Benefits of Meditation
“The goal of meditation is not to get rid of thoughts or emotions. The goal is to become more aware of your thoughts and emotions and learn how to move through them without getting stuck.”
Struggling to meditate
Meditation is the part of my practice that I struggle with the most.
As someone who lives with anxiety, meditation had been scary because it tended to increase my symptoms when I was starting my practice.
I always felt I was doing it wrong and not good at it because I could not completely clear my mind and settle in. I would spend the entire time getting more and more frustrated with myself. This was a vicious cycle - high anxiety, encouraged to meditate as a way to manage, increased anxiety due to “failing” to meditate correctly - around and around I went.
I was finally able to break the cycle by using a free meditation app (Insight Timer) for guided meditations and started with only practicing for about 10 minutes per day. The guided meditations gave me a specific focus to use during each session. This allowed me to slowly deepen my practice without dwelling on my rapidly cycling thoughts.
There is no best way to meditate
Sitting. Standing. Walking. Laying down. Eyes open. Eyes closed. Palms up. Palms down. Guided. Tapping. Chanting. Mantras. Music.
All of these are great options for your practice. The key is finding the best way for YOU in that moment. Each day when you settle in to practice, you may find yourself drawn to the same position and style of practice or you may be called to try something new.
There are so many options that there is bound to be one that works best for you.
Mindfulness and awareness
Bringing mindfulness and awareness to your daily routines can be a great way to incorporate moments of meditation and focus into your day. Pausing briefly at times throughout your day to just notice - sights and sounds around you, your emotions, the sensations in your body - can have a positive impact on your mental state.
Not only is it important to notice or observe yourself and your thoughts and others but it is crucially important to do so WITHOUT judgment. Simply observe, notice.
There is no best time to meditate
Especially when starting a meditation practice, the best time is when you are able to set aside the time. Whether it is first thing in the morning, over lunch, after work, or before bed, you will reap the benefits regardless of when you meditate.
That being said, depending on what your goal is for practicing, the time of day may work better for you. But that is for you to decided.
For example, the morning might work better to prepare you for the day. Or you may find that a short session after a stressful meeting at work helps to re-center you. Or if calming your mind enough to sleep is a challenge then doing a meditation right before bed may work best for you.
Benefits of meditation
There are many claims about the benefits of meditation, but I found the information listed below from Mayo Clinic to be helpful and straight-forward on benefits for both mental and physical health.
Mental health - per Mayo Clinic, “the emotional benefits of meditation can include: gaining a new perspective on stressful situations, building skills to manage your stress, increasing self-awareness, focusing on the present, reducing negative emotions, increasing imagination and creativity, increasing patience and tolerance.”
Physical health - Mayo Clinic also states that there is some research that shows meditation can help manage of symptoms of: “Anxiety, Asthma, Cancer, Chronic pain, Depression, Heart disease, High blood pressure, Irritable bowel syndrome, Sleep problems, Tension headaches.”
Guided meditation
For today’s blog I recorded a short (about 10 minutes) meditation. It is a grounding body scan meditation where I will gently guide you through scanning various areas of your body to encourage you to focus awareness on each area and just observe what physically or emotionally may arise.
I also encourage you to subscribe to my new YouTube channel, like the video, and share with others!
Links:
Insight Timer: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/insight-timer-meditation-app/id337472899
Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/meditation/in-depth/meditation/art-20045858
