Meditation means dissolving the invisible walls that unawareness has built.
Sadhguru
When was the last time you felt peace in your mind? In this increasingly chaotic world and life, our mind is lost to stress, competition, fears, heartbreaks, regrets, and many other not-so-happy feelings. All these emotions cause a hindrance to be in a rested, peaceful and harmonious state of mind. Without a relaxed and calm mind, we are often clouded with misjudgments and confusion. Once the waters are clear, we tend to see the larger picture. We begin to identify the meaning of our true self, our hidden talents, and our potential.
Our mind is our greatest asset and possession. One can snatch away everything from us except our mind. If we can control our minds, we can win the battle of life with utmost calmness and perseverance. So now, the question is- How do we control our minds? How can we feel more at peace and experience clarity in our thoughts? The answer is simple – MEDITATION.
Meditation has been a powerful tool for centuries. But in today’s world, meditation is often underestimated. Let us try to understand a few significant benefits of meditation and incorporate them into our routine.
10 Benefits Of Meditation
1. It helps you control your emotions.
Meditation assists you in regaining control of your emotions. A more relaxed state of mind results in decreased anxiety. As a result, the severity of mood swings and angry episodes is reduced. When your mind is calm and clear, it can make sense of emotions and logic well. This way, meditation can help your mind take control over emotions.
2. Helps in Reducing Stress.
One of the best benefits of meditation can be that it helps in reducing stress. The hormone responsible for stress, called cortisol, is brought down by meditation. When you are under stress, your heart rate and blood pressure tend to increase. This can be combated by meditating regularly. Regular meditation will reduce your tendency of stressing yourself out!
3. Improves your Immune System.
Studies show that meditation plays a significant role in improving your immune system. Those who meditate can fight infection in a better way than those who don’t. Why? Because meditation helps in increasing the antibodies in one’s body! This covers things like the flu and various diseases, among other things.
Specifically, according to a study conducted by the University of Wisconsin, frequent meditation not only helps in enhancing the body’s immune system but also has the potential to stimulate electrical activity in the brain.
4. Lowers Blood Pressure.
How does this happen? Research shows that people with high blood pressure stopped taking medication altogether when they started practicing meditation regularly. This is because meditation improves circulation and promotes relaxation. When this occurs, the blood arteries dilate, improving blood flow. This results in a reduction in blood pressure. Meditation promotes a very natural and effective treatment for a life-threatening health condition. Isn’t this wonderful?
5. Improves Sleeping Patterns.
A lot of people today underestimate the importance of having a proper sleep cycle. In this ever-increasing stressful world, many people tend to compromise on sleep. Many pieces of research on meditation and rest, including a significant study from Harvard University, have discovered that meditation can help people fall asleep and stay asleep at night by triggering a relaxation response in their bodies.
Meditation can also be beneficial for insomnia, as research has shown that those who meditated fell asleep twice as quickly compared to those who did not meditate at all!
6. Improves Concentration.
There are many times in life when we need to have a clear mind to reason. We need to have apt concentration levels, whether at work or home. No matter what task we do, our minds need to be present by a hundred percent. If we are always clouded by stress, fears, and other negative emotions, how will we concentrate on the task at hand? However, if meditation is a part of your routine regularly, you will see an evident change in your concentration levels. When we look back into the history of meditation, many great personalities like Buddha and Lord Mahavir meditated so deeply and sincerely that they never bothered what was happening in their surroundings. This ultimately let them achieve salvation!
7. Meditation Can Lower Your Chances Of Stroke And Heart Attack.
Preventing heart attacks and strokes requires more than just taking medicines, exercising, and changing your diet. As we have read above, meditation helps reduce anxiety and stress, because of which the chances of getting any heart-related disease significantly reduce. According to the most recent research, people who meditate have a lower risk of heart attack, stroke, and death within five years.
8. Meditation increases happiness.
Meditation is a mediator that connects you to your inner soul, which may not happen otherwise. We are constantly surrounded by many things such as work, family, school, and some never-ending issues. We are so involved in life’s daily roles and responsibilities that we often forget to connect with our souls. When we meditate and find inner peace, that is when we find real happiness.
9. Meditation helps in coping up with addiction.
Those who suffer from chronic addictions, substance misuse disorders, and alcoholism can notice significant improvements on their road to recovery if they practice daily meditation. Stress is one of the primary elements that leads them to succumb to their demons. Stress can be reduced by practicing meditation regularly. Those affected by the chain reaction may find it easier to have better control over their addiction concerns.
10. Meditation can give your brain a boost.
Not only does meditation do wonders with your physical health, but it may also provide a mental boost by actually aiding in improving your brain function. Regular meditation has proven to boost your ability to process information, according to research. One study found that it helped people perform better on the verbal reasoning section of the GRE. It can also assist with concentration and memory.
Conclusion
If you study this article closely, you will realise that all points zero into one single point. What is it? Reduce stress in your life. Once you can get rid of stress, everything else will fall into place. Saying goodbye to stress and anxiety is only possible when you meditate and take care of your mental health. Thus, no matter what, take out at least 20 minutes from your daily life, preferably in the morning, to meditate and keep yourself charged up for life.
