. Just as there are many paths up a mountain, there are many ways to cultivate stillness and awareness.
What follows is an exploration of seven meditation styles. Some may resonate immediately; others may feel foreign. There's no hierarchy here—only invitation. Try what calls to you.
Breath Meditation
Perhaps the most accessible form of meditation, breath awareness uses the natural rhythm of your breathing as an anchor for attention.
The Practice:
- Sit comfortably and close your eyes
- Simply notice your breath—the inhale, the exhale, the pause between
- When your mind wanders (and it will), gently return to the breath
- No need to control or change anything; just observe
"Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile."
Breath meditation is a beautiful starting point because you always have your breath with you. It requires nothing external—just willingness.
Mantra Meditation
In mantra meditation, you repeat a word, phrase, or sound—either aloud or silently—to focus the mind and invoke a particular quality of consciousness.
The Practice:
- Choose a mantra that resonates (examples: "Om," "Peace," "I am enough," or traditional Sanskrit mantras)
- Sit quietly and begin repeating the mantra
- Let the words become a rhythm, almost like a heartbeat
- Allow the meaning to dissolve into pure vibration
Mantras have been used for thousands of years across traditions. The repetition gives the mind something to hold onto while simultaneously transcending thought.
Visualization Meditation
This practice uses the power of imagination to cultivate specific states of being—peace, healing, connection, or clarity.
The Practice:
- Close your eyes and create a mental image
- This might be a peaceful place (a beach, forest, or mountain)
- Or it might be more abstract—visualizing light filling your body, or roots growing from your feet into the earth
- Engage all your senses: What do you see, hear, feel, smell?
Visualization is particularly powerful for those who think in images. It bridges the gap between meditation and creative imagination.
Walking Meditation
Not all meditation happens sitting still. Walking meditation brings mindful awareness to movement, making it ideal for those who struggle with stillness.
The Practice:
- Find a quiet path—even 20 feet is enough
- Walk slowly, much slower than normal
- Feel each component: lifting the foot, moving it forward, placing it down
- Coordinate with breath if helpful
- When you reach the end, pause, turn mindfully, and continue
Walking meditation reminds us that presence is available in motion. It's especially valuable when sitting feels impossible.
Loving-Kindness (Metta) Meditation
This heart-centered practice cultivates compassion and goodwill—first toward yourself, then expanding outward to others and eventually all beings.
The Practice:
- Sit quietly and bring to mind someone you love easily
- Silently offer phrases: "May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be safe. May you live with ease."
- Gradually expand: to yourself, to neutral people, to difficult people, to all beings
- Feel the warmth in your heart as you offer these wishes
Metta meditation softens the heart and dissolves the illusion of separation. It's particularly healing for those carrying self-criticism or resentment.
Body Scan Meditation
The body scan brings systematic attention to physical sensations, cultivating both relaxation and embodied awareness.
The Practice:
- Lie down or sit comfortably
- Beginning at the top of your head (or the soles of your feet), slowly move your attention through each part of the body
- Notice sensations without trying to change them: tension, warmth, tingling, numbness
- Spend a few breaths with each area before moving on
- End with awareness of the body as a whole
Body scan meditation is excellent for releasing stored tension and reconnecting with physical experience. It's often used for stress relief and better sleep.
Mindfulness / Open Awareness Meditation
Rather than focusing on any single object, open awareness meditation invites you to observe whatever arises—thoughts, sounds, sensations—without attachment or judgment.
The Practice:
- Sit quietly with eyes closed or softly open
- Instead of focusing on one thing, open your awareness to everything
- Notice thoughts arising and passing like clouds
- Notice sounds coming and going
- Notice sensations in the body
- Simply witness, without grasping or pushing away
"You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather."
This is sometimes called "choiceless awareness." It cultivates the witness consciousness—the part of you that observes experience without being lost in it.
Finding Your Practice
There's no need to choose just one. Many meditators blend practices or move between them depending on what they need. Some days call for the structure of mantra; others invite the openness of awareness meditation.
The "best" meditation is simply the one you'll actually do.
Start where you are. Begin with what feels accessible. Trust that the practice will deepen over time.
And remember: every moment of presence is a victory. Every return to awareness, after the mind has wandered, is the practice working perfectly.