10 Benefits of Meditation

Why do so many people use and promote meditation? The answer is because it works. Meditation is successful for many reasons.

Meditation Decreases Anxiety

 Some people have what is known as too much fight or flight syndrome. Their gut instincts tell them they are in danger when they are really not. Meditation can help ease anxiety. 

There’s a neural pathway which leads to the part of our brains in which we need to determine whether or not we are in real, imminent danger. For some, those connections are so strong we feel we are in danger when we are not.

When taking on the practice of meditating, this connection can be diminished, however, this is not a danger. This is a plus. Our brains have many parts, and the part that assesses reasoning is strengthened by meditating, while the irrational fear pathway is weakened.

This becomes a win/win situation.

Meditation Can Allow You to Become More Emphatic

During meditation, the part of your brain that is responsible for showing more compassion is activated. Scientific studies show that compassion and empathy are more active when someone meditates.

Having more compassion is never a bad thing.

Meditation Can Increase Focus

It makes sense that meditation can increase focus because when you meditate, you are focused on the present moment. Present moment awareness trains the brain to stay focused.

One of the biggest bonuses and benefits of meditation is to help you choose your focus and to pull your thoughts back to present moment reality. How often do you catch yourself having a busy brain and feel as though you are not able to reel it back in? Meditation can help with that. 

Not only does meditation help you to regain a sense of the present moment while you are meditating, but the effects far outweigh the present moment meditation. Meditation helps you to keep focused long after you’re done meditating.

Meditation Improves Memory

If you’ve ever walked into another room and wondered why the heck you went in there, maybe just meditation can give your memory a boost. Meditation activates a certain part of the brain which helps to decrease distractions and increase memory recall.

So, the next time you walk into a room, you might just remember why you went in there in the first place.

Meditation Unlocks Creativity

If you’ve ever gotten stuck on creating a new idea or had the experience of writer’s block, you may wish to take up meditation. Meditation has a way of unlocking and unleashing creative potential.

In just about any job scenario, creativity is a useful asset. Whether you are a sales and marketing manager or a writer, a little creativity goes a long way.

Meditation Helps You Alleviate Stress Better

When stress arises, you are faced with a fight or flight sensation. You either need to take flight and run away to protect yourself or you need to stay and fight. Neither of these responses promotes peace and healing.

When you take on the daily practice of meditating, you have the ability to alleviate stress more. However, and more importantly, you get to alleviate stress with more ease and grace. Taking on meditation as a daily practice doesn’t only just serve you in the moment. It serves you throughout your day, your week and your life.

Meditation Can Make You Smile More

People who meditate are shown to be more positive and upbeat. Meditation has a way to calm and soothe the mind. When your mind is calm, your spirit is bound to follow. The mind-body connection is a powerful bond.

When you have a calm mind, you are more focused and can therefore be more successful. When you have a mind full of clutter, it’s difficult to focus at work. When you have clarity, you have momentum and therefore you have success. When you are less stressed, you are more focused.

Meditation Helps You to Increase Brain Function

Meditation is like exercise for your brain. While it may not be a muscle, but rather an organ, it does act like a muscle. The more you use it, the better it can get. Meditation has many ways of increasing your brain’s ability to function better.

There are a host of neurological benefits to the brain from meditating. Whereas before it was once thought that only a region or two of the brain was positively impacted, new studies are beginning to show many areas of the brain are positively affected.

The improvements are not just temporary either – they are long-lasting effects. 

Meditation May Slow Down the Aging Process

The length of telomeres in your brain can determine the length of your life. When it comes down to it, the less stress and anxiety, the less disease and the longer your life.

Now scientific studies and research are showing that the more a person meditates, the more it benefits in keeping aging at bay. It stands to reason that if meditation keeps illnesses at a decreased level, longevity will increase.

A reduced response to stress can have someone lead a happier, healthier, and longer life.

Meditation Improves Sleep

Hundreds of thousands of people take sleep aids in order to assist them in getting a decent night’s sleep. These people suffer greatly from insomnia. No matter what they do it seems they keep tossing and turning and sleep just won’t come to them.

They wake up in the morning feeling groggy and irritated, not to mention that without proper sleep it’s easy to get rundown or even sick. Meditation can help improve the quality of your sleep and make it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.

Here are three ways to incorporate meditation into your nightly routine so that you may experience a more blissful sleep.

• Breathing – practice the art of meditative breathing. Meditative breathing slows the body and mind down. This is conducive to a good night’s rest. More importantly, it slows the activity in your brain so you can prepare yourself for a good night’s sleep.
  
  Breathing in through your nostrils and exhaling through your mouth is a good way to alleviate stress, let it all go, and slow down your body’s rhythm. Slowing your body and mind down before bed is integral to getting a good night’s rest. More importantly, it is a great way to wake up feeling refreshed rather than groggy and craving more sleep.
  
• Affirmations – it helps to use a releasing affirmation when you prepare to go to sleep at night. When you prepare to go to sleep at night, it works wonders to mix your deep breathing along with your affirmations. Make certain your affirmations are releasing affirmations. Choose whatever works for you; for example, “I release all that did not serve me today.”
  
• Visualization – visualizing along with deep breathing and affirmations is a powerful trio. Visualizing your life as you wish it to be doesn’t make you ungrateful, it just leads you to a place where you accelerate the momentum to where you want to be.