What Are The Benefits Of Meditation?

To enjoy the benefits of meditation you only need practice around twenty to thirty minutes a day.

Even if you’re a complete beginner you can benefit almost straight away.

There are so many areas of your life it can improve including heart health and mental wellbeing. It can help you sleep better, and improve your focus at work. Meditation can also make depression better.

It’s very easy to start and you don’t need any expensive equipment

Meditation has become mainstream over the past few years, and even doctors recommend it as an effective way to relieve stress. It’s a far safer solution than taking medication, some of which can have unpleasant side effects

There are no dangerous side effects to meditation, in fact, the only side effect is you’ll feel calm and happy.

Zen12 helped me get into meditation despite not having a lot of time in my day, and finding it hard to concentrate. You can find out more here

One of the great benefits of meditation is that it can improve your physical health by lowering blood pressure.  This will help reduce the risk of heart disease and strokes. Both of which are serious health conditions and can prove fatal.

If you suffer from stress you’re not alone. The pace of living in the modern world is enough to have you heading for the hills!

Trying to juggle work, family life and all the other commitments you may have can make you feel overwhelmed. Of course a lot of these demands often falls on women.

We’re supposed to be superhuman and sadly that’s not the case at all! Learning to say no is a great way to start, but taking a small amount of time for yourself each day can change your life.

Using this alloted time wisely by practicing meditation or yoga will help relieve stress, and fight depression. This is just one of the amazing benefits of meditation

Just one or two sessions a day can make you feel so much better. You’ll find it easier to cope with things and you’ll feel calmer and more in control.

Meditation for insomnia

Not being able to sleep is often down to stress. In the short term it’s ok, but over long periods of time it can cause health problems. You may even find yourself falling asleep at work!

No matter how bad you’re feeling, taking just 20 minutes out of your day and making it YOUR time will benefit you enormously.

One of the benefits of meditation is being able to switch off and deal with things in a calm manner. Yes, your problems will still be there, but your reaction and approach to them will change.

Meditation for insomnia works very well as it calms the mind. It also improves quality of sleep. Waking up feeling groggy, and tired is a sign you’re getting insufficient or poor quality sleep.

Meditating half an hour before bed will help you unwind and prepare for sleep. Listening to calming music at the same time can also help you to relax.

Listen to the soothing guided meditation below to help you gently drift off to sleep.

Once your sleeping habits improve and you’re getting a good night’s sleep you’ll find your immune system will strengthen. Catching colds, cold sores and other minor illnesses often occur when you’re run down.

Can meditation really beat stress?

Sometimes it can seem like a never ending cycle of stress, worry and insomnia, and you feel there’s no way out.

No matter how hard you try to stop worrying thoughts taking control of your mind, they’ll still keep appearing.

You can’t stop thoughts entering your mind, it would be impossible to do so, however meditation can help you see them in a detached way.

You learn to calm down your mind and resist jumping from one thought to another.

Being able to focus on one thing at a time can massively reduce anxiety, as your brain isn’t going into meltdown trying to deal with every single thought at once.

You also learn to react to your thoughts in a calm and positive way.

Can the benefits of meditation include weight loss?

Meditation can’t directly make you lose weight, but it can help manage food cravings. Feeling stressed can make you turn to food for comfort. Even if you’re not hungry the desire for something sweet can be overwhelming.

For example, the emotional turmoil of a break up can make you turn to your favourite food for comfort. In many cases this is sweet foods like chocolate or ice cream. Gradually the pounds pile on and the more weight you gain the lower your self esteem.

But by lowering your levels of stress and becoming more aware of your thoughts you may find you’re able to control those pangs for all things sweet! Also, cortisol, one of the body’s essential hormones is released when you’re anxious or very stressed.

This hormone is needed for many body functions including regulating blood pressure, but too much of it can cause an increase in appetite

Of course, by curbing comfort eating you’ll find it far easier to stick to a diet.

One of the benefits of meditation is that it addresses these issues. It does this by getting you to become aware of the present moment. You cease to worry about the past or future while you’re meditating.

Negative feelings relating to body image come to the surface as you’re observing your thoughts. Seeing them in a detached way makes it easier to let go of them. As your negative thoughts are replaced by happier, more positive ones, your level of vibration increases.

You feel good about yourself and losing those unwanted pounds becomes so much easier.

Boost your immune system with meditation

Stress and anxiety can have a bad effect on your immune system, making it more likely you’ll catch a cold or develop mouth ulcers. While some stress is good for you helping you keep alert, too much is harmful.

Stress and anxiety can have a bad effect on your immune system, making it more likely you’ll catch a cold or develop minor ailments such as mouth ulcers. While some stress is good for you too much is harmful

A certain amount of stress is needed to tackle anything that requires focus and stamina.

Short bursts of intense stress help trigger the fight or flight response. Too much adrenaline though will have a negative effect.

Meditation calms your thoughts, allowing you to deal with challenging situations much better. It’s not the situation itself, but how you deal with it that’s important. Most problems that seem overwhelming can be solved with a bit of calm thinking.

So you see, meditation can have a wide reaching effect on your health and wellbeing.

Can meditation slow down aging

It has been scientifically shown that meditation slows down aging at a cellular level. This may seem far fetched, but when you consider that Buddha lived to an old age of 80, which in the 5th century would have been unheard of, you can see the power of meditation.

Buddha would have lived even longer had he not died of food poisoning.

One of the benetits of meditation is those who practice it usually have a fresher complexion with far fewer frown lines. Smiling and feeling happy are great side effects of meditation, and both can instantly make you look younger.

Meditation can reduce the risk of heart disease

Heart disease is one of the biggest killers in the western world. Apart from smoking, stress is a major cause. This can cause atherosclerosis or blocked arteries.

This is also a major cause of strokes, with around 20% being caused by blocked arteries in the heart or neck.

In fact stress is just as harmful to the body as smoking or obesity.

No matter how stressed you are, if you start meditating today and stick to a routine you can halve the risk of a heart attack. If you’ve never meditated before you may find guided

meditation very helpful. Having someone talk you through the process makes it effortless, as you just listen to their voice and follow what they say.

How to meditate for beginners

You don’t need any special equipment to meditate, and it can be done anywhere, however you need to set a routine in place.

Ideally allow at least 10 minutes to meditate first thing in the morning, and last thing at night. Find a place that’s comfortable and you won’t be disturbed. Make sure you turn off all distractions such as tv, mobile phone, and laptop.

And lastly tell your family that this is your time, and only in the event of a fire, or other major disaster should they disturb you!

Wear something loose and comfortable as you don’t want tight clothing to restrict you. You can buy meditation cushions allowing you to sit comfortably on the floor, but any large cushion will do to start with

Most people associate meditation with sitting cross legged on the floor, but the most important thing is that you have your hands resting on your knees with palms facing upwards.

Sitting cross legged may not be easy for everyone, but the reason it’s recommended is to allow energy to freely flow around the body. You could invest in a meditation cushion for greater comfort and support, or lean up against a wall.

Many people practice yoga with meditation as this helps prepare the mind, as well as making you more supple.

So if you really want to make a difference to your health and wellbeing start meditating today. Zen12 is one of the most affordable and easiest ways to get started and you can find out more about it here

The benefits of meditation are huge, and there are probably far more than the ones I’ve covered here. So what are you waiting for? Get started right now!

Take care,
Kathy