Benefits Of Meditation – Free Yourself From Mental Slavery. Enhance Your Lifestyle!

I let my mind wander, but it never comes back! Most of us can relate to this phrase because we often lose ourselves in a stream of endless thoughts and it seems quite difficult to bring our mind to a state of stillness which we call as meditation! Here are 10 scientifically proven benefits of meditation and the drastic impact meditation has on our mind, body, and soul!

What Exactly Is Meditation?

To meditate is to shift our focus to one particular thing, to be mindful of the present moment. When we meditate, we become more relaxed. We are not letting the external disturbances impact our present moment because our focus is centred towards one particular thing – The present moment!

People who meditate regularly are less distracted, more peaceful, and have good control over their thoughts and emotions.

In fact, a continuous process of meditation can help you reach a state of higher consciousness where a person has a better awareness of self and can perceive the nature’s reality and understand the spiritual process of life in relation to their bodily functions and mental health.

But, this spiritual process of connectivity requires a consistent commitment and real passion to explore the other dimension of your life.

This article speaks about the benefits of meditation in general and how to practice meditation in order to lead a healthy lifestyle be it physical or mental!

10 Amazing Health Benefits of Meditation & How to Meditate?

Spend a few minutes to meditate every day and witness these 10 amazing changes.

1. Reduces Anxiety

We all face anxiety at some or the other point in our lives. But, it is essential to know whether the anxiety is just normal or whether it is a disorder that needs to be treated.

Developing anxiety during certain situations like taking a test, changing a job, moving to a new place is very common and you can definitely control your anxious feelings by practising meditation.

But, if you face anxiety all the time, throughout the day and you observe other serious symptoms like nausea, headache, lightheadedness, dizziness along with general anxiety symptoms, you could be suffering from an anxiety disorder.

You must consult your doctor to know the anxiety treatment methods.

Experiments have proved it that general anxiousness can be reduced through meditative practices. 1

2. Helps You Stay Focused

Distraction has become a serious problem with the current generation. Now that we have smartphones in our hands, it seems difficult not to reach out to the phone and while away the time.

Your productivity by the end of the day determines how focused you have been throughout the entire day.

Continuous distractions lead to procrastination, which decreases productivity. If you have found yourself getting distracted too often, practising meditation early in the morning for a few minutes can improve your concentration.

Practical experiments conducted among people divided into two groups have proved that mindfulness meditation benefits include an increase in attention and focus. 2

You can try meditating on a regular basis to witness a significant change in your attention towards your daily tasks.

3. Helps You Sleep Better 

Practising meditation on a regular basis can create a proper balance between mind and body, thereby helping you to have a better sleep.

However, if you have been suffering from chronic insomnia, you may not be able to sleep for more than three nights for a few months. This can be a serious symptom which requires a medical diagnosis and treatment.

The most common reasons for irregular sleep cycles include an underlying medical condition, psychological problems like depression, anxiety and other situations like the death of loved one or other stressful situations.

Sleep troubles caused due to temporary reasons can be corrected by practising meditation. Studies performed on meditation and its regulatory role on sleep have proved that the benefits of meditation also include a proper sleep cycle. 3 4

4. Meditation For Stress

In order to get rid of stress, well-balanced work life and social life is essential. If your job is itself causing you stress, the best decision is to quit the current job and find something which keeps you alive and happy.

Get to know your likes and dislikes, find what keeps you going, explore your passion and build your career in the bright direction!

Financial situations, family problems can also become the reasons of stress but you can get rid of them by prioritizing your tasks, taking up new tasks, getting involved in recreational activities so as to keep your mind calm and relaxed.

Though there are various stress busters in life, meditation is a long term solution for dealing with stress! 5

5. Lowers Your Blood Pressure

Unmanaged high blood pressure can cause a sudden heart attack. Being overweight, ageing, chronic health conditions like diabetes, heart diseases, chronic kidney disease and elevated level of cholesterol can also increase the chances of hypertension.

Apart from meditating, make sure that you inculcate a kind of physical activity in your daily life to reduce the risk of chronic disorders!

Also, one must avoid a salt enriched diet, alcohol and tobacco to keep their blood pressure in control.

Yoga is the best art form that can be practised along with meditation! In fact, a review and meta-analysis performed on meditation and yoga in relation to the regulation of blood pressure have proved that the practices can control blood pressure! 6

6. Boosts Immunity

Meditation is known to reduce inflammation, and it can also increase the defence mechanism of your Immune system. 7

Disturbed mental health can disrupt your physical health, thereby resulting in a poor immune system.

Experiments suggest that meditation can have a positive impact on the antibody response, immune cell ageing and immune cell count but further analysis is required to give a final conclusion. 8

Meditation is known to increase the electrical activity of the left side of your brain which enhances your immune system.

Better and positive mental and physical health can be attained through meditative practices.

Furthermore, meditation can prevent the risk of age-related mental disorders like Alzheimer’s and Schizophrenia.

