I am a proponent of meditation and have been for a long time because I studied the research and understood the benefits of meditation. Unfortunately, I didn’t practice meditation because I never felt like I had the time. There were just way too many things I had to get done. At least, that’s what I thought. Well, I was dead wrong and have changed the “I don’t have time to meditate” to “I don’t have time not to meditate.”
Definition of Meditation
First, let’s define meditation. According to Webster, meditation is synonymous with contemplation. When you’re contemplating, you’re focusing your mind on something. Most of us have had the experience of being so focused on something we are reading or studying that we lose track of time.
When I think of meditation, I think more along the lines of focusing the mind on one word, phrase or object so as to clear the mind of all other chatter. Ideally one can become so skilled that s/he can eliminate all thought and have a completely silent mind.
Benefits of meditation based on scientific research
- Relieves stress
- Increases in melatonin
- Increases serotonin (low serotonin is associated with depression, headaches, and insomnia)
- Stabilizes blood pressure
- Helps relieve PMS
- Increases the ability to focus and concentrate
- Relaxes the body
- Decreases in sleep need
- Immediate performance improvement
- Decreases in cortisol (stress hormone responsible for a number of negative stress-related physical and psychological problems)
Benefits of meditation based on my experience
- I can now manage stress effectively. I’m a type A personality who used to live in a constant state of stress.
- My creative juices have increased significantly.
- My thinking is clearer making it much easier to make decisions quickly, easily and wisely.
- My energy levels have tripled.
- I sleep much better.
- Life is much more enjoyable and fun.
Conclusion
If you aren’t meditating, it would be a good idea for you to give serious thought to including meditation as part of your daily routine. Just don’t get discouraged when you start out. It will seem impossible to still the ongoing barrage of brain chatter. It gets much easier with a little time and practice.
An awesome site that will help you get started is found at http://www.project-meditation.org/benefits_of_meditation.html. The site and products it sells were started by a Scottish-born guy by the name of Michael Mackenzie. There’s a ton of free information on the site on the benefits of meditation. Included are sections on how meditation helps with everything from weight loss to ADD and ADHD. It has a great section on how to meditate and even offers a free class. Check it out.
Note: SpaFromScratch doesn’t make any money if you do happen to buy his products.
Now go have fun and relax.
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