Is a meditation a part of your everyday routine? If the answer is negative, you may want to consider some changes in the near future. While a highly spiritual practices, meditation can have a number of important effects on your life (even on your health).
Improving life quality through meditation is entirely possible and here’s how you can make it happen.
Overcome Depression and Anxiety
Meditation can be used to treat depression and anxiety.
One thing that few people know is that meditation comes in different shapes and forms. You can focus on mindfulness, self-love, certain types of self-administered cognitive therapy, yoga, breath awareness meditation and visualization.
Through all of these meditative practices, you will enter a state of heightened awareness. Regular practices can also induce changes in brain chemistry that have been established via multiple clinical trials.
People who are diagnosed with depression should not discontinue their medications and replace them with meditation. Rather, meditative practices are to enhance a pharmaceutical-based approach to deliver better and more long-lasting results.
Meditation = Happiness
We all need more happiness in our everyday existence.
A positive mindset is dependent on being happy and it can change many aspects of our existence. People who have a positive mindset are more productive, they’re go-getters and they also tend to enjoy more fulfilling personal relationships.
Many types of meditation focus on self-awareness and self-love. The negative voices are quieted and the focus falls on one’s positive reasons for existence. If you manage to silence the inner critic, you will become much more capable of accomplishing everything you’ve ever dreamed of. Such accomplishments will contribute to even more happiness, closing the cycle.
Better Sleep and Better Health
Meditation can improve your overall health, your feeling of well being and your ability to relax. As a result, you will sleep better, you will feel rejuvenated in the morning and you’ll find yourself capable of getting a lot more done in a single day.
Studies show that mindfulness meditation improves sleep quality, especially in older adults.
Researchers found out that the regular meditative practice provokes a relaxation response in the body, contributing to people falling asleep faster and enjoying much higher sleep quality.
The health benefits of meditation, however, aren’t limited to just this beneficial effect.
Those who practice meditation enjoy stable blood pressure and are less predisposed to hypertension. There have even been accounts of people who claim that they’ve managed to reduce the need for high blood pressure medications through meditation.
Meditation helps relieve pain and it also strengthens the immune response.
Studies have shown that some people in need of prescription-grade medications for the management of chronic pain managed to replace the pharmaceuticals with meditative practices. This is one of the reasons why many cancer centers in the US offer meditation as a part of the therapy.
As far as the immune response is concerned, meditation is great for enhancing the body’s natural defense mechanisms. Studies have been carried out among HIV-positive patients, showing that meditation increases the body’s ability to slow down the progression of the virus.
You See the Big Picture
Mindfulness approaches seek some of the most important answers.
They focus on our place in the universe, the pursuit of dreams, our reasons for existence and even our mission in life.
Through mediation, you can understand a lot more about yourself, your place in the world, the global context and the importance of key developments internationally. You will become much more aware of how a single contribution can make a difference in the lives of hundreds, even thousands of people.
When you start focusing on the bigger picture, you will stop sweating on the small and inconsequential things.
Most of us are burdened with everyday worries and hardships that really don’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
When you let go of these worries, you will feel less stressed, more productive and focused to accomplish whatever you put your mind to.
Your Memory and Cognitive Strength Increase
Anyone who wants to be more productive should definitely consider the incorporation of at least one meditative practice in everyday existence.
There is sufficient research suggesting that mindfulness and self-awareness approaches contribute to better focus, stronger memory and a higher level of productivity.
You will feel calmer throughout the day. You’ll be less prone to give into temptations or distractions. In addition, your ability to focus on a task for a prolonged period of time will improve.
It’s never too early or too late to start actively practicing in order to strengthen your cognitive abilities. Meditative practices are ideal for kids and they’re also a great choice for older people who want to slow down or prevent cognitive decline.
Living in the Present Moment
Through meditation, you will learn that the past is gone and it can never be changed. The future is yet to come. What matters is the present moment and the decisions you make right now.
Many people don’t live their life fully because they’re stuck on the past or they wait for the positive changes that will come in the future. Such a passive approach, however, is not conductive of change. If you’re focused on the past or the present, you will probably miss some of the opportunities that you will come across right now.
It’s very important to be present and active. Living a mindful life is all about enjoying the moment – the opportunities, the curveballs and even the difficult lessons that stem from mistakes.
Getting started with meditation isn’t that difficult. You don’t need to join a class and you definitely don’t need expensive equipment. You will be taking the most important journey of your life – the journey of knowing yourself better. The task can be completed anywhere, anytime, especially if you’re ready to open yourself up and be vulnerable. The beginning can be difficult, frustrating and even painful. Once you start gaining a better idea of what makes you tick, however, you will get to enjoy all of the benefits that the journey brings to the table.
Excellent article!! I’ll be sharing this along for sure – Meditation is “critical” for developing true focus 🙂