What are the benefits of meditation?

Meditation is a form of relaxation that can be successfully used by any of us. It carries numerous benefits, as confirmed by clinical studies. Are you interested? Then this article is just for you.

Meditation is a cleansing of the mind. It teaches you to observe your thoughts and the emotions that accompany them. It allows you to calm down and get away from worries. This improves our mental and physical health.

How to meditate?

Meditation does not require special, above-average skills. Here is the simplest recipe:

Find a secluded room where no stimuli will distract you.

Sit comfortably where you want and how you want. You can sit Turkish on the floor or on a chair, with your feet resting on the floor. Total freedom!

Assume correct posture. Straighten your back, relax your shoulders and lift your head slightly.

Close your eyes and breathe slowly and deeply. Focus on inhaling and exhaling.

Feel your body relax from your head to your toes.

Observe the thoughts that arise, but don’t pay attention to them and don’t judge whether they are good or bad. And if you perceive that you have focused on them, don’t worry. Calmly return to concentrating on your breath.

At the end of the meditation, count down in your mind from 5 to 1 and visualize the numbers to yourself one by one.

Nothing easier, right? However, it is important to make a habit of meditation. Therefore, find time for it every day. It really doesn’t take much. Just a few minutes will make you feel better.

What helps in meditation?

There are many ways to help you focus on your breath while meditating. The most popular one comes from Zen meditation. It involves counting the breaths in your mind. Another method is mantra meditation, which is the repetition of formulas, verses or syllables (for example, “om”). This can be done in thought. You can also intone aloud by lengthening the syllables. Then with an exhalation one says the mantra aloud, and with an inhalation one says it in thought. There is also meditation with affirmation. It involves repeating a positive phrase in your mind (for example, “I feel comfortable”). Of course, these are just a few examples. You will certainly choose the best way for you from the whole range of possibilities.

What are the benefits of meditation?

Meditation has a salutary effect on health. To begin with, during meditation the frequency of brain waves changes. This results in a reduction of fear and anxiety (including those related to death). Cognitive abilities improve. We remember better, learn faster and concentrate more easily. This is a result of the fact that the density of the gray matter in the hippocampus, the center responsible for memory and learning, increases. The level of serotonin, the happiness hormone, also increases. With breathing exercises, oxygenation of the body improves. This, in turn, makes us sleep better at night, and during the day we are rested and function more efficiently. Clinical studies have also shown that meditation slows down the development of Alzheimer’s disease and reduces the feeling of pain in rheumatic diseases. These are just a few of the major benefits of meditation. We must admit that the list of its benefits is impressive.