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Meditation can be defined as an ancient practice of relaxing the mind and body to invoke spirituality and tranquility in oneself. It is performed with a view to redirect the mind to its inert self and focus on spiritual development. Meditation has its roots in the East where the yogi or sages have practiced it for ages. The reason behind it all was to achieve enlightenment and to find peace within oneself. Meditation such as practiced in Hatha Yoga, aims to increase the strength and power of the personality.
Religions such as the Vedic Hinduism, Buddhism and other Eastern religions had advocated the contemporary meditative techniques through deep breathing exercises also known as Pranayama and various yoga poses also known as Asanas. Even Chinese meditation techniques and yoga postures were popular, as then China was the seat of Buddhism for a long time. The Theosophists had reconciled meditation with the West and introduced meditative ideas and practice through Yoga and the New Age Movement.
This form of meditation has in fact, appealed to the West where it has been extensively revived and researched. In fact, the west has popularized meditation as a form of relaxation and concentration. The word meditation is actually derived from the Latin word mediatio, which literally stands for intellectual and physical exercise. The meaning of the word underwent several changes before it finally began to mean self- contemplation, and became a part of Christianity and Christian philosophy. However, it was not synonymous with the Sanskrit words of Samadhi, mudra, or asana, which define the meaning of the word today.
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