You may have heard about meditation and breathing exercises as a way of promoting health and wellbeing, and thought “Really? How can a little breathing and thinking have all these so-called benefits? Breathing and thinking - do we not do that every day?”
Not quite. The act of meditation is to focus and understand your mind to reach a higher level of awareness and inner calm. There is no right or wrong way to practice meditation; some people use exercise, like yoga, Tai Chi, or even walking. Some find meditating using prayer comforting. The simplest way to get started is to use breathing techniques in a quiet place so you can incorporate as many senses as possible. The goal is to allow yourself to think about your feelings in a non-judgemental fashion.
Give meditation a go to find out what benefits you can get from this ancient practice. There are lots of tips to get you started at mindful.org.
Here are some of the many benefits of meditation:
- Improved sleeping habits – when you are tired stressors are magnified. Improving sleep can help a number of physical and mental health issues.
- Increased memory – feeling more on top of things will help concentration and give more mental power during the day.
- Enhanced self-esteem and acceptance – when we feel good we are likely to do good and have more confidence to do things we may not have done before.
- Elevated energy levels – this will help with exercise and other activities.
- Anxiety, stress and depression reduces – feeling connected and improving your mood.
- Optimism – giving yourself a better outlook on life.
