The Benefits of Mindful Meditation
Meditation has been around for thousands of years. Initially, the practice was linked with certain spiritual aspects of some religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism. It was used as a technique to help people achieve a higher plane of discipline in the said religion. It has evolved over time, however, with much of today’s discussion about meditation focusing on its benefits upon the wellness of the body and mind. Men and women of science have come out to show the positive changes that the body and mind can undergo as a result of consistent and mindful meditation.
What is Mindful Meditation?
Although there are many different meditation techniques, mindful meditation is one of the best and most effective. The trick here is to focus your mind on your very own experiences and make the conscious decision to focus upon your sensations, emotions, and thoughts in the present. Here the person meditating must be aware of their body and mind, practice breathing techniques for focus, mental imagery and muscle relaxation. When you focus on your experiences, a lot of things that were shrouded before suddenly become very clear.
Benefits of Mindful Meditation
Practicing mindful meditation is quite effective and offers practitioners a wide array of benefits to help nourish the body and mind. Some of these include:
Better sleep
Sleep is a crucial part of our lives. With proper sleep, you are more likely to find yourself in a great mood and feeling well balanced, full of energy and sharp as a whip. When you practice mindful meditation, you are able to clearly see what is keeping you from having a good night’s sleep. This way, you have avenues to address the problem and achieve better sleep. According to certain research, mindful meditation has even helped older adults with sleep problems improve their quality of life by elevating their quality of rest.
Lowering stress
Stress is one of the few things that can cause us to get sick emotionally and also have a physical manifestation by evolving into other illnesses. Due to the fast-paced lives most people lead, we find that people don’t have an appropriate outlet for their stress. Therefore, it simply continues adding up to the point where everything can devolve and even begin to cause issues like heart disease, obesity, anxiety, and even depression. By practicing mindful meditation, you can actually reduce the amount of the stress hormone cortisol in the body bringing peace and clarity of mind.
Boost productivity
In most cases, the path to success is determined by how productive you are. The more productive you are, the better you perform at work and the better the chances of moving up the ladder. Researchers have found conclusive evidence that mindful meditation does a lot to enable the brain to retain attention for longer periods of time. What’s more, you also find that there is a significant change in executive functioning, working memory, reduced anxiety, and visual-spatial processing. As such, you are able to work for longer and process information a lot better. This will often give you an edge in a competitive environment.
About the Author:
Krista Harper is a local yoga instructor and freelance writer from Southern California. She regularly covers lifestyle, mental health, and nutrition topics and has a passion for helping people create balance in their lives.