Powerful Zen Meditation Techniques

Zen meditation strips things down to almost nothing — breath, posture, attention. No mantra, no visualization, just sitting with what’s actually happening in your mind instead of what you wish were happening.

Mindful breathing

This is the entry point for most Zen practice. Sit comfortably, breathe naturally, and notice the breath without trying to change it. When your mind wanders — and it will, constantly, at first — you just bring attention back to the breath. That’s the entire practice, repeated for as long as you sit.

Body scan

Starting at the head or feet, you move attention slowly through each part of the body, noticing tension without necessarily trying to release it. It sounds simple and it is, but most people are surprised how much tension they’re carrying without realizing it until they actually stop and check.

Loving-kindness meditation

This one’s a departure from pure attention practice — you silently repeat phrases of goodwill, first toward yourself (“may I be happy, may I be safe”), then toward people you know, then gradually toward people you don’t. It sounds sentimental until you’ve sat with it for a few sessions; the shift in mood is fairly noticeable, even to skeptics.

Starting a practice

Five minutes is a real session — you don’t need forty. Pick one technique and stick with it for a couple of weeks before switching, since the benefit tends to come from repetition, not from finding the perfect method on day one.

For more along these lines, check out our pieces on Transcendental Meditation and Vipassana meditation.