Meditation
The Many Benefits of Meditation.
We know it’s important to do.
We hear that it yields fantastic results.
Yet many do not fully understand why meditation is such a game changer.
When we meditate, not only are we quieting our bodies and minds, removing stress, but we are also tuning ourselves into the energy around us, drawing in harmony and peace.
There’s a ton of research that says meditation can have an impact on almost anything you’re looking to change in your spirit, mind, and body.
The practice can lower blood pressure and reduce inflammation associated with chronic disease.
It can enhance immune function and lessen fatigue, especially in people with immune-ravaging disorders like cancer and HIV.
Meditation can ease anxiety and depression, down-regulate stress hormones, improve mood, resolve sleep difficulties, and boost self-esteem.
It can strengthen memory and problem-solving skills, sharpen concentration, improve decision-making, and slow the deterioration of cognitive abilities that comes with age.
If we all started meditating ten minutes a day, we’d collectively nip a lot of modern troubles in the bud!
How to Meditate.
So simple and yet, not.
Literally, when you meditate, you are just quieting your body and mind.
There are lots of ways to do it, truly. Almost anything can become a meditation and you do not need to be sitting still.
However, the basic, simple form of meditation, used by most goes like this:
You sit, preferably with legs folded on the floor or a cushion, your spine long, and straight, focus on your breathing and you deliberately do not think on things.
Simple.
Except that part about not thinking on things….
This is much more challenging than you might expect which is why meditation is a practice.
Actually, the idea isn’t to sit and have no thoughts. Rather, thoughts will come into your mind and you just observe them, judgement free, and let them go.
Many people will keep a notebook next to them because through meditation our thoughts are made clear and often inspiration strikes your relaxed mind.
However, in meditation we do not linger in thought but train our focus to the moment. Often our breath is the focal point; the sensation of oxygen filling our lungs and invigorating our bodies.
