You may often get caught up in doing multiple things, trying to multitask. When this happens, your body physically and chemically will not respond or function at its optimal level of health. The best time to create space or take a breather is when you are stressed and feel like you don’t have the time! Meditation will help your body and your mind respond more positively when you return to the task at hand. Young or old, everyone can benefit from meditation.
First, what is meditation? Meditation is not closing down your mind or thoughts, but rather creating a space within yourself which allows you to be present to whatever happens from moment to moment without describing, labeling, or judging it. Physically, meditation may call for you to sit quietly while focusing on your breath or a phrase. There’s no right or wrong way to meditate. If you feel better when you’re done, you’ve likely done it correctly.
Here’s a list CoachUp’s favorite seven ways you can benefit from meditation, enjoy!
1. Reduce Stress – A quiet, meditative state will allow you to step away from the stress of a fast-paced external world that often tries to pull us in many directions and often all at once. Mediation will make you feel less stressed.
2. Additional Health Benefits – Lower stress levels can lead to many other physical benefits: lower blood pressure, lower anxiety levels, calmer nervous system, and ease of pain related to certain illnesses.
3. Conquer Your Own Thoughts – We often find ourselves victims of negative feelings and thoughts. However, through meditation you can begin to see when these thoughts arrive and then change them or eliminate them all together.
4. Detachment – Many small things throughout the day (traffic, waiting in line, habits of others) can bring us into states of complete irritation. Meditation won’t stop these events from occurring, but over time the practice of meditation can give you a better perspective on and detachment from these minor irritations of everyday life.
5. Happiness and Peace of Mind – Happiness is not found externally or created by someone or something. It comes from within. Meditation helps bring your awareness and focus back to the source of happiness, which is yourself.
6. Concentration – Through meditation we can improve our ability to concentrate, which helps in every activity we partake in.
7. Spontaneity and Creativity – When we are not “in the moment,” we are often lost in thought, which means energy is living in the past or future, neither of which serves us in the “now.” Being truly present in the moment requires us to be spontaneous and awakens our creative spirit.
(Related: Read about the benefits of hot yoga here.)
Huddle Up
We highly recommend printing this out and hanging it on your fridge! That way, every time you feel like crashing or ignoring responsibilities, all it takes is a quick peek at this list to motivate you once more. Knowing the positive benefits of meditation will only help you in the long and this list proves it! If you’ve never tried it before, give it a go, you might be surprised at the results.
If you’ve desired getting into yoga and meditation before, but have gotten stuck somewhere along the way, consider booking one of CoachUp’s private yoga trainers. Our experienced team will get you in the right mindset for success in no time — what are you waiting for?
Be prepared for the biggest moments by mastering the small ones in the studio.