7. Boosts Your Confidence Levels

Confidence comes through self-discipline. Self-esteem is improved when you stick to certain rules, set certain goals and try to reach them day by day.

Accomplishing small tasks can motivate you to set big goals and reach them! If you are right now dealing with low self-esteem, there is absolutely no need to brood over it.

You just have to understand that it is your own thoughts and the replay of failed scenarios that have been hindering your self-esteem.

Meditation can increase mindfulness apart from the power of focus and attention.

Being mindful about everything that you do and learning new things, exploring every situation, analyzing a situation from other perceptive, taking up new challenges can boost your confidence levels.

Confidence is just feeling good about yourself and being contended for everything that you are!

8. Stabilizes Emotional Health

Emotional health accounts to relaxing and calming effect, awareness of oneself and surroundings, being adaptable to various situations and focused attention for a long period of time.

Being emotionally weak causes your emotions to take control over you. This can literally create mental havoc and land you in various problems.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to be aware of one’s own emotions and those around so as to handle all the relationships with the right judgement and empathy!

If you have found yourself being emotionally weak and disturbed, meditation is all you need to bring your mind to a certain state of equilibrium.

With focused attention and mindfulness, we can acquire emotional stability and gain much confidence!

9. Meditation Can Improve Your Lifespan

Meditation can reduce the chances of anxiety and depression which are known to increase the risk of mortality.

Mediation can further reduce the levels of a hormone called cortisol which is a stress hormone. The elevated levels of cortisol are known to cause chronic disorders like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and metabolic syndrome.

Practising meditation has a positive impact till the cellular level and studies suggest that the activity can decrease the cognitive stress, increase mindfulness and relax your mind. 9

The fact that meditation can positively impact your physical health, as well as mental health, can assure you that the activity can improve your lifespan and reduce the chances of mortality.

10. How Meditation Benefits Pregnant Women?

Being pregnant not only requires you to stay physically strong but also demands mental stability and strength.

Meditation may help the ‘to be mothers’ to become mentally strong because a continuous practice may help in promoting better sleep, improve adaptability to the changes that occur in your body, reduce mental tension, reduce any sort of anxiety and stress and develop a positive mental preparation to endure the labour pain.

Women who undergo stress or anxiety during the period of pregnancy are known to give birth to babies who are underweight.

Mindfulness meditation benefits can be utilized by pregnant women since they can prevent a pregnant woman from being subjected to mental distress, right after the delivery. 10

You can attend meditation classes or take help of online meditating tutorials to practice the most beneficial art form and give birth to a healthy baby.

How To Practice Meditation – A Simple Guide To Learn Meditation!

Meditation doesn’t necessarily mean you have to get into a particular pose. You can also practice mindfulness meditation. However, practising meditation by using certain mudras can have a significant impact on your health.

This is because each mudra creates certain internal changes in your health. A mudra is a shape that is attained by joining the tips of your fingers.

Meditation is all about shifting the focus of wavering mind to one particular thing. This could be your breath if you are sitting still or any task that you have been performing!

There are basically 7 types of mudras to help you meditate much efficiently.

1. Gyana Mudra – Joining the tips of index finger and thumb together.

The pose is known to increase concentration and improve creativity.

2. Shuni Mudra – Joining the tips of middle finger and thumb together.

The pose is known to increase patience and self-discipline

3. Surya Ravi Mudra – Joining the tips of ring finger and the thumb together.

The pose is known to bring a positive change in our lives.

4. Buddhi Mudra – Joining the tips of little finger and thumb together

The pose is known to enhance communication skills and be more open.

5. Prana Mudra – Joining the tips of the ring finger, little finger and thumb.

The pose is known to increase the flow of energy throughout your body

6. Dhyana mudra – Touch the tips of thumbs of both the fingers, rest both your hands on your lap such that the palms of both the hands are facing the roof.

The pose is known to provide a relaxing and calming effect.

7. Anjali Mudra – Join the palms of both the hands and bring your hands to the level of your chest such as posing for ‘Namaste’

Anjali Mudra is also known to express respect, humbleness and gratitude which is why the pose has become a popular type of greeting in India.

Bottom Line

Meditation is a practice involving certain techniques used to improve focus and attention. However, there is scientific evidence to prove that meditation can benefit various aspects of your physical and emotional health.

You can also improve your mental stability by practising mindfulness meditation where emotions and thoughts are controlled by being aware of them every single moment.

Mindfulness meditation can be practised anywhere and at any time. You can also make a habit of spending a few minutes of your morning to get into the pose with any of the mudras mentioned above, so as to reap the maximum health benefits of meditation on your overall health.

Practising meditation regularly is known to reduce anxiety, help you stay focused, help you sleep better, help you get rid of stress, control blood pressure, boost immunity, improve confidence levels, stabilize emotional health, increase lifespan and also benefit pregnant women.