The Healing Benefits of Meditation
“Meditation is the single most powerful tool to aid recovery from disease and lead to a life of maximum health.” – Ian Gawler
For many of us, we have very stressful lives. We are pulled every which way at work and at home, and even as we try to fall asleep our mind races with the next day’s to-dos. To live every day like this is exhausting, and that exhaustion takes its toll on the body, leaving us more susceptible to illness and disease.
That is why I want to spend some time today talking about meditation and what it can really do for you in terms of health and healing.
If you’ve ever meditated before, you know it can take some time to master, but you also probably know the sense of peace and awareness it brings to your body.
In that peace and awareness, your body calms and relaxes and that’s when it heals.
According to Deepak Chopra, “Meditation takes us from activity into silence, giving our body a very deep level of rest. Rest is how the body heals itself, which it does by throwing off the stress, fatigue, and toxins accumulated during our daily life. The silence of pure awareness is extremely refreshing to the mind which finds it increasingly easy not to cling to old thought-patterns; rigid habits of thinking and feeling begin to fall away of their own accord. When this happens, the mind is actually learning to heal itself.”
Through regular practice, meditation reduces stress and lowers blood pressure. It improves the immune system, improves your energy levels, your breathing and your heart rate. It provides a better night’s sleep, lessens cardiovascular problems and inflammatory disorders, and helps prevent arthritis and fibromyalgia.
And if those benefits weren’t enough, it also improves your mood and emotional well-being, lessens worry and anxiety, and increases your memory and focus.
My challenge for you is to start making meditation part of your daily routine, whether you do it upon waking or do it at the end of the day, or whether you do it for 10-minutes or 30. Spend time slowing your thoughts, tap into your awareness and allow your mind to rest and heal.
If you’ve never meditated before and are just starting out, begin by finding a quiet spot and sit comfortably. Then for 3-5 minutes breathe deeply and really focus on your breathing. Breath deeply from your abdomen. Try breathing in for a count of 4, hold for a count of 7, and breathe out for a count of 8. On your in-breath say “I am”. On your out-breath say, “relaxed” or “calm”.
Continue this daily and over time increase the amount of time you spend. If you’d prefer a guided meditation to start, search YouTube–there are tons of videos that can really help you get started. I personally love the guided meditations I’ve found on YouTube and Spotify.
And if you’re looking for ways to help you further relax and calm your mind and body, try incorporating essential oils such as lavender or frankincense into your practice.
I’d love to hear from you. Do you have a meditation practice? What are your favorite ways to meditate?
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