Mudra/hand

Bas-relief in Sukhothai, Thailand depicting monks during walking meditation.

Various hand-gestures or mudras may be prescribed. These can carry theological meaning or according to Yogic philosophy can actually affect consciousness. For example, a common Buddhist hand-position is with the right hand resting atop the left (like the Buddha's begging bowl), with the thumbs touching.

Eyes

In most meditative traditions, the eyes are closed. In some schools such as Zen, the eyes are half-closed, half open and looking slightly downward. In others such as Brahma Kumaris, the eyes are kept fully open.

Quiet is often desirable, and some people use repetitive activities such as deep breathing, humming or chanting to help induce a meditative state.

In Sufism meditation (muraqaba) with eyes closed is called Varood while with open eyes is known as Shahood or Fa'tha.

Focus and gaze

Often such details are shared by more than one religion, even in cases where mutual influence seems unlikely. One example is "navel-gazing," which is apparently attested within Eastern Orthodoxy as well as Chinese qigong practice. Another is the practice of focusing on the breath, found in Orthodox Christianity, Sufism, and numerous Indic traditions.

Cross-legged sitting

Sitting cross-legged (or upon one's knees) for extended periods when one is not sufficiently limber, can result in a range of ergonomic complaints called "meditator's knee". Many meditative traditions do not require sitting cross legge Health applications and clinical studies

Main article: Health applications and clinical studies of meditation

Scenes of Inner Taksang, temple hall, built just above the cave where Padmasambhava was believed to have meditated

A review of scientific studies identified relaxation, concentration, an altered state of awareness, a suspension of logical thought and the maintenance of a self-observing attitude as the behavioral components of meditation;^[5] it is accompanied by a host of biochemical and physical changes in the body that alter metabolism, heart rate, respiration, blood pressure and brain chemistry.^[59] Meditation has been used in clinical settings as a method of stress and pain reduction. Meditation has also been studied specifically for its effects on stress.^[60][61]

In June, 2007 the United States National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine published an independent, peer-reviewed, meta-analysis of the state of meditation research, conducted by researchers at the University of Alberta Evidence-based Practice Center. The report reviewed 813 studies in five broad categories of meditation: mantra meditation, mindfulness meditation, yoga, Tai Chi, and Qi Gong. The report concluded that "[t]he therapeutic effects of meditation practices cannot be established based on the current literature," and "firm conclusions on the effects of meditation practices in healthcare cannot be drawn based on the available evidence. However, the results analyzed from methodologically stronger research include findings sufficiently favorable to emphasize the value of further research in this field."^[62]

In popular fiction

Main article: Meditation in popular fiction

Various forms of meditation have been described in popular culture sources. In particular, science fiction stories such as Frank Herbert's 'Dune', Star Trek, Artemis Fowl, Star Wars, Maskman, Lost Horizon by James Hilton, and Stargate SG-1 have featured characters who practice one form of meditation or another. Mediation also appears as the overt theme of novels such as Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums. Usually these practices are inspired by real-world meditation traditions, but sometimes they have very different methods and purposes.^{[citation needed]}