Meditation has many benefits …
Some people laugh at others who meditate because they believe it is a waste of time. And the idea that there may be health benefits from meditation sends them into hysterics. In this article I will get a little technical to show the scientifically proven benefits of meditating.
Meditation has the power to calm your nerves, relieve stress, focus on victory – and also to extend lives
Cortisol (called “the stress hormone,) sabotages telomerase, the enzyme that rebuilds your telomeres. Telomeres are distinctive structures found at the ends of our chromosomes. One of the central mechanisms responsible for the aging of cells is the shortening of telomeres.” — http://www.yourgenome.org
That’s where meditation comes in …
You’ve got to banish the stress from your mind and your body for at least 10 minutes every day.
The latest studies confirm how meditation benefits telomeres by keeping them from getting shorter. And it can help them grow longer. In other words, meditation can prevent your cells from aging and it can even make them younger.
So, here’s a simple-but-effective, 10-step meditation technique from Dr Al Sears, who calls it the “box-step,” even though you do it sitting down:
- Get in a comfortable sitting position and start by focusing only on the moment. Banish all thoughts of the past or the future.
- Concentrate on your breathing. Slowly inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.
- At first, do the breathing exercises for two minutes a day. But make them as mindfully perfect as possible.
- Each week, add two minutes to your mindful meditation. When you’ve mastered mindful breathing for 10 minutes, you’re ready to move on to the box-step.
- Like before, you’re going to start with two-minute sessions every day for a week. Then increase the daily sessions for each week by two minutes until you reach 10 minutes.
- Now point your index finger at chest height as if you’re going to draw with it. Then use your finger to slowly outline the shape of a box. This imaginary box will help you focus.
- Once you have mastered this imaginary box, you’re ready. Take a long, slow, deep breath while making the top horizontal stroke of the box. Hold your breath at the corner for two seconds. Then exhale slowly on the down stroke.
- Inhale slowly while tracing the lines of the box back. Exhale at each corner and repeat the process two or three times.
- Now put down your hand and relax. Close your eyes and visualize the box floating in front of you. Keep your mind in the moment.
- Mentally trace the same path along the box’s edges while you perform the same breathing exercises. Forget the past and the future. Focus only on now.
This is a great way to clear your head after a hard day at work. Or it could calm you before you give a speech.
Science has proven the benefits of meditation
Meditation used to be thought of for unusual people, for mystical times or new age people but now scientists have now proven how good meditation is for everyone. There are many benefits for not only the mind, but also for the physical body.
Over 76 benefits of Meditation have been documented. Here are just a few:
- regulates mood swings
- helps with depression
- aids in managing stress
- supports sound sleep
- boosts concentration
- and many more.
The aim of meditation is to quieten the mind and relax the body …
Our minds are active all the time so to sit and relax for some people can be very challenging. Other people, because they do not understand the idea behind meditation, are fearful to try, but the benefits are so great and there have been so many scientific studies proving its benefits, so it’s really worth trying.
If you are sitting on the fence just give meditation a try …
Start with relaxing music, then a guided meditation. There are so many different guided meditations. Just sit and listen and you will find your mind calming down. You usually feel so much more refreshed at the end.
Studies have shown that if you go back to the cause of the disease, stress is involved. You would be amazed at how pain can be helped by de-stressing the mind and the body. Is it worth trying something as simple as taking maybe just a half an hour sitting comfortably and listening to a guided meditation?
When you have finished just sitting there, see how you feel. Trying is believing. If you find getting to sleep is hard, then do your guided meditation while in bed. Get your CD player and lying in bed playing your guided meditation. You’re not wasting time because you are in bed anyway and you will see how refreshed you are and how calm you feel in the morning.
If you don’t know where to get a guided meditation you can try Estella’s meditations. Estella Love also has a community page where you may like to leave your comments.
Try this simple, free meditation
Try any or all of the many free meditations in these blog posts. They start with a simple guide to relax you to ease you into the best frame of mind to gain the full benefit of the meditation that follows
https://www.estellasmessages.com/category/free-meditations
All the best,
Estella
