Meditation: Why to try it and easy ways to get started

It is generally accepted that meditation can benefit your mental health, but how exactly, and where should you start?!

First, let’s start off by exploring just how many ways that meditation can help not only with your mood but also with physical and emotional health. 

What are the benefits of meditation? 

Reduces stress and can combat disease and disorders rooted in inflammation

In an eighth week study, those who practiced mindfulness meditation had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol (already discussed in another post here). In addition, participants had lowered levels of inflammation markers, leading researchers to conclude that meditation can even assist in physical symptoms involved in irritable bowel disorders, fibromyalgia, and PTSD.

Reduces anxiety and physical pain

Looking at several studies involving over 1300 participants, researchers discovered that meditation helped reduce anxiety, with those who were the most anxious receiving the biggest benefits. Additionally, those with chronic pain found that as they meditated, they reduced not only their anxiety but also their pain. It makes sense that as we are able to self-calm, we can also reduce our sensitivity to pain and feel less triggered and connected to our pain.

Emotional self-regulation

Meditation cultivates emotional awareness, and as we become more capable of observing our emotions in a calm and focused manner, we are better equipped to let go of anxious thoughts. Over time, that practice becomes more of a habit, meaning that individuals spend more time in a calm and relaxed state, and are able to return to that state with greater ease when difficult feelings do come up.

Increased attention span

This one is a big one, right? With all of our devices and apps, our brains are moving so much more quickly and constantly than they did even a few years ago. As you meditate, you will find that you increase the length that you can focus, as well as increasing how well you focus. By training the mind to focus on the present moment, meditation helps you  stay more focused and attentive in your daily life. This has obvious benefits for school and memory and retaining the materials, but in addition, it helps your relationships, as everyone feels more connected to those who seem to be truly listening and attentive. 

Improves sleep

Many of us struggle with insomnia, even if only occasionally, and often it is linked to stress and anxiety that causes our thoughts to race when we should be sleeping. Meditation helps you learn to calm or control or redirect  those racing thoughts, enabling you to fall asleep. In addition studies show that those who meditate generally fall asleep with greater ease, sleep deeper, and stay asleep longer. 

Improved mood

Regular meditation practice is associated with improved mood and reduced symptoms of depression. It promotes the production of neurotransmitters like serotonin, which are involved in regulating mood, leading to a greater sense of well-being.

Enhanced resilience to stress

Meditation strengthens the brain’s ability to cope with stress. It promotes neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to reorganize and adapt, leading to greater resilience in the face of life’s challenges.

Greater overall well being and happiness

Ultimately, meditation contributes to overall mental well-being. By promoting relaxation, emotional regulation, and self-awareness, meditation helps individuals lead happier, more fulfilling lives.

Are you convinced yet to give meditation a try? We hope so! 

What is wonderful about meditation is that it is so simple to do, and while there are many great apps and videos you can try, ultimately it requires very little in the way of equipment. You can meditate anywhere, anytime! It may seem hard at first, but once you are good at it, you will be able to tune out the world and tune into the calm and focus and peace that we all desire!

What are some easy ways to get started with meditation?

Follow your breath

The simplest way to begin to meditate is to tune in and follow your breath. In any given moment, you can choose to pay attention to the natural rhythm of your breath. There are any number of variations on breath meditation- you can count your breaths, you can count each exhale, you can even recite a mantra on each exhale and inhale such as inhale-peace, exhale-doubt. 

Additionally there are meditations where you count on your inhale and exhale, purposely making each last a particular count. Box breathing is the one example: breathe in four counts, hold four counts, release four counts, hold four counts. 

For many of us, breath meditation can be challenging because we find it hard to turn off other thoughts. Just know that that is normal! When that happens, you simply recognize that it has happened, and bring yourself back to your breath.

And if you continue to find it difficult to do breath meditation, check out the tips below for other ways to get started!

Meditation Apps

Headspace. Headspace might be the original meditation app, with almost one million reviews on the Apple store. They have a free version and a paid version, and more styles of meditation than you could possibly imagine, including “ meditations, sleepcasts, mindful movement and focus exercises.” 

10% Happier

10% Happier is an app created by Dan Harris, a former news anchor who once had such debilitating anxiety that he froze while on the job, thus leading him to discover the power of meditation. Their mission is to offer guided meditations to make you- you guessed it- 10% happier! 

Free Streaming Options 

If you’d prefer to keep your meditation practice cost-free, you can absolutely do so and still have more options than you could ever imagine!

Spotify

If you’re a Spotify user, head over and type in “meditation for anxiety” or “sleep meditation” or “meditation for stress.” And then keep an open mind! You’ll find some meditations that you absolutely don’t think you can benefit from, and so move on until you find a format that you feel resonates, and give it a try!

YouTube

Same as Spotify, you can simply type in “meditation for…” and check out the options! You will discover meditations for sleep, for self-confidence, for positive energy, for focus and concentration, and so many more! And again- give one or two a listen, and keep trying them until you find an account that you love!

These are just a few of the reasons that you should consider meditation for your mental and emotional well being, and a few simple ways to get started. In a future post, look for a very specific meditation format called the Ziva Technique! It’s pretty special! 

And as always, check out our upcoming workshops here and never hesitate to reach out!