“There is no greater magic than meditation. To transform the negative into the positive. To transform darkness into light…” – Bhagwan Rajneesh
Having been introduced to the practice of meditation over a decade ago, I’m proud to share that since 2016, I’ve been able to keep it as a part of my regular routine. However, it wasn’t until the pandemic that I was able to instill it as a daily practice.
Nowadays, not a day goes by where I don’t set aside at least 15 minutes to calm my mind and meditate. It’s safe to say that I’ve made it a habit that I’d stick with for the rest of my life.
That said, my meditation journey hasn’t quite been a walk in the park. In the past, there had been a handful of times where I’ve failed to make it a priority when life becomes more than hectic.
After years of trial and error, I’ve found a meditation routine that best works for me and have benefited greatly from it. It’s important to keep in mind that there’s no *one* way to meditate.
Unlike popular beliefs, meditation doesn’t always mean sitting in a cross-legged position where we’re demanded to have absolutely no thoughts run through our minds.
Meditation comes in various forms and it certainly can be active. Having a peaceful walk in nature, reciting prayers, or even enjoying a leisurely drive are examples of active meditation. If you’d like to take it up a notch, practices such as yoga & qigong, both of which are my preferences, are also effective forms of meditation.
In other words, anything that enables you to calm your mind, focus on your breath, and be more present in the here & now, can be classified as meditation.
Whether you resonate with the more ‘traditional’ form of meditation or prefer the various forms of active meditation, here are my top 5 reasons why we all should be setting aside time to meditate regularly:
1. It enhances focus & concentration
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been someone who thrives when there’s much on my plate. That said, having 1001 things that require attention at any given time can become more than overwhelming.
Before I’ve assimilated meditation into my life, my first instinct when I find myself in this type of situation is to multi-task. Though I do take pride in my ability in multi-tasking, I’ve come to realized that it often comes at a hefty price.
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Since I would take on 2, 3, or more tasks simultaneously, it’s nearly impossible to give each task the attention and focus it needed, hence quality often becomes sacrificed in the process.
The practice of meditation has helped to focus on the present instead of constantly anticipating what’s coming around the corner and feeling as if I’m always running against time.
This increased sense of mindfulness has opened my eyes to the fact that I actually perform better and more productive when I do focus my attention on one task at a time. As I become less prone to distractions, I found that not only was I able to get things done more effectively but I was able to do so more efficiently.
As a big bonus, practicing meditation has repeatedly been shown to not only improves attention, job performance, productivity, and satisfaction, it also enables better relationships with colleagues. All of these have been found to significantly help in reducing work-related stress and increase overall happiness at work.
2. It helps us to stay physically healthy
Keeping stress and anxiety at bay, meditation is an ally to our health as it also improves our immune system and helps boosts the production of antibodies.
A recent study confirmed that, after being given weekly meditation training for 8 weeks, 48 biotech workers had significantly higher levels of antibodies than the control group.
What’s more is that meditation can also aid in reducing risks of heart attacks, strokes, heart diseases and can even ‘heal’ high blood pressure patients.
A study by Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that two-thirds of its participants (high blood pressure patients) who were asked to start meditating regularly, were able to go off their blood pressure medication after only a few months of practice.
As meditation allows people to take charge of their own nervous systems and emotions as well as induces relaxation, it encourages the increase of nitric oxide that causes blood vessels to open up and subsequently, enabling blood pressure to drop.
3. It increases self-awareness
Admittedly, though only a handful of people in my life are aware of (and had witnessed) my temper and short fuse, it’s actually one of the biggest reasons why I had initially decided to try out meditation. I had been recommended the practice by a coach as I was seeking for ways to better control my emotions.
Previously, I would automatically react to situations which usually leads to saying things I would later regret. Other times, I would opt to bottle the emotions in until it inevitably ‘explode’ out of me.
As the sage Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati said “Quiet the mind and the soul will speak.” Meditation has indeed been a potent antidote in helping me to gain a better understanding of my inner self.
By taking a short time to clear my mind each day, I’m feeling much more at ease and comfortable in my own skin. While I’d still stick up for myself (and others) and speak my truth, I noticed that I no longer get easily upset over the little things. Thanks to meditation, gone are the days that I would magnify trivial situations into serious issues.
That said, when I am faced with serious issues – confrontational situations or times where things don’t exactly go as I had hoped – I now am able to easily take a step back and reassess, instead of immediately succumbing to my emotions and/or thrown in a state of panic.
Instead of getting stuck at particular issue or giving into intrusive thoughts, it enables me to quickly yet clearly suss out the potential solutions on how to best handle the situation at hand.
4. It encourages a healthier lifestyle
Once you incorporate meditation into a regular practice, chances are, it won’t be long till you’ll start noticing its effects on your overall health & well-being.
As we experience improvements in our health and state of mind, we’ll likely to make even more changes that would help us to foster and maintain a healthier lifestyle.
Science has proven that people who meditate regularly tend to change their eating habits for the better.
The reason for this is that the mindfulness practice makes an individual more aware of what to eat (opting to make healthier food choices) and prevents them to giving into emotional eating.
Hence it’s not uncommon that many who cultivate a habit of meditation would experience weight loss as a result.
5. It refreshes & rejuvenates your mind
Having a crazy day and in desperate need of a break before you resume your activities? Meditation may just be what you need.
In meditation, we are asked to focus our attention solely on our breathing, eliminating the stream of jumbled thoughts that may be crowding our minds.
It’s considered by many as a type of mind-body complementary medicine that ‘magically’ induces a sense of calm and restores inner peace.
The amazing thing about meditation is that you can practice it wherever you are — whether you’re out for a walk, riding the bus, waiting at the doctor’s office or even in the middle of a difficult business meeting.
If stress has you anxious, tense and worried, consider spending just a few minutes in meditation as it can leave you feeling refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to tackle whatever challenge is ahead of you.
Still think you’ve got too much going on in your life to include meditation unto your daily routine? From Oprah Winfrey to Ray Dalio, there’s an increasing list of CEOs (with ridiculously demanding jobs) who swears by the power of meditation.
Remember that you can’t serve the world unless you take care of yourself first. The best part of meditation that it is a habit that is accessible to anyone, no matter you may be in the world. It’s free of cost and requires no special skill – all it needs is for you to make time for it!
Clueless on how to start? Why not begin by incorporating our 10-minute Guided Mindfulness Meditation into your morning routine?
If you enjoyed it, feel free to subscribe to our brand new YouTube channel where you’ll find more soothing guided meditations and other content that’ll help you to live your best life!
And should you be curious on learning more on my takes on the benefits of meditation, be sure to have a listen to my interview with Roy Cloughlan of The Meditation Podcast. Namasté.
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