Sometimes we are constantly running, jumping from errands to other errands, doing homework assignments after the other, cramming for exams, and working, that we fail to give time for ourselves and our inner being. Daily stress is built on and of course, it later affects our mentality. We often get stressed and we feel like we are becoming lunatics of some sort. However, one way to help relieve stress as well as our mind is meditation.
Meditation is a state of deep peace that occurs when the mind is calm and silent. Ahh, doesn't that sound relaxing already? Meditation solely focuses on your breathing as well as relaxing your body muscles, such as your arms, legs, shoulders, fingers, toes, neck, and your head as well. I provided five benefits out of many that meditation can have on you and your body.
1. Meditation reduces stress.
Meditation helps you calm and ease your mind. It helps relax a ton of body muscles. Also, it helps you use your mind to focus on your breathing and helps bring you back to your good state of mind.
2. It creates happiness.
Meditation helps you get right back on track! According to article, Meditation Will Make You Smarter (and Happier), by Robert Puff (Ph.D),
One study demonstrated that after only eight weeks of meditating for approximately one hour each day, six days a week, test subjects reported they had become happier. Follow-up tests showed that these individuals’ set points had changed—to the extent that their normal level of mental happiness had been raised. In addition, they had become better at picking up emotional cues from others, and they reported developing more empathy towards others’ emotions.
Doesn't this sounds nice?
3. It slows aging.
Studies show that meditation changes the brain's physiology and helps slow again. Our brains consist of gray matter volume which is made up of plethora of brain cells that help receive that helps us think, react and function. However, after we hit the age of 30 years old, it all begins to go downhill. In this case, we lose the white matter in our brain which helps with electric signals. In Huffington Post article, The Science of Meditation's Effects on Aging, "A small but growing body of research indicates we may alter our individual brain structure through meditation and potentially slow structural degeneration. Meditation may capitalize on the brain’s undying hunger to be preserved and thrive (2015)."
This could be all so helpful in the future. Why not take a chance and give meditation a try?
4. Improves cardiovascular and immune system.
Meditation induces your ability to relax. This causes nitric oxide, a compound, to blood vessels to open and make blood pressure drop. In BBC News article, Meditation 'eases heart disease', when a meditation group added meditation to their life, " well as the reductions in death, heart attacks and strokes in the meditating group, their average blood pressure was significantly lower (5mm Hg), and there was a significant reduction in psychological stress in some participants " (BBC News, 2006).
5. Increases Acceptance
Studies show that meditation helps you explore your inner self. It changes how you feel, how you think and makes you more aware of your surroundings. It allows you to focus on yourself and find the real you.
Take fifteen or thirty minutes out of your day, find a quiet place to sit, close your eyes, and focus on your breathing. You can follow a guided meditation on Youtube. Check it out! And see how you feel after a week's worth of doing it.
