Ways Meditation Can Improve Your Life

Ways Meditation Can Improve Your Life

 

Though the world is becoming more complex and fractious, each of us has access to a flexible, transformative practice that can improve our physical and emotional health: Meditation.

While the practice of Meditation might seem daunting or time consuming, and you may well ask, “Why bother?”, studies show that just a few minutes meditating every day can make a big, positive difference in a person’s life. And the benefits add up! Here are eight ways to use meditation to enrich your life.

It improves concentration: 

 “I’m more centered and focused in everything I do. I don’t find myself getting as distracted anymore,” says Sara Robinson of Indianapolis, who did the Sahaj course last February. The ER nurse and sky-diving instructor adds that multitasking is easier. At least one study has shown an improved ability to multitask, Seppälä says. “Meditation has been linked to a number of things that lead to increased ability to focus, memory … We’ve seen this at the level of the brain.” Greater concentration is related to the increased energy meditation provides. “It connects you with your real source of energy,” Narasimhan says.

It encourages a healthy lifestyle:

“I tend to want more things that are better for me,” Robinson says, adding that she eats more fresh foods and has cut out nearly all alcohol. She also stopped smoking. Susan Braden, who lives in Takoma Park, Maryland, and also did the Sahaj course, says the practice has made her apply the Hippocratic oath — “First, do no harm” — to herself. “You just want to put good things in your body,” she says. That means “closest to what’s natural. So if it doesn’t look like a tomato, I wouldn’t eat it.” Braden also gave up coffee, replacing it with tea.

The practice increases self-awareness:

Before Zaccai Free, a District of Columbia resident, began meditating in college two decades ago, he had a very short fuse – to the point, he says, of wanting to commit acts of violence. Meditation taught him to recognize his own anger and become more detached from it. It cleared his mind and calmed him down, he says. Mostly, “it made me more comfortable in my own skin,” adds Free, who does many types of meditation, including Sahaj, Agnihotra, laughter and walking meditations. “When you take more time to dive inside yourself, you are more comfortable showing who you are.”

 It increases happiness:

“Meditation puts you on the fast track to being happy,” says Ronnie Newman, director of research and health promotion for the Art of Living Foundation, the umbrella organization for the Sahaj meditation course. Studies have shown that brain signaling increases in the left side of the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for positive emotions, while activity decreases in the right side, responsible for negative emotions, Newman says. The other benefits of meditation, including increased self-awareness and acceptance, also contribute to improved overall well-being.

The practice benefits cardiovascular and immune health

Meditation induces relaxation , which increases the compound nitric oxide that causes blood vessels to open up and subsequently, blood pressure to drop. One study, published in 2008 in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, showed that 40 of 60 high blood pressure patients who started meditating could stop taking their blood pressure medication. Meditation also improves immunity. “I hardly ever get sick anymore,” Robinson says. “I don’t think I’ve had a cold since I started this.”

 

Meditation To Fall Asleep Fast

Better Sleep Through Meditation

Techniques to Try

These techniques work best when done right before bed, in a quiet, calming environment. But you can also practice them several times a day, recommends Joyce Walsleben, PhD, associate professor at New York University School of Medicine.
"If you can keep your stress levels under control during the day, you'll sleep better at night," Walsleben says. "You can even do them at your desk or on the train."

Abdominal breathing

Breathing from the abdomen and putting your attention on those breaths can help you relax both during the day and in bed at night. Some people may enjoy lying in a dimly lit room, closing their eyes, or listening to soft music while focusing on their out breaths.

More techniques for better sleep.

 

While sitting or lying in bed, try placing your hands on your belly. "When you breathe in and breathe out, your hands may gently move," says Kathy Doner, MD, who has a full-time hypnotherapy practice in Sebastian, Fla. "Focusing on this movement gets your mind off of your busy thoughts and onto your body. You can distract yourself and bring yourself to a different place. It's very calming."

