These days, it’s a real struggle to keep our thoughts in the here and now. When we’re bored, most of us instinctively reach for our phones. Not being present might feel insignificant, but it can be detrimental when we’re going through stressful times. With the help of meditation, we can regain our ability to focus on the present, enhancing our mental and physical well-being.
So here’s how meditation can really help you out:
1. **Tames Your Stress:** We often ignore stress, but it can seriously harm our health. Think disrupted sleep, overeating, and even hair thinning. Even more severe, ongoing stress can lead to heart and digestion issues. Meditation helps us tackle stress. Stress leads to a hormone called cortisol, which contributes to symptoms like body inflammation. Mindfulness meditation, focusing on the present, has been proven to lower stress-related inflammation. So, if stress has been messing with your life, meditation can offer some relief.
2. **Supports Pain Control:** Over 50 million Americans deal with chronic pain every day, which makes even the smallest tasks hard. Recently, physicians are moving away from opiate-based painkillers due to addiction risks. They’re considering alternative pain relief methods such as cognitive behavioral therapy, acupuncture, physical therapy, and now more and more, meditation. Research shows meditation can increase tolerance to temporary pain, and even offer some short-term relief for lower back pain sufferers. Before starting meditation for pain control, just have a chat with your doctor.
3. **Keeps Depression in Check:** Depression really disrupts the lives of those it affects, making it tough to find joy and purpose. Meditation can help by combating stress and anxiety, both of which can trigger depressive episodes. Stress and anxiety often come from destructive self-perceptions and a feeling of hopelessness about the future. Mindfulness meditation helps break this cycle, refocusing the brain on the ‘now’.
4. **Lowers Blood Pressure:** Cardiovascular disease is a major reason for premature deaths worldwide. It’s crucial for everyone to focus on heart health. Trimming down our blood pressure is a great step toward better heart health. High blood pressure strains the heart and narrows the arteries, leading to heart attack or stroke. By quieting the brain, techniques like transcendental and mindfulness meditation can evoke relaxation, facilitating lower blood pressure, lesser inflammation and widening of arteries.
Getting started with meditation is easier than ever. Look for some meditation tutorial videos online – it won’t be long before you’re all set to embark on this journey.
Stay healthy both mentally and physically!
