Reasons To Meditate And How To Get Started. Over the years, meditation has gone from seldom heard of to part of the mainstream. It helps to deal with everything from depression to dieting. It’s very powerful.
Over the years, meditation has gone from seldom heard of to part of the mainstream. It helps to deal with everything from depression to dieting. So, it’s very powerful.
They all address the physical parts of your workout program Cardio, weights, and yoga. Now we need to address the mental side that affects your ability to stay calm and remain confident and optimistic? So, don’t overlook this activity that can help tremendously with your health.
Meditation is often written off as not for them. There is research that shows that mediation can help many people in different ways.
To see what you have to gain, check the following advantages of meditation. Then see how easy it is to start your meditation program.
Lowers Risk Of Depression
Depression can (and does) happen. Notwithstanding the fact that it can be very serious and can require medical care. It is often undiscussed and untreated. Exercise and a healthy diet can aid to prevent depression, as can meditation.
Research indicates that meditation can be as powerful as antidepressant medications. So, don’t toss your pills in the trash (Not a good idea!) But it does illustrate the power of meditation.
Reduced Stress And Anxiety
Whether you’re stressed out about work, family, money or any host of things, meditation can help you calm down.
Too much daily stress can increase the amount of cortisol in your system,. This can lead to increased body fat. Research suggests that meditation may be one of the best techniques to help alleviate stress and anxiety and lower cortisol levels.
Enhanced Sleep Quality
Getting enough sleep each night can improve your workouts. It may also help with recovery. Most people need at least 8-9 hours of sleep but most people don’t get that much.
Meditation can improve sleep quality. This will allow you to wake up rested and full of energy. By meditating right before bed, you can increase your chances of sleeping soundly.
Pain Management
Dealing with chronic pain from an injury or illness? Meditation can help to improve your pain management and reduce the discomfort you feel.
Improved Self-Control
One of the most difficult challenges facing people whose diet is managing cravings. Meditation can help with that.
So, People who are leaner tend to have stronger dorsolateral prefrontal cortexes than those who are overweight or obese.
Slower Cognitive Decline
Being physically active can make you look and feel younger. But just as the rest of your body ages, so does your brain. The good news is there are steps you can take to stay mentally sharp as you age.
People who practice meditation and yoga experienced a slower decline in intelligence levels and brain function compared to those who dont’.
Improved Memory
Meditation can also help give your memory a boost. When people meditated, they showed improvements in their working memory.
Decrease Blood Pressure
High blood pressure affects many adults. It’s also contributes to heart disease and stroke. Diet is key to avoid high blood pressure
If high blood pressure is a concern, meditation can help. It can help to calm the mind, and lower systolic blood pressure—especially for those who suffer from moderate anxiety.
Stronger Immune System
Intense physical activity affects the body in many ways. When you work out hard, you’re taxing your immune system and need to find ways to support it. One good way is to get plenty of sleep, plus mediation.
Improved Insulin Sensitivity
Insulin resistance is a serious condition. It can lead to obesity. Another problem to look out for is type 2 diabetes. Weightlifting can help with your insulin sensitivity. It can also prevent these conditions from starting in the first place. Meditation can also help protect against insulin resistance.
Relief From PMS
Women who meditated experienced less symptoms of PMS like bloating, cramping, fatigue, and irritability. It’s somehing to consider.
Reduce Binge Eating
If you indulge in binge eating (even if only occasionaly), you’ll be glad to know that meditation may help put the stop on this.
If sitting quite will help, why not try it?!
Start Today:
Some simple steps to begin meditating:
Find somewhere quiet and dimly lit. Sit on the floor. Have an object in front of you to concentrate on. So, you can place a candle, sculpture, or a piece of fruit in front of you.
Begin by focusing on your breathing. Breath in and out. Concentrate and feel your rib cage expanding with each inhalation. Push out the breath, to remove as much air from your lungs as you can.
Breath normally. With with your eyes partially closed, focus only on that object. Acknowledge other thoughts as they come to mind, then return to paying attention to your breath and the object in front of you.
It’s not complicated and you can do this. Sit quietly and acknowledge the thoughts that come into your mind. Then softly turn your attention from those thoughts and back to your breath and the object sitting in front of you.
It will take some practice but you will be able to reach a point where you can sit for 5-10 minutes effortlessly. You will be able to dismiss thoughts and sounds as they intrude upon your mind.
Begin by meditating for five minutes a few times per week. You can increase your time from there. The important thing is to get started. Just like building muscle, it takes time but you will get better the more you do it.
