In my quest to make 2015 a year of living more joyously, authentically, and gracefully, I thought I should jump on the bandwagon of the hottest (and maybe oldest!) health trends out there: mindfulness. Mindfulness, a meditative practice dating back thousands of years, has roots in Buddhism. Meditating encourages you to focus on the present rather than on the anxieties of the past or the future.
How hard can meditating be?
This seems like a health trend that could excel in – no sweating, no kale, no over packed and overpriced Pilates classes – this was going to be my sport! How hard could it be to sit still and focus on your breathing for a few minutes?
For a busy person with a million balls in the air, it’s a lot harder than it sounds. That is why there are different techniques you can adopt to stay focused in meditation sessions. The most popular technique of using beads is known to have worked for most of them. You can look up “how to use mala beads” to learn more about it.
In an age with so many distractions – checking email, texting, playing Trivia Crack with friends, or just obsessively thinking about what’s next on the to-do list – stopping to be in the now seems almost impossible. Closing my eyes and taking a 10-minute break quickly reminded me of when I got the giggles in my first yoga class and was asked to leave the room.
I agree that finding inner peace is not easy for anyone, but the benefits are profound. This is probably why many institutes and even the providers of occupational therapy in aged care tend to promote the practice of meditation among their folks. Needless to say, it is only through meditation that corporate personnel, old people, or people suffering from mental health problems can all achieve peace of mind. This is because meditation provides an outlet for people to connect with their inner selves and make way for healing.
My top 5 reasons you might want to consider incorporating mindfulness meditation into your daily life:
- Reduce stress and anxiety—Research published in the journal Health Psychology shows that mindfulness is not only associated with feeling less stressed but also linked with decreased levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
- Create better relationships – Another study found that people who practice mindfulness are less judgmental, more self-aware, and better listeners.
- Helps you get skinny – A study from the Journal of Nutritional Education & Behavior found that mindfulness helped participants eat slower and reconnect with their body’s cues for hunger and satisfaction.
- Be a better person—In a study in The Journal of Psychological Science, researchers from Northeastern and Harvard University found that meditation is linked with more virtuous, “do-good” behavior.
- Stay healthy – Researchers from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Health found that people who engage in meditative practices miss fewer work days due to acute respiratory infections and experience a shortened duration and severity of symptoms while sick.
Meditation and mindfulness are backed by science! The practice of stretching for a few minutes a day can make a significant difference in my health and well-being and increase my happiness quotient. Daily meditation can relieve excessive work stress much more quickly than before.
Every day, I try to sit for five minutes in silence (I usually give up after two), breathe deeply, and pay attention to my breath when my mind wanders.
Is it helping?
I don’t know yet, but I do feel like my efforts to reduce stress, increase my self-awareness, and improve my mental and physical health are paying off both personally and professionally. And sometimes, just trying makes me feel better and more productive!