How to meditate: 3 practical techniques, what it gives you, and what it is for

What is meditation? What does it give you? How do you actually do it? This article explains what meditation is and the 4 things people most value in it, then walks you through 3 techniques you can practise, so you can find the approach that fits you. At the end we share the meditation crystals people keep beside them to set a calm space and ease into the flow of practice.

1. What is meditation? Its definition and what people gain from it

(1) What meditation is, and what it is for

Traditional meditation usually had a religious or spiritual purpose, which is why it is so often mistaken for a religious ritual. At its heart, though, meditation is a way of training your own mind and raising your awareness, so that body and mind can settle, the pressure of the day sits more lightly, and life feels more comfortable and more free. Modern life pulls our attention outward — toward status, possessions and the rest — and we lose sight of the self within, whereas meditation turns that attention inward, letting you hold a conversation with yourself and observe and understand who you really are, rather than being swayed by other people or by your surroundings.

Depending on what is being observed, meditation is further divided into concentration meditation (samatha) and insight meditation (vipassana). The first places attention on a chosen object, training the mind to stay calm in any circumstance; the second is done somewhere quiet and is mainly about looking inward and arriving at insight.

So who is meditation for? Most people, in truth — and especially those of us living busy, high-pressure lives, for whom it is a way to go deeper into yourself. Beyond that, there are the 4 benefits below.

(2) The 4 benefits of mindfulness meditation

(1) Winding down at night

If you often feel anxious or find it hard to drift off, meditation is a gentle way to wind down before bed.

Mindfulness meditation keeps your attention on this moment, right now, so you can notice what is behind the anxious feelings and the mental chatter and understand what you really need underneath them. That helps you find your way back to a settled mind and learn to live alongside your emotions and your thoughts. Meditation will not necessarily change how you sleep, but it can stop you turning tomorrow over and over — and that makes it easier to let the day go.

(2) Relaxing body and mind

As well as helping you wind down, mindfulness meditation is a way to relax body and mind, to let anxious feelings settle and to keep an even mind. When you can see clearly what you need on the inside, you can meet those needs better, instead of being knocked over by worry and unease.

(3) Building confidence

Mindfulness meditation lets you observe your own thoughts, emotions and bodily sensations without judging them, which helps you accept your strengths and your flaws alike, build a stronger sense of self, and feel more confident.

(4) Being your own master

Meditation clears the mind and puts you back in touch with your inner life. Once you understand yourself, other people's views no longer steer your thinking; you gain a greater sense of security, and you can put your attention into being your own master.

Any goal we set out to pursue can be called the "cause" — wanting a sense of security, wanting more confidence, and so on. To arrive there, an "inner way" and an "outer technique" have to work together: this is the idea known as cause, way and technique.

Take the pursuit of a sense of security (the cause). "Mindfulness", which helps you stay in the present, is the inner way, while "sitting meditation and meditation" are the outer technique. The three connect into a triangle, and Aqive's everyday energy tools sit at its centre, part of the setting many people use to ease into the flow and move toward what they are after.

2. How to meditate: 3 simple techniques and hands-on practice

Now that you know what meditation is for and what people gain from it, how do you begin? Below are 3 techniques and ways to practise them, to help you find your way back to a settled mind.

(1) Three techniques for building your own way of meditating

(1) Gather your attention

When you are starting out, put your attention on your own breath and simply watch how the air feels as it moves in and out of your nose. If other thoughts surface along the way, slowly bring your attention back to the breath and let the thoughts flow past. This keeps you in the present rather than dwelling on a past or a future you cannot control, and lets the mind grow quiet.

(2) Open your attention

After you have practised for a while, you can begin to observe anything at all, openly and without judgement. Watch the thoughts that surface while you follow the breath, and take an active interest in where they came from: is there something you need that is going unmet? As your awareness grows, you will find it easier to hold your feelings lightly and keep an even mind.

(3) Embrace imperfection

No sage is capable of everything, and nobody is perfect. That is exactly why we should embrace our own imperfections with warmth and kindness, and offer other people the same warmth, so that the good goes around.

Once you have these techniques and have meditated regularly for a while, coming to know your own inner depths, you can meditate at any time — at work, on a night when sleep will not come — and enter a state of stillness, which people describe as helping them work more effectively, concentrate better and feel less on edge. Below are 3 everyday situations and the practices that suit them.

(2) Putting meditation into practice

(1) Morning meditation

It helps to set aside the same time each day to practise, and the moment you wake is the most fitting of all — it lets you open a new day with a calm mind.

If you are new to meditation, a little ritual can help you settle in more quickly: stretch out first with a pose such as pigeon or a butterfly forward fold, or set out the same light, the same scent and the same tools each time, and use a breathing practice to move into stillness.

(2) Meditation at work

Besides the moment you wake, just before work is another good time. Try taking several deep breaths, calling to mind what your work means to you — helping more people, for instance — then setting a few goals for the day and keeping your attention there.

While you work, remember to finish one thing at a time rather than splitting your attention. When a task is done, try praising or rewarding yourself before you move on to the next one. If you notice work you have already finished drifting back into your head, set it gently down and bring your attention back to what is in front of you — a simple way to get more done.

(3) Meditating when sleep will not come

If you are awake in the middle of the night, a simple belly-breathing practice gives your attention somewhere to rest: as you breathe in and out, draw as much air into the belly as is comfortable and let it rise and fall. If you have been meditating for a while, you can rest your attention on a light or on white noise instead, moving into stillness, setting worries and stray thoughts gently down, and letting body and mind relax.

You can pair this with tools for sitting meditation that clear the space and the qi field around you, making that calm easier to hold on to.

3. Meditation crystals we recommend: let Aqive help you settle

That is our introduction to meditation. If you would like to feel more relaxed and more focused while you practise, Aqive's products can be part of what carries you into the flow of sitting meditation.

Aqive is one of the first brands to bring torsion field research into everyday products. We explore the possibilities of body, mind and spirit with an open and accepting attitude, take scientific theory as our reference point, and offer a considered, professional service to help people reach a place of settledness. We also work to root a culture of integrity at the centre of the company, as the foundation of a sustainable business.

Aqive makes everyday energy tools that help you relax and feel steadier inside, and so lift the quality of daily life. These 4 products are the best known:

Qi Ease Vita: Qi Ease Vita is built around torsion field technology, using a distinctive coil design to gather the strength of the torsion field, with a 369 Hz frequency added to help set a calm, settled atmosphere. It clears your personal space so it feels more relaxed — something busy people under pressure often reach for when they want to come back to a quiet centre.

Qi Box: the Qi Box brings together the energy of clear quartz with sacred words such as Buddha and Guanyin to set up an oscillation of qi inside the box, carried by a copper plate that can rest against the skin. Many users describe it as clearing and calming. Hold it in your palm, or rest it over an acupoint and notice how the qi feels, alongside your sitting meditation.

Qiramid: Aqive brings together the structure of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, sacred words and crystal energy to shift and clear the qi field of a room. It suits people who are under pressure or highly sensitive: set it in a bedroom or a studio to keep the energy of the space steady and the mood relaxed and calm.

Qi Wristband: the Qi Wristband holds an amethyst qi plate with sacred words arranged inside it in a particular structure, to help you feel settled and focused. Following the idea that the body's qi field flows out on the left and in on the right, wearing it on your left wrist is for settling body and mind and on your right for guarding your qi field — switch between them as you like.