Meditation is a vital way to purify and quiet the mind, thus rejuvenating the body - Deepak Chopra
Your guide to meditation starts with unfolding the world of meditative practices, and understanding what it has to offer. You can practice meditation at home, or join professional meditation classes. But it all comes down to what you make out of it.
Meditation is nothing but a set of techniques and methods that are carefully curated to increase an individual's state of awareness and bring focused attention. To some, it acts as a medium to alter consciousness that can directly impact the psychological well-being of those people. Meditative practices can be broadly classified into two types - concentrative and mindfulness meditation.
In this article, we will delve deeper into the world of mindfulness meditation, and how it stands to benefit your life.
What are the Biggest Meditation Benefits?
Meditation can be practiced through various mediums. You can join yoga classes, online yoga classes, or even practice mediation at home. No matter the platform or medium, meditation can be helpful in the following ways -
- Manage stress levels: This is one of the biggest benefits of meditative practices. Physical or mental stress increases the level of stress hormone, cortisol. If you meditate regularly, you can regulate this hormone, which helps to reduce the production of inflammatory and harmful chemicals called cytokines. Meditation can also help to deal with other physiological problems like irritable bowel syndrome, or PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder).
- Control anxiety: Meditative practices like mindfulness breathing can also help reduce and control anxiety. It helps you cope better, as you spend more time discovering your inner fears and strengths. Yoga classes are known to have proven benefits when it comes to dealing with stress and anxiety.
- Improve emotional health: When you meditate, it helps to break a lot of stereotypes and negative images about yourself. This promotes positive self-image, and helps to have a positive outlook towards life.
- Increase self-awareness: Meditation benefits also spill over to increasing your own awareness about yourself. As you slowly discover the different faces of your personality, you can work towards improving yourself better.
- Bring focused attention: Meditative techniques like mindfulness breathing helps to build focused attention, and even increases attention span, with lesser distractions.
- Counter memory loss: Memory loss, a characteristic of ageing, can be slowed down, or even prevented with mediation.
- Build empathy: When you spend time with yourself, and learn how to control your breath, it is easier to show empathy and kindness towards others.
- Fight addictions: Yoga and other meditative practices can help fight addictions as you spend time improving yourself and the quality of life.
- Improve sleep pattern: Meditation at home or elsewhere also helps you to sleep better with the help of mindfulness breathing techniques. You can also use meditation apps to help you fall asleep.
- Improve bodily functions: Your guide to meditation also teaches you ways to control and regulate your bodily functions like blood pressure, cholesterol, and cardiac functions.
Here is where you can find effective yoga classes near me only for ladies on superprof
What is Mindfulness Meditation?
If you are dealing with thoughts that are running awry, then it might be a good idea to try mindfulness breathing. This is a technique that uses meditation and focuses on your breathing to bring focused attention. This translates into you being able to focus on the now, rather than your mind constantly drifting into the past or future. It all helps to accept and acknowledge your feelings and emotions without any judgement.
The main medium of practicing mindfulness meditation at home is to focus on deep breathing, and build awareness of your bodily sensations. You can use guided mediation if you are just starting out, or if you are a pro, then you can practice it on your own.
How to Practice Mindfulness Everyday
A guide to meditation is incomplete without sharing tips on how to practice it at home, and in your daily life. Through simple, daily chores, you can practice mindfulness, like,
- Doing the dishes.
- Brushing your teeth.
- Doing your laundry.
- Driving your car.
- During yoga classes.
- While at the gym.
- Taking care of your children or parents.
- Grocery shopping
How to Practice Mindfulness?
When you own your breath, nobody can steal your peace - Anonymous
You can try mindfulness meditation at home with these simple steps -
- Find a comfortable place to sit, like a chair or on the floor, where you can sit in the same position for a while, without pain.
- Wear loose, comfortable clothing.
- Use a timer if you are doing this for the first time, so you can push yourself to complete the full session.
- Now focus just on your breathing, while attending to the flow of air in and out of your nostrils; feel for other sensations while breathing like how your belly rises when you take a breath in.
- Say hello to your thoughts - while the goal is not to ponder on them, it is important to acknowledge. Notice and take note of your thoughts, and then move on without dwelling on them.
- If, at first, you find yourself too distracted, get up, and take a break; if you like, you can note down the moments when your mind drifted, and where it went.
- Use an app-based guided meditation tool, if you find it difficult to concentrate on your own.
Is mindfulness meditation the same as transcendental meditation? A lot of people often research about the two as both are forms of meditation that helps in gaining control over your senses.
Benefits of Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
This is a therapeutic approach to mindfulness meditation, that helps to reduce symptoms of stress. It is also beneficial to people suffering from depression, chronic pain, and anxiety.
Heart Rate Regulation
Cardiovascular diseases are a top reason for ill-health in many individuals. With regular practice of mindfulness, one can regulate their heart rates, which reduces the chance of many heart diseases.
Better Immunity
Regular mindfulness practice can also lead to improved immunity, which increases your body's resistance to fight many diseases.
Improved Sleep
Just like any other meditative practices, mindfulness also improves sleep patterns.
How Do Yoga Classes Build Meditative Practices?
- Yoga classes also teach you many meditation techniques.
Your guide to meditation will also include how to practice meditation in yoga classes. Every yoga teacher sets aside time in her class to help you meditate. You can start with active meditation that helps you narrow down your focus on something specific. This can be done through breathing, or focusing on an object, like a candle flame. As a beginner, your mind might still wander off, making it hard to concentrate. But through regular yoga, and mindfulness practice, you can gradually overcome this challenge.
A few simple and easy things you can try might be -
- Increase the time for meditation, gradually. Start with a few minutes at first, and then, once you are able to concentrate better, increase the time.
- Meditate right before or after your physical yoga exercises.
- Make sure your posture is correct when you sit down to meditate; with incorrect posture, your body will hurt, creating unnecessary distractions.
- Gaze at any object to start focusing on your mind.
- Close your eyes, to delve deeper into the world of meditation.
A Guide to Meditation at Home
-
Meditation at home can be practiced with or without a guide | Image Source: uscreen.tv
A home-based guide to meditation can help you meditate at home easily. Before anything else, be sure to identify a serene, quiet place or corner where you can meditate in peace, without being disturbed. You can use a yoga mat or floor cushions or a comfortable chair to sit on and meditate. You can also decorate this corner or space with candles, ambient lighting, or flowers. But use items that you resonate with, so that your meditation experience is personalized.
Before actually starting to meditate, make sure you have the following taken care of -
- Place a cushion or mat on which you can sit comfortably.
- Wear comfortable clothing.
- Sit on the cushion with your back straight.
- Sit cross-legged, but not too tightly.
- You can rest your hands on the legs.
- If you like, you can place a timer near you, or use an app.
Now, to begin meditating,
- Gently close your eyes.
- Breathe in slowly and deeply through your nose.
- Breathe out slowly and deeply through your mouth.
- When you breathe in, the technique should be such that it fills your lungs completely; this helps to calm the nervous system, making you feel relaxed.
- Repeat this pattern of breathing for the entire duration of the session.
- Notice the bodily sensations during this time.
- Acknowledge, but do not ponder on your thoughts too much.
If you feel too distracted, pause, get up, take a break, and start over. Remember that meditation is not a task. Rather it is a way of being, that leads to an improved quality of life.
Enjoyed this article? Leave a rating!
Loading...
