Meditating and the Benefits

The popularity of meditation is increasing as more people discover its benefits.

Meditation is a habitual process of training your mind to focus and redirect your thoughts.

You can use it to increase awareness of yourself and your surroundings. Many people think of it as a way to reduce stress and develop concentration.

People also use the practice to develop other beneficial habits and feelings, such as a positive mood and outlook, self-discipline, healthy sleep patterns and even increased pain tolerance.

Stress reduction is one of the most common reasons people try meditation.

Normally, mental and physical stress cause increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This produces many of the harmful effects of stress, such as the release of inflammation-promoting chemicals called cytokines.

These effects can disrupt sleep, promote depression and anxiety, increase blood pressure and contribute to fatigue and cloudy thinking.

In an eight-week study, a meditation style called "mindfulness meditation" reduced the inflammation response caused by stress.

One of the key reasons I meditate is to reduce stress. Another is the ability to control anxiety .

Less stress translates to less anxiety. Meditation also reduces symptoms of anxiety disorders, such as phobias, social anxiety, paranoid thoughts, obsessive-compulsive behaviours and panic attacks .

Another study followed up with 18 volunteers three years after they had completed an eight-week meditation programme. Most volunteers had continued practising regular meditation and maintained lower anxiety levels over the long term.

A larger study in 2,466 participants also showed that a variety of different meditation strategies may reduce anxiety levels.

Meditation may also help control job-related anxiety in high-pressure work environments. One study found that a meditation programme reduced anxiety in a group of nurses.

Some forms of meditation can also lead to an improved self-image and more positive outlook on life.

It also enhances self- awareness, helping you develop a stronger understanding of yourself, helping you grow into your best self.

It also helps lengthen your attention span, as focused-attention meditation is like weight lifting for your attention span. It helps increase the strength and endurance of your attention.

One of the other benefits is reducing the age related memory loss as improvements in attention and clarity of thinking may help keep your mind young.

It generates kindness too, as some types of meditation particularly increases positive feelings and actions toward yourself and others.

Metta, a type of meditation also known as loving-kindness meditation, begins with developing kind thoughts and feelings toward yourself.

Through practice, people learn to extend this kindness and forgiveness externally, first to friends, then acquaintances and ultimately enemies.

A variety of meditation techniques can help you relax and control the "runaway" thoughts that can interfere with sleep. This can shorten the time it takes to fall asleep and increase sleep quality.

Meditation helps control pain too as our perception of pain is connected to our state of mind, and it can be elevated in stressful conditions.

It has also been found that blood pressure decreases not only during meditation, but also over time in individuals who meditate regularly. This can reduce strain on the heart and arteries, helping prevent heart disease.

These are the huge benefits of practising meditation.

It’s often a hard habit to create, but it is so worth it.

Starting with just 5 minutes a day and building up to 30 minutes is hugely beneficial.

Start practising today

Carole x

Mindfulness Teacher and Self Care coach