Meditating on Meditation

Meditation is all in your mind.

With daily practice, it has numerous benefits and can greatly improve the health of your mind, body, and soul. With as little as 10 minutes a day, you will notice a change in your wellbeing. What exactly can meditation do for me?

-Reduce Stress. Stress is the way our body responds to unforeseen threats. Our “fight of flight” response is activated and cortisol, the stress hormone, is released. Meditation can actually lower cortisol levels and helps you manage stress in a positive way.

-Decreased anxiety and depression. Studies have shown that mindfulness meditation and breathing exercises can help depression better than medication or therapy in some patients. It increases emotional wellbeing, refocusing your attention and reduces negative thoughts. You can also try a walking meditation to receive the benefits of some light exercise at the same time.

-Can improve self esteem and self awareness. It forces you to slow down and examine your thoughts and feelings without judgment. It helps you develop a better understanding of yourself and how you relate to others, leading to greater self esteem.

-Brain health-Research has shown that meditation slows down and may even reverse the aging brain. It can help improve memory, help with decision making, and improve mental quickness.

-Focus-It can help increase your attention level, concentration and helps with mind wandering. By learning to focus on your breathing and clearing your mind, you allow yourself to relax and cultivate mental clarity.

-Decreased blood pressure-It can help relax the nerve signals that coordinate heart function and blood vessel tension, lowering your heart rate and blood pressure.

-Sleep better-It is a relaxing way to slow down and prepare yourself for a rejuvenating night of sleep.

-Pain control- It can help reduce chronic pain and has been included in some pain management regimens. It has been shown to reduce pain sensations in the body without use of the body's natural opiates.

Experiment and see what works for you. There are multiple apps to try and a practice for everyone, depending on what you intend to use it for. See what you like and you can improve your health in 10 minutes a day.