Health Tip of the Day Take time to meditate The bustling lifestyle so many of us engage in takes its toll on a daily basis. All of the stress you push back, day in and day out, builds up, until you finally hit a breaking point and let it all out. Unfortunately for most people, this trip over the precipice occurs at home, where they traditionally feel the most comfortable. Even though it’s healthier to lose control of your emotions at home (as opposed to at work,) it can be detrimental to your family, and therefore your life. If you’re wondering how to meditate at home, this entire article is for you; the following is a step by step guide on how and why to meditate at home. One of the only positive ways to remove this stress (without a vice) is to find Zen and meditate your way through it. It doesn’t have to be what you see in the movies, sitting next to a huge Zen garden raking the sand. Simply finding some quiet time within your busy life to sit down, turn the lights off, close your eyes, and enjoy 5 stress-free minutes has the potential to be just as significant. Finding a relaxation point and sitting there for 5 to 10 minutes doing nothing but breathing and filing your thoughts and worries away will improve your mental state exponentially. Here are five benefits of setting aside this time and giving in to relaxation and meditation: It lowers stress — literally. Research published just last month in the journal Health Psychology shows that mindfulness is not only associated with feeling less stressed, it’s also linked with decreased levels of the stress hormone cortisol. It lets us get to know our true selves. Mindfulness can help us see beyond those rose-colored glasses when we need to really objectively analyze ourselves. A study in the journal Psychological Science shows that mindfulness can help us conquer common “blind spots,” which can amplify or diminish our own flaws beyond reality. It helps us even when we’re not actively practicing it. You don’t have to actually be meditating for it to continue benefiting your brain’s emotional processing. This is the finding of a study in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, which explores how the amygdala brain region’s response to emotional stimuli is changed by meditation, an effect that occurs even when a person isn’t actively meditating. It supports your weight-loss goals. Trying to shed a few pounds to get to a healthier weight? Mindfulness could be your best friend, according to a survey of psychologists conducted by Consumer Reports and the American Psychological Association. Mindfulness training was considered an “excellent” or “good” strategy for weight loss by 7 out of 10 psychologists in the survey. It helps you sleep better. We saved the best for last! A University of Utah study found that mindfulness training can not only help us better control our emotions and moods, but it can also help us sleep better at night. “People who reported higher levels of mindfulness described better control over their emotions and behaviours during the day. In addition, higher mindfulness was associated with lower activation at bedtime, which could have benefits for sleep quality and future ability to manage stress,” study researcher Holly Rau said in a statement. Now that it’s abundantly clear how beneficial meditation can be to both your mind and your body, let’s delve into how you can make time (and room) for yourself at home to incorporate this addition into your daily life: Pick the Right Time for Meditation. It’s advisable to meditate in the morning, while your mind is tranquil, “empty,” and when you are not sleepy. This is especially important for beginners- you will probably only meditate for 5 minutes a day during those first few weeks, so you won’t even have to get up much earlier. Later on, gradually increase the meditation time to the optimal 20-30 minutes (but no longer). Pick the Right Place. Try to meditate every day at the same time and in the same place. It can be a corner of your room, or a chair on your porch. Make sure that the place is clean, ventilated and that you won’t be disturbed. You can sit, stand or lie down while meditating; find the position that suits you best. Adopting a half or full lotus position isn’t necessary to meditate successfully, just make sure that your back is straight – this is essential for correct breathing. Relax Your Body. Stretch your legs and arms; shake your hands, fingers and toes. Concentrate on your breathing inhaling and exhaling slowly. There is no need to change anything about your usual manner of breathing, just try to be fully aware of your breath. If you still can’t relax completely, don’t give up. Try counting your breaths as you inhale and exhale from 1 to 10 and then again- this should do the trick. The relaxation technique called Yoga Nidra can also help you relax your body and introduce you to the meditation. Look at the Top of Your Nose. To practice your power of concentration, start by looking at the top of your nose. Direct the gaze for no longer than 2 minutes at a time to avoid straining your eyes. You can do this few times a day, but each instance shouldn’t last longer than 2 minutes. Empty Your Mind. The last stage of meditation is “focusing on nothing.” This is the hardest part of meditation, typically requiring an abundance of practice. Now that you’ve mastered the visualisation technique, practice it in reverse; or, to be precise, “concentrate on nothing”- cast away every thought that tries to come to you. To empty your mind successfully, don’t “fight” the thoughts that occupy your mind, as that will have the opposite effect. Imagine that you are driving a car – your thoughts should be like the things on the sidewalk you glance at while driving- they exist, but you don’t pay attention to them. Now that you know how to meditate at home, find the time for practice. It won’t be long before you begin reaping the benefits; you’ll be more effective at school or work, develop an eye for detail, learn to stay calm in stressful situations, and probably even wonder: “Why didn’t I start meditating earlier?”
Posted on: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 09:24:24 +0000
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