Meditation may seem like an unknown, complex, or awkward activity. But it’s a simple self-care ritual that deeply connects you to yourself and relaxes your nervous system. It can be as simple as 10 minutes of focused breathing, wave watching, or a body scan. These meditative practices can come in hundreds of different forms. Just a clear head and concentrated breath may be all you need, but there are countless benefits. Let’s explore some of them:
- Reduces stress
Our bodies are in a constant state of fight or flight. Taking the time to focus on deep breathing activates your parasympathetic nervous system, which removes your body from this tense state. When you feel at ease, your brain sends those signals to the rest of your body that you are safe, allowing your heartbeat to slow and muscles to relax.
- Improves memory and creative thinking
Meditation increases brain clarity by defogging your brain from anything negative that may consume it. It also allows your brain to process new and creative thoughts once freed from distraction and feeling decluttered.
When meditating, a goal is to clear your head and keep it blank of racing thoughts. This allows your brain to be focused and present. This is a positive reset from the constant scrolling and stimulation of our phones and responsibilities every day.
A big key to successful meditation is to prioritize the mind over matters. This practice can then be brought into your everyday life with better control over your mind.
When you meditate, it’s important to acknowledge that there is nowhere else you need to be or things you need to be doing. Keeping this in mind helps to make you centered in yourself and the exact moment you live, not the thousand other places your mind could take you when it’s racing.
Once your brain is cleared of its racing thoughts, it calms you down and allows your brain to relax and release tension. This state of mind and body helps you to fall asleep and stay asleep peacefully.
- Increase of energy levels
With the benefits of reduced stress and better sleep, you conserve a lot of energy, allowing you to use this energy in a more positive and productive way.
When your body is out of the unnatural state of fight or flight and is relaxed, it takes strain off your heart and slows your blood to pump at a calmer pace, compared to when your stressed and blood is pumping fast. Also, once you’re in this state, it allows your body to focus on things other than stress, like building immune defense.
- Calm and peaceful mind
Meditating eases stress and strain, allowing emotional regulation and helps to break negative patterns in your mind, amplifying a happy mentality.
Meditation takes many forms and can be used with many different intentions. For example, simply meditating mindfulness is very popular, but you can also meditate knowledge, spiritual connection, religiously, for emotional/psychological help, manifestation, and many more.
An example of simple meditation:
One of my favorite meditations is to sit on the ground with my legs crossed. Close your eyes and try to clear your brain from any distractions. Picture a basket at your feet (however you want to imagine it) and allow yourself to take any negative or distracting thoughts out of your mind and place them in the basket. Then, take a deep breath and embrace your fresh and clear mind. Acknowledge that there is nowhere else you need to be, or things that need to be done. For right now, feel yourself on the floor and bring all your attention to the present moment. For however long you feel comfortable, stay in this position and take deep breaths.
One breathing technique I use is the box method. This is when you inhale for four seconds, hold for four seconds, exhale for four seconds, hold for four seconds, and then repeat. For me, a calming way to do this is to picture a square and a ball following the perimeter of the square with each breathing step. Try to keep your mind blank. If any thoughts come into your mind, just gently push them out and stay in a place of peace. Continue for as long or as little as you like and then open your eyes and feel yourself in a calmer state of mind.
A little more advanced example:
An example of a little bit more complex meditation also begins with sitting on the ground (this alone helps to ground yourself to the present moment). Take some deep breaths and imagine that basket at your feet again. Starting at the base of your spine, with deep breaths, picture each of your chakras (seven groups of energy that line your spine that each signify their own mental or physical wellbeing attribute) one by one opening with flow and positivity, ending with the crown chakra at the top of your head.
Imagine with your open chakras, it brings whatever you feel like you need most in that moment (can be peace, clarity, knowledge) from your inner mind and body to the surface. Feel the warmth those things bring. Take deep breaths for as long as you like. Once you embrace the warmth of what you need most in that moment, take deep breaths and one by one close your chakras back up. After this, take some more calm breaths and open your eyes.
Remember, the more you practice, the greater you will benefit. Between the reduced stress, increased attention span, enhanced willpower, centering yourself, eased insomnia, increased energy, reduced blood pressure, and calm mind, meditation is a necessary practice that benefits you greatly. So, consider adding this simple habit into your busy life and you will feel countless positive changes.