Starting a Meditation Program at Your Yoga Studio, Part 1

Meditation is becoming mainstream, and its benefits continue to emerge. People are approaching their mental health like their physical health, and meditation is one of the tools they are implementing.

As we learned in the Third Annual Yoga Studio Benchmark Report, yoga studios are adding breathing or meditation classes to their schedules. To what extent is unknown, but we reported that 1/3 of the survey respondents this year offer some type of breathing or meditation class.

The benefits of meditation don’t stop at the individual level, though. The mindful nature of yoga puts studios in a great position to take advantage of meditation’s rise in popularity and improve the health of their business.

In Part 1 of Starting a Meditation Program at Your Yoga Studio, we will discuss the different types of meditation.

Types of Meditation

Meditation may be more layered than you initially thought, but it’s worth exploring. There are many opinions and approaches to meditation. Like physical fitness, the types and frequency are often debated. With that said, we will simply list and define the main modes of mindfulness.

Loving-Kindness Meditation

According to Medical News Today*, the goal of this type of meditation is to cultivate an attitude of love and kindness toward everything. During Loving-Kindness Meditation, practitioners open their minds to receiving loving kindness. Then, they send messages of loving kindness to the world and/or specific people they know. This type of meditation may help people with anger, frustration, resentment and interpersonal conflict.

Body Scan Meditation

Body Scan Meditation encourages people to scan their bodies for areas of tension. The goal of this type of meditation is to notice tension and allow it to release. During Body Scan Meditation, the practitioner typically starts at one end of their body and works their way to the other end. This type of meditation may help promote feelings of calmness and relaxation.

Mindfulness Meditation

The goal of Mindfulness Meditation is to remain aware and present in the moment. Furthermore, this type of meditation emphasizes a lack of judgment through every thought. Mindfulness is involved in most types of meditation so there is extensive research on this form. Research has found that Mindfulness Meditation can reduce fixation on negative emotions, improve focus, improve memory, lessen impulsive reactions and even improve relationship satisfaction.

Breath Awareness Meditation

The goal of Breath Awareness Meditation is to solely focus on breathing and to ignore other thoughts that enter the mind. Breath Awareness is a form of Mindfulness Meditation and offers the same potential benefits.

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Kundalini Yoga

This type of yoga is considered a physically active form of meditation. Blending movement with deep breathing and mantras, people usually do this type of meditation in a guided environment. Kundalini carries the yoga benefits you are already familiar with and may reduce anxiety and depression.

Transcendental Meditation

This is a spiritual form of meditation where the goal is to rise above or transcend your current state of being. During Transcendental Meditation, practitioners focus on a mantra or repeated word. This type of meditation is the most complex, and requires some time and financial investment. For Transcendental Meditation, a teacher determines your mantra based on a complex set of factors. Many benefits are reported by “TM” practitioners, the most common being an overall heightened sense of mindfulness.

Now that we have established the different types of meditation to consider, part 2 will discuss the different class options you may consider.

*Source: Medical News Today

The wait is over. The Third Annual Yoga Studio Benchmark Report is here!