The advantages of meditation are well known by now.
Thousands of studies have shown that meditation can improve memory, reduce stress, combat depression, and increase performance. By boosting brain activity and brain tissue density, it even positively alters the shape of your brain. In summary, meditation has a tremendously positive impact on your body, mind, and even perspective on things like exercise and diet.
In this day and age of incessant distraction, mounting obligations, and the demands of both job and family, meditation has become an extremely necessary practice for many people, including myself, to have a happy and balanced existence.
It's a regular part of my mental health routine that gives me perspective, equilibrium, and serenity. It is there for me whenever I need it, supporting me in navigating the inevitable big obstacles and relishing all the little joys in life.
In fact, because meditation helps me so much, even though I had a hard time starting, I now usually sit for at least an hour every day.
However, this is the crucial aspect to note:
You don't have to rearrange your life or dedicate much time to meditation to reap its benefits.
Not Just For Monks
Fortunately, you don't need to completely alter your way of life, give up your work, or even sit for an hour every day like I do in order to reap the benefits of meditation. With just a few minutes a day, you can start to reap the benefits. Adopting a slogan, converting to a different religion, or thinking there's a higher force is unnecessary. You can sit with your legs crossed or get a specific cushion.
You can start to reduce stress, self-doubt, and negative self-talk by just taking a few minutes each day to sit quietly and carefully focus your attention. This will also help you become more focused and concentrated, which will improve your ability to live and work more productively.
Despite all of its advantages, one of the simplest things to disregard is meditation. One may consider:
"My mind is too busy; I could never stick with meditation."
"Meditation is boring."
"My busy mind makes me more productive. Why would I want to slow it down?”
You may be concerned that moving toward balance may make it harder for you to succeed at work or take care of your obligations at home. However, meditation develops emotional intelligence and empathy in addition to mental acuity, which are qualities necessary for productive work, successful leadership, and fostering relationships.
"Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe," as Abraham Lincoln is renowned for saying. The instrument that sharpens the axe for maximum performance and best living is meditation.
Additionally, you may discover that it makes your life a little more enjoyable, humorous, and joyful.
What "Succeeding" at Meditation Looks Like
You're not alone if you've ever attempted meditation and soon realized it wasn't for you. Years passed and I never was able to get that "ah ha moment" where I realized what all these insane people were talking about. In retrospect, I saw that I had a serious issue that nearly made sure I would fail from the start:
I had preconceived notions about meditation, how to do it, and, most importantly, what benefits it could provide.
I would try my hardest to "focus on my breathing," thinking that if I concentrated long enough, the thoughts would eventually cease to flow through my mind.
I used to think that mental quiet meant success, and the longer I could stop thinking, the better. the ultimate objective that I sought?
Total silence. transcendental encounter. Or at the very least a sense of calmness upon rising from my pillow.
I now realize that by omitting this crucial detail, I was positioning myself for failure:
Meditation does not focus on experiences or aim to silence the mind. Instead, it involves accepting whatever is going on around you at the moment, moment by moment.
Redefining success is necessary for meditation. Ultimately, the purpose of your mindfulness practice is to simply make room in your life to notice what is happening. It's about bringing consciousness to whatever it is that you are going through, not about the experience itself.
In actuality, meditation helps you become more aware of your thoughts, feelings, and environment. This is the less glamorous side of meditation. Eventually, you develop the ability to observe these emotions and thoughts and learn to let them pass without passing judgment.
The true benefit appears at this point.
Dissatisfaction and feelings of inadequacy vanish instantly if we can redefine a successful meditation session as one in which we stay vigilant about refocusing whenever the mind wanders—even if it does so a hundred times!.
In a meditative position, hands on knees, middle finger touching thumb
Convinced and prepared to begin? Here are 8 steps to help you get started with meditation.
To reduce the tension that forming a new habit initially causes, I've listed eight easy actions below to help reduce the stress (and increase the likelihood that it will stick).
This is how a basic meditation session ought to go:
Step 1: Set a timer for three minutes, or for the length of time you want to spend meditating.
Step 2: Sit in a calm, cozy area with support for your back and a somewhat straight spine. It may be on your bed, in a chair, or on the floor up against a wall (with a tiny pillow, if you'd prefer). Depending on which position feels more comfortable for you, you can sit with your legs crossed or straight. Avoid lying down as it's too simple to doze off in that position.
Step 3: Take a comfortable stance with your hands. You can arrange them in this circle, resting them on your thighs, or position them palms up on your knees. Once more, just pick an activity you enjoy and won't distract you.
Step 4: Close your eyes lightly and set your timer. Breathe in through your nose and exhale through it slowly and deeply twice. As you relax your body around them, consider these breaths as a kind of "cleansing" that alerts your brain that the meditation session has begun.
Step 5: Keep breathing through your nose in the same regular, leisurely manner that you do when you're not thinking about it. Concentrating on the breath can make it difficult to breathe regularly. That's quite natural, and your breathing will eventually return to normal.
Step 6: During this meditation, our attention is on our breathing. The simplest method is to concentrate on how air feels passing through the skin slit that divides your nostrils. As you breathe in and out, pay attention to the sensation of air entering and leaving your nostrils.
Step 7: You will undoubtedly think of other things (perhaps for the duration of the session!). Recall that the objective is to notice whatever is occurring, not to focus perfectly. Simply acknowledge the ideas and let them go, gently bringing your attention back to the breath when you find that your mind has wandered.
Crucial: Feeling like you're not meditating correctly is the biggest obstacle to getting started. Even if you find yourself sidetracked during the entire meditation session, there's nothing wrong with having random ideas. In actuality, we cannot stop thinking, and the more we attempt to do so, the more restless our minds are. Rather, we merely observe it objectively. Eventually, the stray thoughts will stop. Just acknowledge the idea and return your focus to breathing, without passing judgment, being angry, or feeling inadequate.
Recall that the goal of our meditation is to observe and release these thoughts in order to develop your ability to focus. and you wouldn't have anything to train with if they hadn't occurred! Therefore, there's no bitterness, even on the days when wandering thoughts appear to take up the entire session.
Your meditation sessions might not feel peaceful at first. They might not experience serenity. You might find it difficult to find a comfortable posture, you might have a lot of negative self-talk, you might feel intense emotions, and your body might be restless. All of this is typical. Again, having a calm meditation is not the aim. All we need to do is pay attention to whatever it is we are going through. The advantages will materialize. The byproduct of developing the ability to observe something without passing judgment is its benefits. You are doing it correctly as long as you take your time and keep going back to the breath. Have faith in the procedure.
Step 8: After the allotted time has passed, open your eyes and take two more deep breaths. Give yourself a minute of self-congratulation and appreciate your accomplishment. You just did some meditation!
Are You Ready to Take Advantage of Meditation's Benefits?
As I've previously stated, even a short daily meditation practice can have profound effects including less stress, sharpened attention, and enhanced performance. Not to mention a more considerate handling of food and nutrients.
What's stopping you, then, if all it takes is a few minutes every day?
There is no better moment to begin a meditation practice than right now. I'll see you in three minutes, so please have a seat and close your eyes.
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