5 Important Reasons to Start a Meditation Practice.
Meditation is the secret sauce for many of the most successful and happy people on the planet. Popular practices like Transcendental Meditation (TM) and mindfulness as well as accessibility to apps like Insight Timer and Headspace have helped meditation become more mainstream. Yet many people are still intimidated by the idea of sitting still with their thoughts and trying to clear them out. This is a misconception. There are many ways to meditate and finding the one that feels best for you is key to sticking to a regular practice.
Doctors and scientists are now studying how meditation helps people and the results are proving why it's so healthy and rewarding to do it.
Here's a list of 5 reasons to start meditating regularly that I hope will entice you to try.
reason #1 - Mind
Neuroscientists at UCLA discovered regular meditation enhances the brains ability to process information, stay focused, improves memory, and helps with logical decision-making (2012 PubMed study). Essentially they saw physical changes of the brain when comparing meditators with non-meditators. These physical changes made it clear that meditation enhances the function of the brain.
reason #2 - Emotions
While studying the effects of meditation on the brain, observations of emotional control were also notable. Decreased symptoms of depression and anxiety as well as increased awareness and introspection led to more compassion for oneself and others (2010 PubMed Study). When we take the time to go within we become more self-aware of how we perceive and react to life. We develop self-forgiveness and self-love which in turn expresses itself outwardly towards others as compassion and kindness. This also can improve our relationships!
reason #3 - Body
A regular meditation practice has been discovered to boost immune function (PubMed 2016 Study), reduce cardiovascular disease risks (PubMed 2014 Study), decrease inflammation (PubMed 2016 Study), improve outcomes of cancer (PubMed 2019 Study), and naturally increase energy levels. Scientists even noticed meditation had an anti-aging effect shown in the difference of telomeres between meditators and non-meditators (PubMed 2012 Study). Telomeres are DNA strands at the end of chromosomes that begin to deteriorate as we age. Regular meditators showed signs of less deterioration implying a slowing of age processes which the study connected to stress.
reason #4 - Stress
Stress is the source of many physical, mental, and chronic illnesses. Our modern lifestyle is so fast-paced that we tend to always be in the sympathetic mode of our nervous system which is the fight, flight, or freeze state. Constant stimulation makes our body think we are always in a dangerous survival mode that strains every function in the body. A regular meditation practice allows us to slow down, rest, and return to a calm state of the nervous system called the parasympathetic mode. In this mode the body registers that all is well and so energy can go to digestion, detoxification, and cellular regeneration. It is vital to allow your body to experience this state of peace everyday yet many of us don't until we go to sleep.
"Untrained warriors are soon killed on the battlefield; so also persons untrained in the art of preserving their inner peace are quickly riddled by the bullets of worry and restlessness in active life."
– Paramahansa Yogananda
reason #5 - Relaxation & sleep
Giving your mind and body a meditation break daily helps to re-train them to know what it feels like to be calm and at peace. These feelings begin to spread into all parts of life and we become more patient and kind. It also helps us experience life in the present moment. This leads to improved sleep because the body and mind know how to relax and can easily wind down rather than feel tired but still wired. When we sleep well the body can detox and regenerate. The brain even has a cleansing detox mode called the glymphatic system that activates in states of deep theta and delta brainwaves which removes plaque from the brain the causes dementia.
the meditation solution
I am personally living the positive effects of daily meditation. I rarely get sick, the behavior of others don't frazzle me, I can think of the most efficient ways to be productive, and when I'm tired midday I sit and meditate and it feels SO good!
I took a deep dive into the benefits of meditation which inspired me to create a service that will help people incorporate a regular meditation practice. I will be your accountability partner aka your mental fitness coach. People hire personal trainers for their physical health, why not get help to meditate. The best productivity coaches say if it's not scheduled it won't happen. Book a meditation coaching session anytime, anywhere via Zoom and re-train your mind and body to easily access calm and relaxation.
Let me know in the comments below if you meditate, if so what kind you like to do. Or what are the struggles or resistance to meditating? Sharing tips and tricks or relatable difficulties supports us all.