what is meditation?
Meditation is a wellness practice that brings more awareness to our thinking, reduces stress, and helps focus our attention. Some archaeologists date meditation back to 5,000 BCE, meaning meditation has been a tool to manage stress for a long time. What many have already found out, and more need to learn is that meditation has significant science-based mental and physical health benefits.
Meditation is one of our only real superpowers.
The good news is that anyone can begin to learn meditation at any time, no equipment required, most options are free or affordable, and the benefits are tremendous. There are many styles of meditation, with unique practices and benefits. Exploring and implementing the right ones is a proven way to improve your life. Researchers continue to study meditation and have found many benefits.
Science-based benefits (source: healthline):
1. Reduces stress
2. Lowers anxiety
3. Promotes emotional health
4. Enhances self-awareness
5. Lengthens attention span
6. May reduce age-related memory loss
7. Can generate kindness
8. May help fight addictions
9. Improves sleep
10. Helps control pain
11. Can decrease blood pressure
meditation basics (5-mins).
Find a quiet space
Find a room or outside space where you will be able to focus, and have minimal interruptions.
Get comfortable
Sit with your back straight (to avoid back pain) in a position that allows you to relax.
Focus on your breath
Breathe naturally, and focus your attention on your breath. Many thoughts will come and go, that’s expected.
Don’t fight your thoughts
Our brain never stops thinking, it’s how it’s designed. As ideas and feelings come, recognize them, and gently go back to your breath.
start right now.
Headspace
One of the best meditation apps in the world. You can try Headspace for free and learn the essentials of meditation and mindfulness with their basics course. Headspace has great paths for unique topics like anxiety, sleep, focus, fitness and more.
Calm
Another world-class App, Calm is an incredible tool for sleep and meditation. Millions are using Calm to experience better sleep, lower stress, and less anxiety. Calm also offers a free trial and a premium membership
YouTube
YouTube is another great tool for finding thousands of free meditations. Simply search for:
Learn to meditate
Meditation for anxiety
tips for getting started.
From the team at Headspace, here is a quick video on starter tips. Overview: If you've ever wanted to learn how to meditate, but didn't know where to start, this is the video for you.
Anxiety Center Tip (can’t focus):
People will often say they tried to mediate but just weren’t able to focus or sit still. This is the same concept for someone did one workout and got out of breath right away. In both cases, this only means they should continue the practice. This is a journey, and you see results with time, effort, and patience.
tricking our brain by breathing.
When we get in a dangerous or highly stressful situation, our heart rate increases, and we experience intense breathing. This triggers the fight-or-flight response that releases hormones and prepares us to respond. This process is a natural reaction in humans. Consider walking in on a robber or learning something terrible happened to our loved ones. Our breathing will almost always intensify in this situation, and it tells our brain something is wrong.
Alternatively, when we take slow, deep, relaxed breaths, we signal to our body that everything is okay. Our breathing has a physical effect on our body, which triggers a physiological impact on our mind to relax, decrease anxiety, and remain calm. As the relaxed breathing continues, and it tells our nervous system, we are safe.
“Deep breathing offers numerous health benefits, from stress reduction to a slower heartbeat and reduced blood pressure. It also promotes core muscle stability and helps you better tolerate intense exercise. It may even help lessen the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.” (source: livingstrong)
meditation for anxiety.
From the team at Headspace, here is a quick video for stress & anxiety relief. Overview: How do we change our relationship with anxiety? Former Buddhist monk and Headspace co-founder Andy Puddicombe answers your questions about stress and anxiety.
type of meditation.
Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation is the practice of being present. In this meditation, your focus is on the moment and try to remove any judgment in our thinking. When we become mindful, we pay more attention to what we are doing; a straightforward mindfulness meditation is focusing on our breath — More Information
Mantra Meditation
Manta, is a word or phrase you repeat during a meditation session. As you continue to repeat the mantra (out loud or to yourself) you bring all your awareness to the phrase. Mantra meditation is a great way to bring focus to your meditation, an example of a manta is “I have everything I need. I need nothing else.” — More Information
Guided Meditation
Guided meditation is led by someone else, typically an instructor. During this meditation you are guided step-by-step through your a meditation. This can be done in-person or virtually — More Information
Spiritual Meditation
Spiritual meditation is popular is many practices like Hinduism, Daoism, and Christianity. Spiritual Meditation is similar to prayer in that you look for a deeper connection with the universe. This is a connection to something that is bigger and deeper than ourselves — More Information
Visualization Meditation
Visualization Meditation is the practice of focusing on something very specific. This is typically a goal you want to achieve, but can also be a person, place, or circumstance. In this practice you are visualizing the outcome, bringing it to life, making it a reality. You focus all your attention and focus on the topic — More Information