You surely must have noticed that life and its daily endeavors have become quite hectic lately. Meetings to attend, deadlines to beat, clients to win over, these are just some of the daily tasks entailed in any professional’s life. Thus, there is indeed a need to find that perfect method to relax oneself, in the hopes of attaining revitalization. If you are one of the people in dire need of rest and relaxation, you just might want to consider taking up Zen meditation.

Now, there are a lot of meditation forms that date back to many years ago, and Zen meditation is one of the modern forms. But more and more people are actually joining the club and taking up Zen meditation. This is despite the fact that Zen meditation is actually a bit stricter than the classic forms. So, what is it about this form of meditation that has a caught the attention of a lot of people?

To have a deeper understanding of Zen meditation, then there is an inevitable need to understand the practice that serves as its foundation: Zen. Zen is a form of Buddhism that greatly depends on wisdom and experimental facts. Zen itself also relies on Zen meditation. The position Zen practitioners take upon meditation is known as the Lotus. This position actually has a lot of variations. These include the half-lotus, also known as the seiza. Another position that is worth mentioning is the kinhin. This is actually the position taken by Zen practitioners when they want to meditate while walking. This practice is actually categorized into Soto Zen and Rinzai Zen. A variation of techniques is also entailed in these subcategories. What is important here is the position taken by the person when doing Zen meditation. Aside from the position, you should also pay attention to your breathing.

Now, let us get into the basic techniques any beginner should be familiar with when trying out Zen meditation. The first of many instructions would actually be to free your mind. Being a beginner, it is ideal for you to be seated while you attempt to empty your mind. You may think this is an easy enough thing to do, but it actually is not. You will soon find out that it takes a huge amount of discipline just to free your mind from any thoughts whatsoever. This is because thoughts on just about anything can come popping in your head anytime.

Contemplation is the next step, which would start with you looking at your left hand, with your mind still free of any thoughts. Remember that you should be in a lotus position here, so your left hand should be on your left knee or thigh. From looking at your left hand, you should slowly move up towards your left arm. Slowly, you should then acknowledge the left portion of your body. Feel that portion of your body as intensely as you can.

Once you feel that your left portion of the body has been properly activated already, then it is time to move on to breathing exercises. It is important for you to do this as slowly as possible. As you proceed, you should then take deeper and deeper breaths. This may be a bit hard to do, if you’re still a beginner. But in time, you will soon learn the art of taking longer and deeper breaths, as required in Zen meditation.

But why the left portion of your body? This is because the left hemisphere of the brain is actually responsible for logic, thinking, and science. With the proper activation of the brain’s left hemisphere, Zen meditation would also be properly carried out.