The Benefits of Meditation, It Works
“Quiet the mind and the soul will speak.”
I’ve recently forced myself into giving meditation a more concerted effort, and today, I want to share my experiences and benefits with you.
Of course I’ve tried meditation here and there in the past, usually as I was doing yoga, but I’ve never felt like I could meditate to calm my mind. No matter how hard I tried, my mind wandered.
For a period of time a few years ago my stress, anxiety, and anxiousness felt like it was at an all-time high. I tried prescribed medication, but it wasn’t something I wanted to be on long term. I wanted to find a natural remedy. I have a passion for herbal remedies and natural ways to heal and tried things like Valerian Root herbal tea which is great for anxiety. I used herbal tinctures, and salves that promote calmness and these things certainly helped but I knew I needed more.
So, I started looking into meditation and how to practice mindfulness. Meditation is the process of focusing your mind, which leads to the dissipation of negative energy while you concentrate on positive thoughts. It is also an incredible way to increase awareness of yourself, mind, and body. I needed some of this to get me through my stress. We all know regular stress can have a ton of adverse health effects and I’ve been on a mission to get rid of stress. For the record, it’s a slow process but I won’t give up.
Meditation is a great solution for improving your overall mental and emotional health and there is an endless list of benefits from doing it. Things like:
It helps to reduce stress and anxiety (aka, helps provide a new perspective on stressful situations)
Can help reduce pain
Provides an emotional balance
Reduces depression
Increases memory function
Increases overall self-awareness
Helps you focus on the present
It can also increase your patience and tolerance (which I can use a lot of these days)
“Calmness of the mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.”
As I began to practice meditation, I really struggled with the focus part of it. My mind would wonder and I constantly thought about tasks I needed to get done, or things I forgot to do. It was really hard at first. But the last 3 months I’ve been using the Calm app and it has really helped me focus. I love that pretty much every mediation session reminds me that if a thought comes in, it’s ok, simply let it pass. For those not familiar, Calm it is an easy to navigate app that provides daily guided meditations and even themed meditations like 7 Days of Happiness, or 7 Days of Sleep. They also have sleep stories, soothing sounds, Calm Body or Calm Kids themes, and have masterclasses for things like social media & screen addiction, embracing silliness, breaking bad habits and so much more. I love that these apps available provide mediation opportunities to enjoy with ranges in length from 5 minutes to 1 hour. You choose your journey and time you have available. I’ve even done a quick 5-minute emergency meditation when I’m stressed at work.
I was fortunate enough to get Calm for discount through my employer as they really push mental wellness. Love that so much. There are so many apps available from free to paid and it doesn’t matter which you chose, just that you try this practice. It has really helped me deal with my stresses and calm my reaction to that stress. It’s amazing what a deep breath, a focused mental moment, and 5-minutes of time can do.
Even if you think this isn’t for you, or that you can’t do it, just try it out. With everything in life, practice makes perfect, and you need to practice. The mental stability that comes with meditation is priceless.
Peace, Love & Calm Vibes.
Nikki
“Silence isn’t empty, it’s full of answers.”