Discover the Many Benefits of Meditation which can Transform your Life
02-12-2019 | Posted By: Chhavi | 4515 View(s)
“Meditation is the dissolution of thoughts in Eternal awareness or Pure consciousness without objectification, knowing without thinking, merging finitude in infinity.” -Swami Sivananda. The human mind is just like any other muscle in your body and meditation is the exercise which can help you develop it. Read on to discover the many benefits of Meditation.
Pause for a moment; rewind your life during those few seconds. You will be overwhelmed by the intake capacity of our mind. The more our civilisation is marching towards technological advancement and materialism, more and more issues keep popping up all the time keeping the mind preoccupied with loads of such matters all the time, Right! Most of the time we are not even bothered to give a thought as to what keeps us going. The Mind which happens to be one of the most complex machines which keep our body functioning and ticking all the time?.
Paradoxically our mind is subjected to immense pressure to keep pace with the trends. The mind works as the central processing unit providing the right amount of push required, for the rest of the machine to perform. Thus, at any cost we have to keep our mind, performing healthily, also supplying it with the required amount of relaxation by taking breaks from work. But to keep the larger machine running, a break is becoming an increasingly difficult task. So the only possible option to be in the game is to find means of exercising your mind to keep it fine-tuned. Just like a body needs a workout, so does our mind. The key to a healthy and sharp mind is meditation.
At times, closing our eyes and being in a prayer-like motion is all we need to introspect and gain a larger understanding of what our life entails. Meditation is practised across the world and in all kinds of ways and it is generally believed that there are many benefits of Meditation. Some people meditate to achieve more compassion, some for mindfulness, and others for transcendentalism. But while there may be different ways in which one can meditate, they all lead to similar benefits.
What is Meditation?
To harness the benefits of this form of mental exercise we need to understand Meditation. There is no easy way to define Meditation. On one hand, it can be as simple as the act of sitting with your back straight and your eyes closed while trying to focus on the motion of your breath. And on the other hand, it can be as hard as ridding your mind with the tangle of thoughts you may find yourself in every day. For the members of the younger generation, who constantly complain about the chaos they find themselves in, meditation can prove to be a boon once they get to realize and reap the true benefits of meditation
Popular Beliefs of Meditation:
There is a popular belief that meditation is not for everybody and practised by very few. Quite contrarily this mode of exercise is not only used by many renowned Hollywood biggies like Katy Perry, Clint Eastwood, etc. to name a few to CEO to the common man. To quote Eva Mendes, the world-famous actress–“Meditation helps create not only a sense of balance… but serenity and kind of a calm state of mind.”
What are the Benefits of Meditation?
However hard it is to define Meditation, listing its benefits is almost as easy, especially the benefits it has to offer to the young minds. I know most people can iterate you the benefits of meditation, mainly because humans have been practising meditation for centuries now. But, we are going to focus on the benefits or changes that young people can observe in themselves when they start to practice meditation regularly.
Mental Benefits of Meditation :
There are endless benefits of meditation! If you are still unaware of the same, here are few reasons to get you started:
•It helps to decrease anxiety;
•Improves emotional stability;
•Enhances creativity;
•Increases mental happiness;
•Develops Intuition;
•Gifts the mind with Clarity and Peace;
•Makes one a capable problem solver;
•The mind is sharpened and expanded through relaxation;
•Perfection is brought about through the balance of a sharp and relaxed mind;
•One can understand that One’s inner attitude determines one’s happiness;
Physical Benefits of Meditation:
Meditation increases the level of energy in the body. Therefore, our body starts to function more efficiently than ever. Here are the physical benefits of meditation :
•Decreases blood pressure;
•Anxiety attacks are reduced, blood lactate levels are lowered;
•Decreases any stress-related pain, such as ulcers, tension headaches, muscle and joint problems and insomnia;
•Increases production of serotonin that improves behaviour and mood;
•Increases the energy level, as you gain an inner source of energy;
•Improves the immune system
1. Meditation has been proved to be the most effective way to Reduce Stress
Feel stressed often? Well, you are not alone. Trying to keep up with the million things we have to do right at this moment is actually a little stressful. Meditation can help you reduce this stress. This is also probably the most voiced virtue of meditation. But we believe, people living the modern life of today can probably understand the importance of reducing stress better than anyone else.
The minute we feel a bit overwhelmed, we tend to breathe heavily, close our eyes and exhale as much air as possible. One can easily make this a meditative practice and eliminate all kinds of stress-related to work, home or one’s personal life. According to scientific studies, meditation has proved to improve the brain’s overall functionality, besides regulating the emotions one feels while under stress.
2. Improves Concentration
Meditation helps us collect our thoughts and channel energy in the right direction. People who meditate on a regular basis find it easier to multitask and achieve the maximum out of their work. Distractions tend to fade away when one practices meditation, and it becomes easier to focus and pay more attention to little or big tasks at hand.
Including meditation to your daily routine helps to build grey matter cells. Scientists have conducted various studies which have shown that meditation increases the neural activity in our brain which can affect the grey matter thickness. We won’t go into much detail and put a strain on your existing grey matter cells, but if you doubt us, you can find the proof for it yourself.
Just try and meditate every day for a month and you’ll begin to see the results. Combined with the increased concentration power and improved focus; the newly formed grey matter cells should be able to help you score more.
3. Meditation Helps you become aware of what you’re doing all the time
It lets a man maintain mindfulness all the while, and in an age where we have myriad of things begging for our attention, it is important to make sure that your mind is fully aware and is not drifting away. This is useful for young minds, who have adopted multitasking as their way of life. With a screen in your pocket, one on the desk, another on your lap and maybe something on your wrist or the eye; trying to concentrate on just one thing or preventing your mind from drifting on to some other is no minor feat. That is why it is important to maintain mindfulness at all times. Meditation helps you achieve that as well. Awesome, right?
