In our hectic lives, it’s important to take time to relax and recharge. Many people find that meditation is an excellent way to do this. Meditation has been shown to improve mental and physical wellbeing, so it’s definitely worth considering if you’re looking for ways to improve your health. There are many types of meditation, so find one that works best for you and give it a try! You may be surprised at how good you feel after only a few minutes of mediation each day.
Meditation has been proven to reduce stress levels, and can even help with conditions such as high blood pressure. Once you’ve become more calm and peaceful through meditation, your life will open up to more opportunities and you’ll find it easier to make healthy choices.
What Exactly Is Meditation?
Meditation is a way to clearing the mind. Once you’ve gotten into a habit of meditating often, you’ll discover it’s easier than you think.
Some people sit in a cross-legged position when they meditate, but this isn’t mandatory. Another sitting position might be more comfortable for you, but the key is to maintain a correct posture. If you slouch, you’re more likely to get tired and feel like falling asleep.
To get started, find a quiet place and get comfortable. Then start taking deep breaths in and out. Pay attention to your breath. You might find it helpful to say a “mantra” to yourself as you breathe in and out. Your goal is to keep your mind clear of thoughts.
Thoughts are inevitable though. The best way to eliminate them is to recognize that you’ve had a thought, and then focus on your breathing and clearing your mind again. This will get easier with frequent practice.
Stress Free
When you focus on breathing and clearing your mind, you’re actually centered on the present moment. On the other hand, stress arises when you think about something in the past or future.
Since you have little stress when you have a clear mind in the present moment, you exude calmness. When you practice this often, you can bring a calm, stress-free demeanor to your everyday life.
Stress And The Body
When you feel stressed, you put your body into overdrive. When it’s overworked, it’s more open to various diseases and disorders. Stress exists for a reason; you need to have the hormonal adrenaline rush, increased breathing and heart rate to escape threatening situations. It’s simply how you can handle threats.
By always having your mind on past or future stressors, you keep your mind and body in a stressful state, even when you aren’t enduring a stressful situation in the present. This is exactly why it’s important to give your body a much needed break from all the stress. When you learn to meditate often, you’re giving your body the energy and rest it needs to stave off exhaustion and disease.
Improve Your Health
The absence of overwhelming stress improves your health in many ways. You’ll likely enjoy lower blood pressure and a strengthened immune system. Stress can also lead to mental disorders, so when you strive to be stress-free, you’ll keep anxiety and depression away.
When you meditate, you place your body in a kind of sleep state. You’re still awake, but your body can begin to repair itself in the same way as it does when you sleep. If you meditate in the morning or at night, you can help transition from sleeping to wakefulness, and vice versa.
Meditation is the ultimate exercise for a healthy mind and body. You’ll feel refreshed and rejuvenated once you’ve given it a try. Who knew that “just sitting” could be so helpful!
In this episode of the Meditation NOT Medicine Podcast, Adam and his special guest Jon Giganti discuss how it’s okay to not be okay. They talk about how pivoting by being vulnerable can help heal our social media-induced anxieties and depression.
Jon shares his experience helping his son fight depression, and the two discuss how to effectively fight depression. They emphasize the importance of listening to our feelings are valid, and urge us to express them instead of bottle them up. Listen to the Meditation NOT Medicine Podcast for more tips on how to improve your mental health!
