Meditation has been around since ancient times but it seems to be gaining popularity, and something I study and learn from all the time.
One of the reasons I think is because it interests so many walks of life and it is something everyone can practice and get the benefits from, especially in the trying times we find ourselves in, where some of us are dealing with the pressures of staying at home and not getting out and others are dealing with the pressure of having to continue to go to work and the worry that brings, we have so many worries and stressors at the moment so it is always good to take some time out, even 10 or 20 minutes a day can make all the difference.
It is a well known saying "you should meditate 20 minutes each day, unless you are busy, then you should meditate for an hour".
So what is meditation good for:
You learn to calm your body mind and your emotional and physical stress can ease away, which in turn leaves you feeling refreshed, focused, feeling better within yourself and ready to take the challenges of the day on.
Its a great way to remain centered when life has thrown us off balance or we are going through emotional times, it can help build resilience to stress and it can be a quick fix stress reliever when your bodies stress response has been activated, our fight or flight response.
Some use it to help with weight loss and healthier eating if they normally turn to food with stressors of life, as it brings back the balance and when you feel healthier your inclined to eat healthier.
Whats Involved in Meditation?
Find a quiet relaxed area, you can do this in the house or outside, find a quiet room, put your favourite scent in the diffuser, light your favourite candle, but most of all just sit in a relaxed position, some like to sit on the ground or floor, but you can do sitting on a chair if you wish. Clear you mind of any distractions, focus on your breathing, or some like a mantra like 'ooomm', some count their breathing, or if you are happy to, just sit, let those thoughts pass by, like a cloud, or a bus, don't hold onto them, let them go and just be.
Our minds are so busy all the time, not just on one thing, but lots of different things at the same time, whats the time, whats shall I make for tea, what have I got to do, oh I must do this, I must do that, others popping into our minds as we worry about them, need to do this, forgot about that, hearing different noises, smelling different smells and our minds labelling them all as they are triggered, you know what they are, let them go and bring back your focus to your breathing.
It can be hard at the start but you will get better and better and look forward to your 20 minutes of peace, maybe even sit there for longer and longer as you start to see the calming effects it has on your body and mind. It is a great activity to get the kids involved in as well.
Meditation for Stress
It is our bodies instinctive response to stress that is called fight or flight or the stress response. It is very helpful in some situations but it is also helpful and good for our bodies to keep it from over exposure to this response as that results in chronic stress, and too much stress within the body can lead to many conditions and disease, causing physical damage to our bodies.
Meditation allows our bodies to react in the opposite way to stress by triggering our bodies relaxation response rather than the fight or flight response, calming our bodies and mind, quieting our thoughts and thought patterns that would normally keep your bodies fight or flight trigger going.
Other benefits of meditation are
Your adrenal glands produce less cortisol
Your use oxygen more efficiently
Your heart rate and breathing slow down
Your blood pressure normalizes
Your mind ages at a slower rate
Your immune function improves
Your mind clears and allows room for creativity
You sweat less
It is also known that people who meditate find it easier to give up the unhealthy habits or lifestyles like smoking, drugs or drinking, because you are listening to your body more, your more positive, you focus better and you look at food and drink differently, you begin to question more is this good for me. It gives you more inner strength.
Consistency is key but do try and practice at a quieter time of your day. You can even practice focusing on your breathing throughout the day, when you are going about your business or even when you are washing the dishes.
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