4. Meditation Helps you improve your Quality of life
Well, we are better connected to the world today than we were before, but somehow, often people find themselves disconnected from the world near them. It is easy to feel lonely in such cases, and even though we have a thousand channels to connect through, there is simply no one we want to connect to sometimes. These are early signs of depression. And just like any other sickness, these should be treated properly. Young people who find it hard to keep anxiety and depression at bay should try and practice meditation regularly. Meditation can help you to start to feel better about yourself. People who meditate faithfully can observe how their quality of life improves over time.
5. Inspires A Healthy Lifestyle
Meditation is like detoxification of one’s thoughts, and while this process helps in gaining more mental stability, it also inspires one to embrace a healthier way of living. Including fresh fruits and vegetables in the everyday diet pattern, substituting alcohol with fresh juices and herbal teas, and exercising are some of the things one feels inspired to do while practising meditation.
6. Happiness Levels
Who would not want this! Happiness is something we all seek, especially because of the tumultuous times we live in, and meditation helps us attain that. Regular meditation provides a calmer mind and a happier soul! In other words, meditation infuses a dose of happiness every time we practice it, and it helps us see the world as half full, rather than half empty!
7. Forgive and Forget:
The reason we tend to feel stressed or anxious is due to the complicated relationships in our lives. Meditation helps us see beyond the surface and equips us with the ability to forgive, forget and move on. Acceptance plays a large role in meditative practices, and by accepting ourselves, we also learn to accept others and to see the positive in them regardless of the situations or barriers.
8. Slows Down Ageing
Forget the anti-ageing creams and serums! Meditation is what will ultimately ease out those wrinkles and fine lines. Studies have shown that people who meditate tend to look younger than their counterparts in the same age group. There is no magic behind this, but the fact that meditation reduces stress, anxiety and helps us become calmer is what becomes the perfect harmony for our genes and blood cells that tend to live longer.
9. Like any other exercise, Meditation requires Practice and Patience.
It takes time to learn the art of meditation. Or was it science? You can call it an amalgam of both really.
We advise you to try and start slowly, with only a few minutes of meditation in the beginning. You can gradually build up the rhythm and practice for long hours. Like we said in the beginning, it can get hard to keep your mind calm during meditation, but that is why you require to practice. You remember the old saying right? “Practice makes a man perfect.”
We live in a chaotic world! A moment of peace seems like a luxury, and a quiet place is nothing less than a treasure.
The external noise becomes part and parcel of the noise and confusion; we experience from within ourselves. This is why people turn to meditation as it is a fair way to cut back, sit, relax, soak in one’s thoughts and inner conscience and experience the world, not from the outside, but from what lies in our own thought process and we should know how to do meditation effectively.
How to do Meditation is always a difficult proposition and is not always easy due to the plethora of distractions and responsibilities that need our attention on a day to day basis. So how do you make that half an hour of meditation effective and fruitful to reap the full Benefits of Meditation?
How to do Meditation: 5 ways to do it effectively:
Focused Breathing:
You can’t skip A and jump to B while meditating. In other words, you can’t get in touch with your thoughts unless you focus on your breathing pattern first. You need to be in a comfortable place and make sure you switch off your phone, laptop and get rid of anything that may get in the way of your meditation time. Close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing. Draw air through your nose and exhale deeply from the mouth. Don’t force yourself to concentrate, but rather do it in a natural, unfazed way. Ensure that you take deep and long breaths as that will help your mind relax.
Self Observation:
The word ‘Meditation’ has ‘Me’ in it, which means that this time is really about you and what is happening within you. While focusing on your breathing, observe how your body reacts while you are sitting. Do you experience a tingling sensation in your arms, legs, or lower back? Is there a certain amount of tension in your neck or shoulders? Do not criticise yourself, but just observe and make mental notes. Gradually, and with regular meditation, your body and mind will become one and will be in perfect sync with each other to reap the full benefits of Meditation
Mantra Magic:
The magic of speaking a sacred word does wonders to your ‘everyday meditation practice’. The Sanskrit word ‘Om’ can be an effective way of building the concentration level during meditation. You can say it in a low tone, or you can chant it while keeping your eyes closed. If there is something that is bothering you, then you can chant the word while focusing on that particular thought and everything that surrounds it. This will help in unfolding the tension and in helping you attain inner peace.
Walking While Meditating:
Don’t think it’s possible? It is! This is a great meditating technique for those who have immense trouble sitting in one place for a long period. If you have a beautiful garden behind your house or a luscious green park within the neighbourhood, then take a 30-minute stroll. Focus on your body as you move your arms and legs. Don’t walk too fast, and don’t go too slow either. Make sure you pace yourself and keep your eyes focused in front. Let your inner thoughts become an umbrella and ensure that you breathe properly through your nose and mouth to help ease the tension. Walking meditation works effectively for those who have a tendency to get anxious or who panic at the drop of a hat.
Empty Canvas:
This is perhaps the best way to meditate. Be open, be free, let your thoughts swim and detach yourself from whatever is crowding your mind. This meditation technique does not require you to focus on anything in particular but is a way to absorb your inner conscience and untangle all the knotted mess your mind usually gets into. Whether its work pressure or homebound responsibilities, this meditation technique lets you breathe some life and energy back into your mental and spiritual self.
We hope that we were able to convince you that, youth and meditation are far from chalk and cheese as some might want you to believe. And we also sincerely hope that all our readers would try and adopt meditation in their lifestyle. Just try and carve a few minutes each day and hopefully you’ll start to see the difference and be able to reap the many benefits of Meditation.
