5 Benefits of Meditation + 3 Easy Steps to Get Started
With the practice of meditation becoming more and more popular, many people are exploring the benefits it has to offer. There are podcasts, apps, and even businesses solely focused on the practice and art of meditation.
While meditation isn’t new, the practice has become a hot topic of late as more CEOs, celebrities, companies and motivational speakers swear by it as a necessary part of of their lives and many who believe it is one of the major keys to their success.
I can honestly vouch for this hype, I’ve been practicing meditation daily for about eight years now and it has become a necessary part of my daily life.
But, the hardest part for me, and many others, was knowing where to start and what the actual return on the investment would be. Through reading, practicing, and learning, I gathered a ton of knowledge in this space and I wanted to put together five benefits and three easy ways to get started with your own practice.
What is meditation exactly?
There are a ton of “types” or “styles” of meditation, but when getting started it’s best to simply think of it as a way to practice mindfulness.
I love the way Headspace, a meditation app describes this: “Meditation isn’t about becoming a different person, a new person, or even a better person. It’s about training in awareness and getting a healthy sense of perspective. You’re not trying to turn off your thoughts or feelings. You’re learning to observe them without judgment. And eventually, you may start to better understand them as well.”
I like to describe it to beginners as exactly this, simply put, you are training yourself to acknowledge your thoughts and emotions without judgement. That’s really step one. Once you master this, you can begin to master placing this in your daily life allowing yourself to be fully engaged with whatever you’re doing in the moment vs. letting the weight of the past and future hold you back.
FIVE BENEFITS OF MEDITATION
Reduce Stress
Excess stress can release higher amounts of the stress hormone called cortisol in the body. This can lead to disease, cloudy thinking, and high blood pressure, and many more ailments that are not fun to deal with. The good news is, meditation reduces stress.
Stress reduction is one of the best benefits of meditation and I think we can agree we can use more of this in our lives especially with how 2020 is shaping up. The majority of people who swear by meditation say this is the number one reason they practice it in their daily or weekly lives. The next time you are feeling overwhelmed or overly stressed, take five minutes to yourself, close your eyes and take deep breaths. You’ll see that in just a few moments the negative emotions your were experiencing have lessened and if not, take another five.
Become More Self-Aware
Self awareness is defined as the conscious knowledge of one's own character, feelings, motives, and desires. Sounds pretty legit right, I mean who doesn’t want that?
But seriously, we all want to become the best version of ourselves, and a great place to start uncovering that best version of you is sharpening your self-awareness.
More self-awareness leads to a sharper mind and more efficiency when working on physical fitness, and really just your daily life. By doing this you create a deeper connection between the mind and the body. This special connection is one of the major keys to success when doing just about anything, even petting your cat.
And if that wasn’t enough, becoming more self-aware is understanding habitual patterns you may have that are harmful or self-defeating to your personal progress. Through meditation, you can train to avoid major pitfalls unlocking your true potential for growth.
Once you do that you can then start to redirect these habits to more creative and constructive ones.
Control Anxiety
But wait, there’s more... We already talked about reducing stress and lowering cortisol levels through meditation, but meditation can lead to lowering anxiety as well.
By becoming more mindful in your life you also increase your ability to control/manage, and sometimes even eliminate, anxious thoughts and feelings.
Remember that chaos demands our attention and meditation is an easy way to give attention to the chaos without losing control. With everything going on in the world, we all can agree that it is very easy to slip into an anxious mindset and stay there for hours on end wondering what is to come and what is going to happen. Practicing meditation in my toughest moments has helped me take control of these anxious thoughts and redirect my awareness to more productive and creative thinking.
Improve Sleep
Sometimes a bottle of wine does the trick, haha, but seriously, if you can’t sleep try meditation for more quality rest. We have all heard of counting sheep to sleep, well guess what… that’s pretty much meditation.
Sleep is so important for recovery and rejuvenation. No wonder we call it “beauty rest” as sleep keeps us looking refreshed and relaxed.Better sleep patterns and cycles yields a list of benefits even longer than meditation. Literally everything we discussed above is an output for better sleep. This is why improving upon one’s sleep is one of my top five on this list, I take sleep super seriously and so should you.
Become More Connected with Your Community and Loved Ones
Have you ever paused during a conversation with your loved one or friend only to realize you haven’t been listening for at least two minutes? Yeah, been there. It’s tough.
On a daily/hourly basis, we are bombarded with so much, it’s no wonder it’s hard for us to focus on conversations from time-to-time. (If you haven’t researched decision exhaustion, I would strongly recommend it and I may even make it my next topic to write on).
Our minds can be so exhausted through endless internal chatter and at times it can seem like there is no end to the chaos. Guess what… you know what I am going to say… that’s right… Meditation! Meditation can save the day, your relationships, and even your sanity.
THREE EASY WAYS TO START MEDITATING
Download a Free Guided Meditation Podcast
If it is your first time meditating, It can be a little daunting to try and sit quietly while focusing on the breath, and calming the mind… oh yeah… don’t forget… relax. Easier said than done right? This is where guided meditation comes in. Guided meditation is a style of meditation that features a recording of someone’s voice, usually a professional, who takes you step by step through the process. They coach you through how to breathe, when to breathe, what to think about or focus on, and how to redirect your thoughts if needed.
This is how I got my start, and honestly my preferred method to do daily. There are two podcasts in specific that have helped me through many rough patches in my life. Click the links below to learn more
Download an App with Guided Meditations, Non-Guided Meditations, and Meditation Courses
There are many apps out there for meditating and it is important to test some out and make sure you enjoy the voice, the music, and the messages being delivered. I have enjoyed meditation courses as they keep you on track each day and they build upon each other. There is something out there for everyone. Here are a few of my favorites:
Get an Accountability Partner
It is super easy to forget to meditate or push the meditation practice to the side in order to tackle your laundry list of To-Do’s and errands. This is where a friend, loved one, or coach can help keep you on track. It is important to talk about the benefits you start to experience when you meditate, and what better way than to have someone that is doing the same guided meditation as you or meditation courses? Just like a workout buddy, you can also have a meditation buddy!
I encourage you to try out a meditation practice and, most importantly, when you start, try not to have any expectations. That was my biggest mistake when I first started meditating. Go in with an open and curious mind. Try not to have any judgement of what meditating should feel like or do for you. Have fun with it and keep it up...it is a daily practice.
DISCLAIMER AND IMPORTANT SAFETY WARNING
I am not a doctor, and this blog is all based on my opinion. If you feel you are suffering from stress or anxiety, or any mental disorder, make sure to reach out to your own doctor or healthcare provider. You are responsible for your own health.