Meditation has been a popular practice for centuries, and with good reason. All forms of sickness and illnesses start and end in the mind, and with prolonged meditation practice, you can really experience the many benefits meditation has to offer. It's one of the best ways to take care of your mental health.
This meditation is a self reflection meditation, where we learn to let go of all the trapped energies - emotions, feelings, thoughts - from our body and mind. As you reflect on your life through this meditation, you will come to find that you never once had any true freedom – you were living according to what your mind, and your subconscious mind dictated. This shortens our lifespan and creates all sorts of damage to our body and mind.
In this week’s article, we will explore five of the most well-known benefits of meditation and how they relate specifically to the mind, as part one of our benefits to meditation series.
1. Reducing stress and anxiety:
This meditation is an incredibly thorough way to reduce stress and anxiety, just listen to what some of our practitioners have been saying. In this meditation, as we reflect on the life we have lived, we will come to find that the stress and anxiety we are experiencing in this moment is first created from an experience in our life and has compounded over time. As we reflect and let go repeatedly, we gradually detach from and release this trapped energy. This method is the most comprehensive form of letting go, and it’s through this that stress and anxiety can be reduced. The power of letting go has been well documented by the Journal of American Medication Association.
2. Improving mood and overall well-being:
Meditation has also been shown to improve overall well-being and mood. Our mind involuntarily produces tens of thousands of thoughts and feelings, all being produced by the countless experiences of our life (and negative experiences really stick!) On top of that, we constantly dwell on those thoughts and feelings, which just creates a loop in our mind. As you learn to let go of these things from your mind, your overall mood will increase as it’s the feelings and emotions attached to these thoughts which is creating damage to your mind. You can actually find your true happiness within you!
3. Increasing focus and concentration:
This is a big one! Because you have all these thoughts and feelings built up in your mind from the life you have lived, your mind is constantly bubbling over – this is why we can’t focus. As you learn to let go of these and return to your centre – your true mind – you will find that place of calmness and peace. And look, it’s OK if you try meditation and you can’t focus or concentrate; that’s exactly why we’re doing it 😊 The benefits here extend to even helping with ADHD and overactive minds, so just give it a go and be patient with yourself.
4. Reduce depression
Depression is on the rise globally. Depression is when your life doesn’t match up with your mind. If you really reflect on this, you will find it to be true. For example, a source of depression is separations. The mind may desire to still be connected with that person, but if the reality is different to the mind, this creates depression. Depression is also created in the mind when people over estimated themselves and aren’t able to achieve what they set themselves out to do.
Thankfully though, you can be free from all of these if you simply take control of your mind and let go of the things in your mind which create depression. There have been studies that show meditation is as effective as taking antidepressant medication in preventing a relapse. This method deals directly with the roots of the depression.
5. Increases over all health
Meditation has also been shown to improve cardiovascular health. A study published in the journal Circulation found that mindfulness meditation can lead to significant reductions in blood pressure. High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease, which is the leading cause of death worldwide. By reducing blood pressure, meditation can help reduce the risk of heart disease.
Furthermore, meditation has been shown to improve heart rate variability, which is a measure of the body's ability to respond to stress. A study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology found that mindfulness meditation can lead to improved heart rate variability and a reduction in the risk of heart disease.
In conclusion
In conclusion, meditation has been shown to radically reduce negative conditions of the body and mind, and improve many aspects of the body and mind. It is the most natural cure there is. Make meditation your medication and take control of your own mind. You will then have the power to achieve anything you put your mind to!
Next week we will cover 5 more benefits of meditation. We hope you enjoyed this.