The world is finding its way back to the ancient practice of mindfulness meditation, and many have found solace in it. Many modern scientific studies have also proven its benefits. While there are a myriad of ways to meditate, all of them offer a similar host of benefits that can boost your physical and mental health. Here are our top picks from research literature:
Your Concentration and Focus Gets Better
The fundamental step in meditation is to focus on the present. This eventually increases focus on any task at hand, even simple things like your daily chores. A Harvard Medical School study showed how the participants’ grey matter increased after 8 weeks of mindfulness meditation. The brain’s grey matter dictates a person’s memory, learning, and emotional regulation states.
Shutterstock: Meditation can help in de-cluttering the mind
Your Self-Esteem and Self Awareness Spikes
With your racing mind slowed down, you’re given more time to focus on your thoughts and feelings. This increases self-awareness, and you’ll learn more of your deeper positive and negative attributes without judgment, ending in better self-esteem. It’s especially known to help those with social anxiety too.
Your Stress Melts Away
Mindfulness meditation literally lowers levels of the stress hormone – Cortisol, making you feel more light and relaxed. This effect heightens if the person chants a mantra or a word sequence, which would further help their mind to wander away from distracting or harmful thoughts into a state of calm. Next time you fear burnout at work, this can be your escape route!
Shutterstock: Meditation can help ease stress at work
You Get The Skills to Manage Anxiety and Depression
When you navigate your thoughts better, you are less prone to thriving on negative thoughts that can fuel anxiety or depression. Mindfulness-based-stress-reduction or MBSR is a unique clinically-approved therapy program designed to reduce symptoms related to these conditions, like panic attacks, low mood, and dysregulated sleep.
You Get to Tackle Addiction
Heard of how drugs and alcohol alter your brain receptors? Well, meditation can alter them too, and perform damage control. Awareness of your cravings gives you the upper hand over the addiction and allows you to either satisfy the urge or fight it better, without feeling overwhelmed by it.
You Can Control Your Pain
Going with the same philosophy used in fighting addiction, sufferers from chronic pain or post-surgery conditions can cope better with the pain they feel, through focusing on more positive thoughts and occurrences via meditation.
fizkes/Shutterstock: Woman relaxing on sofa, meditating
You Become A Better Person
You can actually become more kind and loving with the simple practice of the ‘loving-kindness meditation’. Holding a person in your mind and wishing them happiness with a simple phrase repeatedly would help foster the brain circuits that promote positivity towards self and others.
If these are results you would like to manifest in your own life, then meditation is for you! If you’re new to the practice, get started with this beginner’s guide to meditation.
