#8 Benefits of Practicing Meditation
In our every busy lives it can be hard to find time to pause, be still, think and have time to ourselves but meditation is a simple, effective way of relaxing and energising for both body and mind. There are many affordable classes locally for most people that can be attended or you can practice at home. Not all venues involve sitting cross legged on the floor chanting! Although some mediation centres are more religious or holistic in their approach, a lot of centres run weekly classes that are for the general public and are very friendly to new beginners. As little as 10 minutes a day can make all the difference to how we feel. Our bodies need sleep as a critical action to repair and recharge our bodies and minds but as little as 10 minutes can help towards balancing out missed sleep. The benefits that you could gain from practicing regular meditation are:-
#1 less stress
Spending time meditating reduces the amount of stress hormone in our systems such as cortisol and thus helps boost the hormones needed for restful sleep (melatonin) later in the day. By meditating regularly, even small amounts can make a marked difference. Often by taking a mental step away from our lives to somewhere quiet and natural (the same benefit applies if you were to actually visit nature) we learn to switch off the mental processes that run through our mind and cause latent stress such as shopping lists, daily plans, driving and to do lists. Pressing pause and allowing ourselves to take a breath gives both body and mind time to relax, sleep and then be better prepared for the next day.
#2 better attention and concentration
Once we are having better sleep we can be better mentally prepared to face the day and run our mental tasks most efficiently. Meditation in itself helps us learn to ‘concentrate’ on switching off our thoughts, it also helps us to learn to focus and follow a story rather than be buzzing about with our thoughts.
#3 reduces anxiety
Once we have learnt how to sooth, slow and control our pace of thoughts, we can learn to gain control when our minds run away with possibilities in a situation both positive and negative. Less stress means less chance of inciting anxious feelings and thoughts and less physical stimulus for anxiety. Studies have found that people with anxiety and OCD type behaviour feel more in control, more confident and less nervous once they take up meditation regularly. Like with Pavlov's dogs, meditating often especially with a common story can set in the body an associated feeling of relaxation. Deliberately imagining the same meditation later can help those feelings to re-establish.
#4 improved emotional balance
Once you can teach your mind to quieten and keep its flow of thoughts smooth, you can learn to gain control of how you feel. Thoughts create feelings and meditation helps you to keep your strong emotions in check by helping you to think before reacting. This is true with emotions such as anger or fear which can cause rash but strong (and often triggered by a small stimulus). Regular practice of meditation can encourage us to think and feel more positively with increased confidence. Feeling more relaxed and confident can help guard against depression. Meditation can help us to sleep better which means we are less tired also helps keep emotions on an even keel.
#5 Better general mental health
Generally by practicing meditation your mental health can benefit from the following:-
Increased confidence
Better sleep
Feeling more relaxed and less anxious
More emotional balance
More mental focus and attention span
#6 time out from a busy life
Finding time to meditate can be a great time to find your own peace and space. Everyone needs time to think about their own lives, its direction and how they are thinking and feeling about it. Take time out to think about your life purpose and feelings. Meditation allows you to imagine and visit places without actually having to go there such as the countryside, beach, forest or any other peaceful place you can imagine in your mind.
#7 memory improvement and clarity
If meditation brings you better sleep, calmness and less stress, studies have found that these benefits can optimise and improve both clear thinking processes and memory recall / laying down abilities. Being rested and calm can help us to think logically, positively and in a focused manner. Panic and anxiety produce hasty, irrational and expansive thought processes that can often spin out of control. Meditation can help bring thought processes back to a grounded state of mind. How many times have you suddenly remembered something when you have stopped ‘trying’ to recall a particular piece of information?
#8 inspiration and problem solving
Lastly one exciting benefit from meditating is that while in a meditative state creativity and problem solving creative thought is heightened. Many people have reported that while meditating they have remembering where a lost item is or have thought up a solution for a current life problem. Sometimes people from a more creative leaning have had inventive inspiration to push their art forward. When our minds are relaxed and free flowing, they can make new connections that simply cannot be created with controlled and concentrated thoughts.
If you’re interested in learning simple meditation at home there are many great books, audio products and websites that you can read to gain more information. The internet is also a great place to find local centres that have meditation classes that you could attend. Also great places to meet new friends and find time out for yourself to relax!