If you feel like your mind is always running at a million miles an hour, learning to meditate might be the key to you taking back control. Meditation isn’t some crazy woo woo practice that you need to find a guru to train you in or go to week long retreats to learn. The simplest way to look at meditation is that it is a period of time where your mind is calm and still, giving you a break from the continual stream of crazy thoughts that are usually running through it. Here are four other benefits you may not know about.
Make it easier for you to focus and concentrate
Keeping your attention on what you’re doing can feel damn near impossible some days. It’s like every random thought or distraction decides to float through your mind all at the same time. You can guarantee that when a deadline is looming for a major work project or other important task, you’re going to struggle to keep focused. Meditation teaches your mind to be still. This skill can be used to help you concentrate better as your mind becomes accustomed to directing it’s thoughts to only one thing.
Relax muscular tension
Paying for massages each week gets expensive. As good as they feel, it’s a luxury that not everyone can afford regularly. Meditation brings with it a level of relaxation that has been likened to the deepest sleep. With your body in this state, muscles will relax and the feeling of tension will melt away. Another trick is to put your self in a state of relaxation right before falling asleep. Do this by lying comfortably in bed, then focusing on relaxing your face muscles, then your neck muscles, then your chest muscles, your back muscles, your butt muscles (we hold a ton of tension in these cheeks!), down your legs all the way to your toes. See if you can make it to your toes without drifting off to sleep.
Lower stress Levels
Stress affects everyone in some form. Maybe you have a high pressure job, you’re having relationship dramas or you just feel overloaded with everything you have to do. Meditation can put space between you and your problems. As little as five minutes a day of keeping a silent and empty mind can do wonders for your ability to deal with day to day dramas. Your ability to forgive other, let go and to not take everything so damn seriously will be increased with regular practice. Problems will always exist. Meditation just makes it much easier to deal with them.
Increase your creativity
Meditation has a benefit of freeing up your mind from clutter, which makes space for you to think better thoughts. Your creativity levels will increase as you continue your mediation practice, sparking new ideas and insights for your life, work, goals and dreams. If you are ever stuck for answers, meditating can take the pressure of having to create away and slow down your mind enough to let the ideas start flowing again.
Start your practice as simple as possible, just sit comfortably on the floor for five minutes and try to avoid thinking anything. Random thoughts will try to pop into your head. This is totally normal. Just let them pass by and don’t give them any attention. Try to give yourself this daily five minutes and you will soon start to notice that the gaps between your thoughts are growing larger. Increase the time of your practice when you are ready, and enjoy the benefits of meditation each day.
