Yesterday we had a general look at meditation, and how it may help with certain medical conditions. Today we will look at some different types of meditation.

Concentration meditation: Calming your mind

Concentration meditation involves focusing your attention on a single object. Objects of meditation can include your breathing, an image you visualize in your mind or a real image you look at, such as a candle flame or sacred icon. One purpose of concentration meditation is to help you focus your attention and concentrate. If you have a lot on your mind and find you're having trouble concentrating in your everyday life, take a break to meditate and return to your project refreshed.

Here are some examples.

Breathe deeply. If you're a beginner, consider starting with this technique.
Breathing is a natural function that you won't have to consciously learn. You simply pay attention to your breathing — how it feels when air enters or leaves your nostrils. Don't follow it down to your lungs. When you feel your attention wander, gently return your focus to your breathing. Scan your body. When using this technique, you'll focus your attention on sensations, such as pain, tension, warmth or relaxation in different parts of your body. Combine body scanning with breathing exercises and imagine breathing heat or relaxation into and out of different parts of your body. Repeat a sacred name or phrase. A mantra is the name of a sacred deity or a sacred phrase that you repeat silently or aloud. You can create your own mantra, if you'd like. Mantras are the building blocks of transcendental meditation. Examples of religious mantras include a Jesus prayer in the Christian tradition, the holy name of God in Judaism, or the om mantra of Tibetan Buddhism.

Exercise your imagination.

A related practice is guided imagery, in which someone's voice, whether taped or live, directs you through a visualization exercise. Once you reach a state of deep relaxation, most likely through meditation, you create a visual image of whatever the person directing the exercise suggests. Perhaps it's a peaceful place, such as a garden, where you feel calm and safe.

Meditation in motion:

A conscious blend of body and mind Meditation that includes movement can be spontaneous and free-form or involve highly structured, choreographed, repetitive patterns. This type of meditation may be particularly helpful if you find it hard to sit still.

The following are examples:

Yoga. Yoga involves a series of postures, during which you pay special attention to your breathing — exhaling during certain movements and inhaling with others. You can approach yoga as a way to promote physical flexibility, strength and endurance or as a way to enhance your spirituality.

Tai chi. Tai chi involves gentle, deliberate circular movements combined with deep breathing. As you concentrate on the motions of your body, you develop a feeling of peace and tranquility.

Qi gong. This technique arises from ancient China. Similar to yoga and tai chi, it integrates physical postures, breathing techniques and focused attention.

Walking meditation. Combining a walk with meditation is an efficient and healthy way to relax. You can use this technique anywhere — in a tranquil forest, on a city sidewalk or even inside a building where you work. When you use this method, slow down the pace of walking so that you can focus on each movement of your legs or feet. Don't focus on a particular destination. Concentrate on your legs and feet, repeating action words such as "lifting," "moving" and "placing" as you lift each foot, move your leg forward and place your foot on the ground. You can substitute other words if you like. Some people prefer to signal the beginning and end of a walking meditation with a ritual, such as the ringing of a bell, a ceremonial bow, silent prayer or spoken words of thankfulness.

Sufi walking or dancing. A form of moving meditation that developed in medieval Islam, you'll walk or dance in a rhythmic fashion while chanting. From the Islamic perspective, the intent of the chant is to focus your mind on a specific quality of God, or Allah. If you're Muslim and want to focus on strength and courage, you could walk or dance with forceful steps, arms swinging, and chant "Allah akbar," meaning "God is great."

You can merge this meditation technique with any faith tradition and focus on any sacred object or deity. If you don't consider yourself spiritual or religious, you could focus on an aspect of a phenomenon, such as birth or nature, and chant words or phrases symbolic of that phenomenon.