How Meditation Can Improve Your Life (And How to Get Started)

You’ve probably heard about meditation. Perhaps you’ve thought about trying it, but it seemed too complicated. Maybe you have an image of someone sitting in the lotus position for an hour each day.

Meditation can be pretty straightforward. However, it can also provide needed improvements in your life and health.

What is Meditation?

There are many types of meditation. However, they all have the same primary goal: to focus your mind and redirect your thoughts. Meditation was originally a spiritual practice. Today, many people practice it for its mental and physical health benefits.

Mindfulness meditation is the most popular type practiced in the West. Instead of clearing your mind of thoughts, which is essentially impossible, the goal is to become aware of your thoughts.

When your mind begins to wander, you’ll bring your mind back to your focal point. Over time, this can help you be more aware of your thoughts. You’ll be able to manage your thoughts instead of being at their mercy.

Benefits of Meditation

There are a wide variety of benefits of meditation. These benefits include stress relief, anxiety reduction, and improving sleep.

Stress Relief

Stress is a common problem, and meditation can help. One study found that 95% of meditators began to reduce negative experiences. But unfortunately, our bodies are designed to respond to stress with fight or flight.

When we experience stress, our heart rate increases, adrenaline releases, and cortisol rise, preparing us to fight or flee. There’s a bit negative effect when pressure spikes temporarily and then lower.

The problem occurs when we live in a state of chronic stress. Cortisol levels remain elevated, which causes inflammation and a cytokines response. As a result, there’s a higher risk of anxiety, depression, and high blood pressure with chronic stress.

Meditation has been shown to reduce the body’s response to stress by lowering inflammation and cortisol levels. It also reduces the symptoms of stress-related conditions, including fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome.

Reducing Anxiety

Anxiety and stress often go hand in hand. However, meditation has been shown to decrease anxiety as well as stress.

Interestingly, the more severe the anxiety, the greater the benefit of meditation. Those with the highest anxiety levels experienced the most significant reduction in anxiety symptoms with meditation.

Improving Sleep

Many people have trouble sleeping when stressed. About half of all Americans will experience insomnia at some time in their life. One study revealed that meditators slept longer and improved insomnia symptoms.

It’s thought that healthy eating and meditation are beneficial for sleep in two ways. First, it helps to reduce or control racing thoughts, which often cause insomnia. Second, meditators learn how to relax physically and mentally, which is conducive to sleep.

How to Meditate

You need to meditate in a quiet environment and 10-20 minutes when you will not be disturbed. Follow these steps to try meditation begin reaping the benefits.

1. Set the Environment

Many people find relaxing music helps them get into a meditative state. Others prefer silence. Some enjoy listening to the sounds around them in the natural world.

Once you have the right sound environment, find a comfortable position. It’s best to sit comfortably. You may find yourself better able to relax lying down, but don’t fall asleep.

2. Set a Time Limit

Begin with a 5-10 minute time limit. Then, as you become more comfortable with the process, work up to 20 minutes a day for maximum benefits. You may find it helpful to set a timer on your phone. Then, you can meditate without worrying about how much time has gone by.

3. Focus

Now, you are ready to meditate. You’ll need something to focus your thoughts on. Breath is the most common focal point. It allows you to connect with your body.

Try to keep your thoughts focused simply on your breathing. When your mind wanders, recognize the idea, and then bring your attention back to your breathing. Do this each time you begin to lose focus.

4. No Judgment

Don’t judge your thoughts when you are meditating. Don’t worry about doing it right, or if you maintain your focus long enough. One of the benefits of meditation is becoming more accepting of yourself.

Enjoy the experience. Do your best to allow your thoughts to flow, coming and going without focusing on or labeling them as good or bad.

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This post is republished on Medium.

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