I have been participating in yoga for about two years now, but meditation is a new practice for me. I am in the process of going through a new career path, which has caused me to have many sleepless nights and anxiety. I was in an unhealthy working environment for four years and that starts to take a toll on your mental heath and body so it was a change in the right direction, however that does not ease the anxiety of the “unknown.”
Luckily, my husband and family are very supportive of my decision, but now it’s about taking the right steps to move forward towards my goals. One of the new journeys I am embarking on in 2020 is the practice of meditation.
I have read countless articles and books debating if I should waste my time with meditation or not. I read various celebrities such as, Beyonce, Oprah and Gwen Paltrow meditating everyday. Some celebrities even contribute their success to the art of meditation. If you read the secret, I used to associate meditation with manifesting but that’s not really the case. There are proven scientific studies that meditation improves stress, sleep, anxiety, attention spans, memory, blood pressure and other ailments.
So, after hours of research (because I was a skeptic) I decided to give it a go. I have been meditating everyday for about 5-10 minutes.
Major Benefits of Meditation after 8 weeks: Based on a Harvard Study
Stress and medical issues related to stress triggers have improved– such as IBS and PTSD and Insomnia.
Anxiety – related general, social anxiety and OCD.
Better attention span
Increased memory
Lower blood pressure resulting in a decrease in heart disease
Overall better emotional health
Need Scientific Proof?
This study took 2 FMRI’s of patients (MRI’s that show brain activity). One patient, who has been meditating for 8 weeks and the other with zero hours of meditation. They took a brain scan and measured brain activity while performing everyday tasks. Researchers measured the amygdala of those patients. The Amygdala is an almond-shape set of neurons located deep in the brain’s medial temporal lobe playing a key role in the processing of emotions. They noticed that the Amygdala was less activated in the patient who has been meditating. This means, the patient who was meditating showed that this patient disengaged from negative thoughts, was less anxious and stressed.
Did I convince you yet? Now this is how I got started
First I set up a meditation space for myself. I choose a place in my home where I felt the energy was light and calming away from clutter. I ordered yoga blocks, a blanket and yoga mat from Amazon. I have bad knees so this yoga mat was perfect.
I also placed a blanket to sit on, so I felt fully supported.
I used a diffuser to breathe in lemon grass or lavender depending on the type of mediditation I was going for. Before bed, I will use lavender as a sleeping aid and I found this to help with my insomnia.
I then researched Mantra’s and meditation techniques. You can also use apple music and type in meditation music while you focus on your breath. If you are a peloton member, they have amazing guided meditation videos.
My favorite mantra right now is the Peace mantra. I focus on my breath while listening to meditation music and tap each finger to my thumb one at a time while saying peace in my mind. I do this every morning for 5 minutes.
Comment down below if you’d like me to share more beginner Mantra’s and 5 minute meditation routines.
Disclosure – my dog likes to bring me his toys and socks while I practice lol.
