For some people, meditation can take time and practice and it’s easy to feel discouraged when it seems like you’re getting nowhere. Here are some tips to help you achieve results with meditation and reasons why you should keep at it.
Tips for meditation
Finding your place
To begin a session of meditation find a designated place in your home. Make sure it’s a quiet and calm space as it will aid the practice. Make it a daily practice and use the same place. By using the same place you will gather an association with the spot and will be reminded to meditate each time you past it.
Exercise beforehand
Stretching before meditation allows the muscles to loosen so you can sit more comfortably. Yoga in particular prepares the body so the mind can peacefully practise meditation.
Recognise the distractions
When starting out, it’s natural for your mind to wander during meditation. When this happens do not get discouraged. Instead recognise the thought and then gently bring your focus back to the breath and let go of the frustrations. By placing all your focus on the breath you are able to better block out external distractions.
Try another method
If one style isn’t working how about trying another? There are many different techniques and styles of meditation, including mantra meditation, breath meditation and visual meditation as well as different seated postures you can try. The different meditation methods essentially all focus on reducing distractions and thoughts by allowing you to focus on your breath, a repeated mantra or a mental image.
Keeping at it
It’s important to keep at meditation even though it may take a while to achieve actual results. Meditation takes practice and here are some reasons why you should stick at it!
Meditation for stress relief
Meditation is well known for the benefits it can bring for stress relief. Meditation helps switch off the mind so it can focus on the present rather than the nagging thoughts and worries. Meditation has health benefits for stress-related conditions such as high blood pressure. Meditation offers a chance for relaxation and helps to reduce stress.
Meditation for pain relief
Studies have found that meditation is able to benefit people with chronic pain by relieving discomfort, tension and stress. Studies also revealed meditation has the potential to reduce the pain sensation itself, leading to a significant reduction in pain.
Mental benefits of meditation
Meditation also offers a range of mental benefits such as heightened awareness and enhanced concentration. It is also said to foster greater empathy in individuals.
Health benefits of meditation
Meditation is believed to have a range of health benefits when practised on a regular basis. Meditation is able to produce beneficial results by enhancing the immune system, assisting with infertility and asthma and offering relief from other conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome.
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