This year I have made a real effort to try and
learn to meditate, as it is something I often recommend to patients. And
as the saying goes, practise what you preach. I have meditated in
the past, and I regularly practise yoga, with meditation at the end of each
session, but I felt I needed something that I could use daily and so feel the
full benefits of meditation.
It hasn't been easy - with two active boys, who
have after school activities daily, and establishing my business in a new
location - there is always something more important to do. It's a bit
like exercising, you think a lot about doing it, but find it difficult to
start, which can often be the hardest part. And then when you do start, and get
into a routine, you feel worse when you don't do it.
Some of the meditation courses available can be a
little 'out-there', but the real point is to take some time out of each day to
quietly reflect on what is going on for you. It really is what works for you.
You might find that you can zone out while walking your dog in the park, while
exercising, or even while focusing fully on something you love doing. All
of these activities can be like a mini meditation session in themselves.
So far this year, I have tackled 'Mindful in
May', Belinda Davidson's 'Chakra Cleanse Meditation', and more recently an
'Expanding your Happiness' 21-day meditation challenge with Oprah and
Deepak Chopra.
I found I got a lot out of the daily meditations
that were emailed to me during Mindful in May, and the bonus is that you get to
keep these meditations. I found the chakra balancing meditation the
most challenging, as it can take 30 minutes or more for each meditation, a big
chunk out of my day, but the rewards are worth it. The Oprah/Deepak
meditation challenge is also very good - you receive a different meditation
daily and I quote "(this) journey will help you spark the bliss,
profound peace, and playful exhilaration that is within you".
Many studies are now showing
the impact our emotions can have on our physical bodies. When you are physically or emotionally stressed, your
body releases stress hormones that can affect many parts of your
body.
Studies have also shown that stress and anxiety
can result in disruptions in your heart and immune
function, and depression can inhibit the body's natural
ability to heal. Research has also shown that
regular meditation can help to reduce blood
pressure and insulin resistance (which contributes to the development of
diabetes).
I've found meditation for me has been very much
worth it, given the benefits I have gotten out of it - such as feeling calmer,
more able to focus on what is happening at any given moment (often referred to
as 'being in the moment'), and being able to focus my time and energy on
things that are important to me, (rather than be regularly distracted by all
that social media has to offer).
But it is still a work in progress, and that's
okay too.
So there are many very
good reasons to try and incorporate a daily, or if this is too hard, maybe a
bi-weekly, meditation practice into your routine. It can help you to focus
a little more on your thoughts and emotions, and the impact these might be
having on your health and happiness.
"All that we are is the
result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we
become."
Buddha
If you are interested in reading
more you can go to:
michelle bryceland
essentials for health
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