Meditation for a Spiritualist and a householder have different connotations.

For a spiritualist ( Yogi ) . He must follow 8 steps based on Patanjali`s yoga. 1) Yama or moral conduct 2) Niyam or ethical practices 3) Asana or right posture 4) Pranayam or the yogic breathing 5) Pratyahara or sense of withdrawal 6) Dharna or concentration 7) Dhayan or meditation 8)  Samadhi or super conscious state of mind

For a Householder it is  only 7th step which is Dhayan or meditation.( though first six steps are also essential for clear consciousness and true happiness* ) A method of withdrawing from all surroundings and focusing on thoughtlessness. It helps in relieving stress and improving overall health. Numerous techniques have been suggested but I think it is easier to meditate on sound. Sound of a mantra or a single word OM or OAM. One mentally recites it several times, raising the pitch as high as possible and then listen to vibrations. Repeat after the vibrations fade and follow the same process for a fixed time, sitting in an erect posture. One can fix time on alarm clock. One should reach a stage when  one is not aware of his body like in sleeping stage. It is best practiced on empty stomach and after doing Pranayam for 5 minutes.

With everything going on in the world these days, we’re all smothered under a blanket of stress. Studies show that meditation is one of THE most potent ways to protect yourself from stress.

When you’re stressed, your body creates more cortisol (“the stress hormone”). In certain situations we need cortisol (for example, in a “fight or flight” situation extra cortisol and adrenaline give you the energy and strength to fight or run).

But in many cases stress causes us to make too much cortisol—and disrupts the mechanism that turns it off when the threat is over.

Stress — and high cortisol — leads to many serious health problems, including Type 2 Diabetes, mental decline, and cardiovascular disease.

And, one of the best ways to reduce cortisol is to meditate.
 

* True Happiness:

As understood by me from commentary by Steven J Rosen in UDDHAV GITA  “happiness”  through material gains fall into 3 categories: 1) You aspire for something and you do not get it. This causes misery. 2) You aspire for something and you get it but not up to your expectation. This causes misery. 3) You aspire for something and you get it up to your expectation but it does not last for long. This  causes misery. Therefore all materialist gains are of temporary nature. You need to seek spiritual path for lasting and true happiness.

I can be contacted on email shukla.murli@gmail.com