Guided imagery

Some people imagine a calm scene to help them wind down at the end of the day. There are no rules about what you should imagine, so long as it's calming. Although clouds, the ocean, and mountains are common choices, you can focus on something as general or as specific as you want.
"I had a patient who liked to picture his office—brushing everything off his desk and going to sleep," Walsleben says. "Other people enjoy visualizing that they're blowing bubbles. They put the stick in the jar and watch every bubble go over a field until the jar is empty."
Pick a place that feels safe, and, using your imagination, invite any or all of your senses to explore it. "The brain doesn't always know the difference between pretend and real," says Dr. Doner. "If you watch a scary movie, your adrenaline might go up, just as if you imagine eating something vividly enough, you might start to salivate."
Guided imagery can be done alone or with a specialist, such as a sleep doctor cognitive-behavioral therapist, or hypnotherapist, or by using a tape or CD—but even when prompted by an instructor, the patient should still be the guide. "They need to imagine someplace comfortable and peaceful," says Dr. Doner. "I don't know where they need to go; the ocean may seem peaceful for one person, but traumatic for another."

Mindful meditation

Focusing on different aspects of your life before bed can help you earn your rest, if you're able to let those thoughts go. "You need to look at one thing at a time, which slows things down," says Walsleben. "Focus on an issue in your life, then let it go. The major learning experience here is letting go."
For some people, it may help to write in a journal during the day. "For 15 minutes take those issues that run through your head at night and write them down," says Walsleben. "Then for the next 15 minutes make a plan and write that down too. At night when the lights are off, you can't do anything about it, but by processing things in the daytime, you can."

Counting down

While lying in bed, start by gazing upward. "A little eye strain relaxes you," says Dr. Doner. Take an abdominal breath and hold it, and on the out breath, let everything relax. Repeat one or two times. You might then try imagining yourself walking down a flight of stairs or a gentle hill while counting down from 10 or 20, each number signifying your movement to a lower step, exhaling with each imaginary step.
You can also weave a number of these techniques together, Dr. Doner says. "You might start with your belly breath," she says, "then go to progressive relexsation, then down the stairs, then go to your peaceful place. You want to give people a lot of things to try."

5 Minute Meditation For Stress Relief

   The 5 Minute Stress Reduction Meditation

 

Meditation has many wonderful benefits for stress management.  One of the most valuable aspects of meditation is that it can build resilience over time, but it can also help one feel less stressed in minutes, responding from a more relaxed, mindful place rather than reacting to life's challenges out of fear.  

Despite the many benefits of meditation, it can be an intimidating practice to begin.

Perhaps surprisingly, many people don’t try meditation because they believe it’s difficult to practice or only effective with regular, lengthy sessions. Not true! Meditation can be practiced in many ways, so there is bound to be a collection of techniques that resonate with each individual, and with each person's situation.  (For example, if you are a bath person, this tub meditation may be the perfect thing for your next bath; chocolate lovers may greatly enjoy this chocolate meditation.  Those who like to move may prefer a walking meditation.)  And while you can receive the biggest gains from meditation with frequent practice, just 5 minutes of meditation actually can bring quick stress relief. So if you only have 5 minutes for meditation, here’s how to make them count: 

Here's How:

1.Set aside time.  Set a timer for five minutes, so you can relax and not worry about staying in meditation for ‘too long’, missing appointments. (If you have an iPhone, the Healing Music application can be used as a timer, though the regular timer that comes with most phones can also be useful.)

2.Relax your body.  Just close your eyes and relax. Take a few deep breaths from your diaphragm and release the tension in your body. Try to visualize the tension leaving your body from your head to your feet, either as imagining that the stress is literally draining from you through your toes, escaping your body with every breath, or simply melting away.

3.Clear your mind.  When you work on clearing your mind of thoughts, rather than focusing on ‘thinking of nothing’, focus on ‘being’, and when thoughts enter your mind, gently acknowledge them and let them go, returning your focus to the present moment again.  If you focus on how well you are doing this, that becomes the focus.  If you accept that constantly bringing your mind back to the present moment is the meditation, it will be much easier to keep your mind still.

4.Keep going.  Continue this for five minutes, and return to your day feeling more relaxed and refreshed. Simply focus on the sensations you are feeling in your body, focus on your breath, or focus on letting go. Try this meditation regularly, and you should feel less stressed overall.