How You Can Improve Your Health by Practicing Meditation

Meditation or mindfulness practices are like a workout regime for the mind. Much like you go to the gym to train your physical body, you meditate to train and take charge of your mind. Meditation practices offer the same variety as you find in the physical exercises. In Buddhism, meditation is identical in meaning to “Sports” in other cultures. As the word sport has a broad meaning and different types, so do meditation. It is not a single, isolated activity, rather, it is a set of activities which form a family.

Meditation has been practiced for years and in some cultures, it is even considered as part of conventional medicine. It is a surefire way of keeping a check on your mind, disabling it from getting lost in the unnecessary thoughts. The mindfulness practices are simple, effective, and time-efficient if you are in search of a helping hand to cope with the daily stress and anxiety. What’s more, is that you are not signing yourself for any kind of side effects provided that you opt for regular meditation.

The benefits that you can get to relish are amazingly broad. A few of the prominent benefits have been highlighted below:

• Improves circulation of blood and stabilizes the blood pressure.
• Reduces perspiration and lowers the heart rate.
• Optimizes the rate of respiration.
• Builds a check on stress and anxiety.
• Activates the natural relaxation response of the body.
• Keeps cortisol levels in check.
• Promotes overall well-being and restores mood.

Considering the benefits, it is evident that building a habit of meditating every day is an impeccable decision. However, much like any other habit, taking up meditation as a habit that you practice every day isn’t as convenient for a lot of us as it may sound. This is why we have created this guide that accentuates the top tips which will help you mindfully meditate anytime and reduce your stress levels.

Start Somewhere

The best thing about meditation is that there is no requirement of equipment or dedicated venues. You can practice the mindful exercises anytime, anywhere, any place, as long as you are committed enough. So the first thing to do is to start somewhere. Don’t let the thoughts of “I don’t have sufficient knowledge”, or “I don’t know how it works”, or “Is it really going to work for me”, stop you from getting a hands-on experience of meditation. You don’t have to be an expert on meditation before you begin. It’s okay to lose against your wandering thoughts in the beginning. It’s okay to not being able to practice it the right away. The primary goal, in the beginning, is just to begin somewhere. Find a silent corner away from the noise, sit comfortably, and give it a go. Try, that’s all you need.

Don’t Overcomplicate Things

If you have tried meditation before in an attempt to cope with excessive stress and anxiety but failed, chances are that you made a mistake that a lot of us do in the beginning. It is the over-complication of things that make it harder to keep the motivation up every day, which is why it is recommended to keep things simple in the beginning. Don’t make a list of dozens of mindfulness exercises and try all of them. Just pick the top three which are simple to follow, known to be effective, and don’t eat up a lot of your time. Begin your meditation with a simple regime. You always have the option to get advanced with time.

It’s All About The Time

Moving on to the next big mistake that a lot of us make while trying to [restrict] make a habit out of meditation. Remember, meditation is one of those phenomena where the quality is significantly more important than the quantity. Putting it simply, what matters is doing it the right away, not doing it for hours. It is a misconception that applying “the more the better” on meditation is going to get you better results. So stop spending hours on meditation and focus on keeping it short and concise. Something that you can easily follow every day. Think about it, if you know that mindfulness practices are a treat for your mental health and it won’t take more than a few minutes every day, you will be highly motivated to keep it as a habit. But if the same was true ONLY if meditation is practiced for at least an hour every day? You’d stick to the habit for a day or two, but it will get harder for you to follow the regime soon enough.

Start Your Day With Meditation

Another great tip that works for people who are looking forward to meditating and reduce their stress levels is to decide on a time when you practice mindfulness every day. A common recommendation is to meditate in the morning before you get too busy with your daily tasks. With a fresh mind in the morning, it will be easier to keep your focus which will ensure optimum outcome. Meditating in the morning will prepare your mind better for a productive and creative day ahead. It acts as a proactive solution for keeping stress and anxiety in check throughout the day. Moreover, with an overly busy schedule, it is remarkably tougher to find time for meditation in the middle of the day which increases the chances of missing out on it, starting with a couple of days each week and ending up in a permanent termination of the habit itself.

You’ll Get There Eventually

Meditation is known to produce almost instant results in terms of reducing stress and anxiety and restoring the mood. It makes you calm and peaceful in a very time effective fashion. However, getting it right the first time you give it a go may be a goal that is a little farther away from realism. Chances are that it is going to take some time for you to meditate in its true essence and experience the true benefits. In order to keep up the motivation under such circumstances and sticking to the habit of mindfulness practices each day, it is important to repeat the benefits that you are aiming to achieve as your personal mantra. You need to remind yourself constantly that it is just a matter of time before you start to see progress. You don’t expect to hit the gym, spend thirty minutes into lifting weights, and come back with the muscle mass and toned body. Similarly, you have to be patient with meditation as well. Relax, you will get there eventually. Just be realistic in terms of setting goals and expecting the outcome until then.

Join A Group

Lastly, if you are trying to meditate but are failing to follow it religiously, it may be time for you to join a group. It doesn’t have to be a professional, dedicated group. You can ask a couple of your friends to join you for mindfulness practices for a few minutes each day. Discuss the benefits of meditation with them and invite them to try it with you. This way, you will be sharing your knowledge and inviting them to a simple practice that they can do literally anywhere and cope with the daily stress and anxiety. In turn, you will have a few people to keep you motivated for meditation every day. When the mind starts to play its games and it becomes harder to find the motivation to get up and do it, all you need is a little push from someone. And this group of your friends or acquaintances will act as the very push that you need whenever you are low on motivation.

Conclusion

It is evident from the information mentioned above that meditation and mindfulness are easy to perform exercises which can be practiced anywhere. Meditation offers guaranteed results when it comes to activating the natural relaxation response and making you more calm and peaceful. By enabling you to live in the present and collecting your scattered thoughts from the past and the future, it helps a great deal in reducing stress levels and promoting the overall feeling of wellbeing.

Remember that you can’t expect it to work for you if you are not consistent enough with it. Meditating for a day and then missing out on it for three is not going to be effective. This is why we have taken all this time and inform you of the tips and tricks that you can apply for the purpose of making it a habit to practice mindfulness like a religion. It is understandable to have a little falling back before you can keep your streak up for months at a time. Until then, don’t be too embarrassed about the cheat days and keep trying. As mentioned earlier, you will get there eventually. It is only a matter of time. [/restrict]