Cardio, weights, and yoga—they all address the physical parts of your workout program. Now we need to address the mental side that affects your ability to stay calm and remain confident and optimistic? Don’t overlook this activity that can help tremendously with your health.
Meditation is often written off as not for them. But an increasing amount of research shows that mediation can help many people in many ways.
To see what you have to gain, check out the following benefits of meditation. Then see how easy it is to start your own meditation program.
Lowers Risk Of Depression
Depression can (and does) happen to many people at some point in their life. Despite the fact that it can be very serious and can require medical care. It is often undiscussed and untreated. Exercise and a healthy diet can help prevent depression, as can meditation.
Research indicates that meditation can be as powerful as antidepressant medications. Don’t toss your pills in the trash (Not a good idea!) But it does illustrate the power of meditation.
Reduced Stress And Anxiety
Whether you’re stressed out about work, family, money or any host of things, meditation can help you calm down.
Too much daily stress can increase the amount of cortisol in your system, which can lead to increased body fat. So, research strongly suggests that meditation may be one of the best techniques to help alleviate stress and anxiety and reduce cortisol levels.
Enhanced Sleep Quality
Getting enough sleep each night can improve your workouts and help with recovery. Most people need 8-9 hours of sleep but most don’t get that much.
Meditation can improve sleep quality, allowing you to wake up rested and full of energy. By meditating right before bed, you can increase your chances of sleeping soundly.
Pain Management
So, are you dealing with chronic pain from an illness or injury? Meditation may help to improve your pain management and reduce the discomfort you feel.
Improved Self-Control
So, one of the biggest challenges facing people dieting is managing cravings. Meditation to the rescue.
Meditation can improve the functioning of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. So, this is the part of the brain associated with impulse control. The better this part of the brain functions, the more you’re able to withstand food cravings.
So, People who are leaner tend to have stronger dorsolateral prefrontal cortexes than those who are overweight or obese.
Slower Cognitive Decline
Being physically active can make you look and feel younger. But time marches on, and just as the rest of your body ages, so does your brain. But there are steps you can take to stay mentally sharp as you age.
According to research published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, people who practice meditation and yoga experienced a slower decline in intelligence levels and brain function compared to those who didn’t.[6]
Improved Memory
Meditation can also help give your memory a boost. When people meditated, they showed improvements in their working memory.
Decrease Blood Pressure
High blood pressure affects many adults. It’s also a major contributor to heart disease and stroke. Diet is key to avoid high blood pressure
If high blood pressure is a concern, meditation can help. It can help to calm the mind, and lower systolic blood pressure—especially for those who suffer from moderate anxiety.
Stronger Immune System
Intense physical activity affects the body in many ways also. When you work out hard, you’re taxing your immune system and need to find ways to support it. One good way is to get plenty of sleep, plus mediation.
Improved Insulin Sensitivity
Insulin resistance is a serious condition. It can lead to obesity and type 2 diabetes. So, intense weightlifting can improve your insulin sensitivity and help prevent these conditions from taking hold. Meditation also might help protect against insulin resistance.
Relief From PMS
Women who meditated experienced less severe premenstrual symptoms like bloating, cramping, fatigue, and irritability.
Reduce Binge Eating
If you indulge in the occasional (or more frequent) binge eating, you’ll be glad to know that meditation may help put the stop on this, also.
If sitting quietly might be able to help you get a grip on it, why not try it?!
Start Today
Here are a few simple steps to begin meditating.
- Find somewhere quiet and dimly lit. Sit on the floor. Place an object in front of you, like a candle, a piece of sculpture, or a piece of fruit.
- Once in position, begin by focusing on your breathing. Take a few deep breaths in and out. Feel your rib cage expanding with each inhalation. Push out the breath, to remove as much air from your lungs as you can.
- Now, breathing normally and with your eyes partially closed, gaze at the object in front of you. So, focus only on that object. Acknowledge other thoughts as they come to mind, then return to paying attention to your breath and the object in front of you.
That’s all there is to it. It’s just a matter of sitting quietly, acknowledging the thoughts that come into your mind, then gently turning your attention away from those thoughts and back to your breath and the object.
With practice, you may be able to reach a point where you can sit for 5-10 minutes effortlessly dismissing thoughts and sounds as they intrude upon your mind.
Start by meditating 5-10 minutes a few times per week. Just like building muscle, it takes time but you will get better the more you work at it.
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