With the world shifting in so many directions these days, it’s not a surprise we feel overcome with worry and increased stress amidst the turbulence. The world is charting new territories with brand new leadership, overcoming viruses and diseases, and dealing with constant natural disasters. It can be very overwhelming!
We need a safe and reliable place to go to unload our fears and worries. A place to safely clear our head and relieve the stress that we experience from the trauma of life.
We need a safe and reliable place to go to unload our fears and worries. A place to safely clear our head and relieve the stress that we experience from the trauma of life.
Are you wondering if meditation might be right for you? Have you tried meditation and stopped because you couldn’t sit still or you were too consumed by your own thoughts?
You are not alone. Meditation is a practice. Every time you sit and meditate you are becoming the witness to your experience. With practice, meditation becomes your most powerful Life Tool.
Below is a short list of reasons why meditation is not only healthy but beneficial for you in so many different areas of your life. Once you add this mindful living tool into your daily routine, you’ll wonder how and why you ever lived without it.
Meditation Reduces Stress: This is probably the number one reason people try meditation. Stress is harmful to the body. The American Psychological Association says, “Constant stress experienced over a prolonged period of time, can contribute to long-term problems for heart and blood vessels. The consistent and ongoing increase in heart rate, and the elevated levels of stress hormones and of blood pressure, can take a toll on the body.” Most often can’t control the stressors outside ourselves. We can, however, control how we respond to them. Meditation has been proven to relieve health problems. It increases our sense of well-being by restoring mental balance and internal peace.
Meditation Soothes Anxiety: Anxiety is our body’s natural way of reacting to stress. Anxiety causes a host of health problems such as; sleep disorders, unproductive worries, irritability, ulcers, and IBS to name a few. Meditation can bring down our heightened senses to a balanced level. Dr. Hoge, a psychiatrist at the Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders says, “If you have unproductive worries, you can train yourself to experience those thoughts completely differently. Meditation teaches you to recognize, ‘Oh, there’s that thought again. I’ve been here before. But it’s just that—a thought, and not a part of my core self.” Meditation restores peace and an internal “knowingness” that all is well and all will be well.
Enhances Self-Awareness: With the myriad of news and social media outlets, it’s no wonder we’re overwhelmed with stress. Meditation takes everything else, and everyone else, out of the equation. Meditation allows us the space to tune in to the truth of ourselves and the truth of “what is”. Activating awareness with our breath, and grounding our awareness deep within the body, allows us the opportunity to open our minds and invite divine clarity and divine guidance to emerge.
Promotes Emotional Health: When we sit in meditation and become the witness to our thoughts, it’s a chance to observe ourselves and the mental patterns we have been programmed to think. Meditation brings us back to our center and strengthens the relationship with our highest selves. Meditation is the doorway to our intuition and provides us insight that we can practice in our day-to-day lives. This insight can support and heal our emotional health. As Yung Pueblo says, “It’s not about managing your emotions, it is about managing your reaction to your emotions.” Meditation offers us the space we need in order to practice “The Pause” with our reactions.
Improves Sleep and Decreases Insomnia: According to Healthline, “About 35 to 50 percent of adults worldwide, regularly experience insomnia symptoms.” Meditation is known for supporting healthier sleeping patterns because of its relaxing effects. Trying a gentle meditation before bed will increase your overall calmness which will increase your serotonin and melatonin.
Meditation is a wonderful way to bring clarity and peace into our bodies and mind. It’s a method that gives us a way to reduce and eliminate stress and anxiety while promoting self-awareness and emotional health. Try meditation today. Set your timer for 3 minutes. Close your eyes and be with your breath. Notice your thoughts. Start small and work your way up to longer sessions.
Meditation is a healthy alternative to coping with the stress life offers.
-Kelley