Benefits of Meditation

In our fast-paced world filled with distractions, deadlines and never-ending to-do lists, finding moments of peace can be few and far between. This is where relaxation practices, such as meditation can help!

I’m sure you’ve heard meditation is great for relaxation and stress. But, what exactly is meditation? Meditation is a mental exercise that trains attention and awareness. It activates the part of our brain that is in charge of the autonomic nervous system, which regulates our fight or flight and rest and digest reactions that we have discussed in previous blog posts. This is how it is able to lower our stress levels and promote relaxation. 

Meditation promotes a range of benefits that positively influences mental and physical wellness. 

It promotes heightened self-awareness and spiritual enlightenment. It encourages emotional regulation by observing your emotions and thoughts without judgment. This non-judgment and greater awareness also helps boost empathy and resilience.  In addition, it enhances concentration and focus, which can go beyond your meditation sessions and improve many different aspects of your life. 

Meditation has been shown to change brain and immune function, decrease anxiety, depression, pain, improve sleep and improve quality of life.  Studies have even shown denser gray matter in brain areas related to memory and emotional processing of expert meditators. 

There are many different types of meditation that all show long term benefits. There are mantra meditations, walking meditations, mindfulness, gratitude, playing music and dancing can even be considered meditative. The most studied type of meditation is Transcendental Meditation. This type of meditation involves silently repeating a mantra to focus attention away from active thinking. T.M. has been proven to lower blood pressure and cortisol levels. One study showed it decreased risk of heart attack, stroke and all mortality. 

The best type of meditation is the type that you enjoy doing or find easy to do so that it will be consistent. 

Many people wonder if they are “doing it right”.  If you feel better and less stressed after your meditation session, then you are doing it correctly and you have chosen the right meditation type for you. It can be difficult at first to decrease the internal chatter of your brain; this is why finding the type of meditation that works best for you is so important.  Let us know what types of meditations you’ve tried and which have worked for you!