What do you think of when you hear the word ‘meditation’? Many might imagine the cliche image of a woman sitting cross-legged on a mat, eyes closed and the tips of her thumbs and middle fingers touching. But proper meditation can offer anyone amazing benefits on their mental and physical health. If you’d like to try meditating, here’s what you need to know.
What is meditation?
Meditation is a practice that involves both the mind and the body. While there are many different techniques and ways to meditate, the main goal is to train your sense of awareness and attention. Its origins can be traced back to Hinduism, and was used by many religions to gain spiritual enlightenment or reflect on religious passages and messages. While it is still being used as a spiritual practice today, many people also meditate to reduce stress or as a way of self-reflection.
There are many ways to meditate, and many people might prefer one method over another. If you’re just getting started, don’t feel overwhelmed by the vast amount of techniques available. Your first sessions are all about looking for the technique that is right for you.
What are the benefits of meditation?
Meditation has been proven to improve one’s quality of life, given enough time. Here are just a few ways meditation can positively affect both your physical and mental health:
- It can reduce stress. Mindfulness meditation has been proven to be able to reduce stress. This works by decreasing the release of cortisol in your body, commonly known as the stress hormone.
- Lowers blood pressure. A high blood pressure can lead to a number of health complications down the line. Certain meditation methods can lower blood pressure by relaxing the nerve signals that affect your heart function.
- Improves sleep. Meditation may be able to help insomniacs by calming down any racing thoughts that prevent them from falling asleep. It can also put your body in a more relaxed state, making it easier to fall asleep.
How do you start meditating?
There are many different meditation methods, which means finding the one that works for you may be daunting. However, it’s easy to get into the practice if you start out with simpler methods. Here are a few ways you can begin meditating:
- Mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness meditation is one of the most accessible forms of meditation, because you can do it anytime, anywhere. One simple method is by sitting down and paying attention to the way you breathe, the sensations you feel, and the sounds that you hear. In general, paying more attention to the world around you is one way of practicing meditation.
- Spiritual meditation. Meditation is practiced by several religions, such as Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism. However, you don’t need to be part of these religions to engage in spiritual meditation. This is usually practiced by including a prayer into your meditation, whether it be silent or spoken.
- Yoga meditation. Some people believe that yoga and meditation are interchangeable, but this is not true. Instead, yoga meditation is done after a typical yoga session, as a way to focus the mind after exercising the body. Consider signing up for yoga classes so that an instructor can properly guide you through the proper poses and techniques.
All in all, regular meditation is a great way to improve your quality of life, regardless of which method you would like to try. You can set aside five minutes of your day to close your eyes and feel the world around you, or you can sign up for a class to dedicate an hour or so with a skilled instructor. Either way, regular practice will surely grant you benefits on your physical and mental health.