What You Need to Know About Meditation
Thinking about beginning a regular meditation practice? If you deal with any mental health or even some physical health issues, meditation can be a great habit to start to benefit you on your wellness journey! However, many people shy away from starting a meditation routine because they worry meditation won’t be helpful for them, that they won’t do it correctly, or that they don’t have time for a regular meditation routine.
As far as helpfulness is concerned, the idea that meditation will not be helpful is patently untrue. Meditation has several potential health benefits including reducing stress, improving mental awareness, increasing focus and memory, lowering blood pressure, improving sleep, assisting heart and lung function, and of course reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. Regular meditation practice has even been known to shift brain wave function which can change how your body responds to stress overall.
Meditation cannot be done “incorrectly,” no matter how you choose to practice. A common meditation myth is that you have to clear your mind for meditation to work. This is a false assumption. It is actually pretty impossible to completely clear your mind. Meditation does not necessarily mean your mind has to be blank, rather that you are aware of your thoughts during your practice, but are not tied to or distracted by them. There are also several different types of meditation, including guided or unguided meditations, imagery work, ambient sound meditations, deep breathing exercises, body scanning, progressive muscle relaxation, or basic mindfulness meditation practice. If one mode of practice doesn’t feel right to you, try a different method of practice until one feels comfortable for you.
Meditation does not have to be a time intensive process. As long as you are able to focus fully on what you are doing in the present moment, 30 minutes of meditation really doesn’t provide much more benefit than 10 minutes, or even 5 minutes. It is more important to ensure that you are in a quiet location where you will not be interrupted or disturbed while meditating, so that you can be fully engaged with your meditation practice and get the most benefit from it.
When starting a meditation routine, it can be helpful to work with a provider to ensure that you are choosing the right meditation practice for you and that you are dedicating appropriate time and space for a routine that you can sustain. Namaste and good luck on your wellness journey!
