To some, meditation involves sitting lotus style in a quiet room, to others it’s taking five minutes before getting out of bed to clear your mind and start the day. There is no set way to meditate, even many of the Aaptiv coaches have their own approaches or style of meditation.
However (no matter the execution), everyone can reap similar benefits from the mindful practice of meditation. The ability to clear your head and control your thoughts to create an image is a practice that can stimulate mental and physical characteristics in the body. Even monks have been doing meditation for a long period of time, and reaping all the benefits.
There is various research that supports the claim that meditation has a variety of health benefits in both enhancing brain power and strengthening willpower. It’s the idea of inner peace, calmness, and controlled breathing that plays a huge role in meditation.
Read on as we break down some of the many wonderful benefits that meditation can have on our body.
Strengthen Frontal Cortex
When you have attention deficit hypersensitivity disorder (ADHD), the brain signal in your frontal cortex is very weak. When that happens, you have problems focusing and concentrating. The National Institute of Health conducted a study that analyzed those with ADHD who practiced regular meditation. Of these study’s participants, most saw improvements around conflict detection and set-shifting. Additionally, the adults with ADHD had increased retention rates of 78% after implementing mindful practices and meditation.
Reduce Stress
When you meditate, it reduces your stress level by suppressing the adrenaline and other sympathetic components. When this occurs, the body’s blood pressure will regulate, and the onset of tension and mental anxiety will reduce. In fact, experts at the Mayo Clinic find that implementing meditation into our daily routines can limit the onset of conditions like: depression, sleep trauma, and tension migraines.
Create New Neurons
There was a research study conducted with monks who meditate daily and those that don’t. The scientist decided to use an MRI to compare the brain signals of monks with regular people. They found that monks tend to have more neurons and stronger brain connection and activity than the normal human brain, proving that daily meditation can have a significant impact on your brain health. Harvard University discovered that meditation can actually create neurons that help increase the ability to form and create memories, as well as promote thinking and thought process.
Increase Psychological Health
Mental issues are often caused by abnormal chemical signals in the brain and elevated stress. Through daily meditation your body is able to keep chemical signals well-regulated and reduce your onset stress level. Therefore, it will significantly decrease the probability of developing mental issues, such as depression, bipolar disorder, and other problems, from occurring. The National Institute of Health even suggests that psychotherapists study and embed meditation practices into their trainings and client treatment plans to see an increase in positive reactions and an increase in psychological health.
Stimulate Your Mood
Some people can have their mindset easily altered if triggered by a certain situation or interaction. In fact, some people can mentally fall apart when they’re hit by a certain obstacle in their life. Fortunately, meditation teaches us how to control our thoughts and emotions. That way, when outside (unavoidable) factors come into a daily routine, it won’t be that easy to provoke or onset a particular negative mood or behavior.
Help You Recover Faster From a Workout
After a strenuous workout your muscles become tense and sore. The thing that makes it difficult for someone to recover rapidly from a workout is constant stress, anxiety, and lack of sleep; this can severely hinder the recovery process. When you meditate, you’re more relaxed and relieved, because the release of endorphins in your body can dilate your blood vessels to promote blood flow to your body. This will promote healing and better sleep at night for faster recovery after the gym.
Entrepreneurs Do Better With Meditation
When you are an entrepreneur, one of the most difficult parts of the job is accepting failure and learning from your mistakes. There are times when projects don’t work out the way that they should. This is where the strength and willpower come into play to ensure that you don’t give up. Through daily meditation, you’re able to control your emotions and to think things through logically. Therefore, improving your confidence, well-being, and willpower.
Daily meditation plays a huge role in improving your workout, enhancing your brain power, and strengthening your willpower. The purpose is to control your breathing and mind, so we remain focused and in control. You can also reduce your stress level to help keep your brain signals well-balanced and to ensure that you have the utmost confidence throughout life. Overall, meditation is a highly recommended workout that can definitely change your life.
Tips to Mastering Meditation
Now that we know of the benefits, how can we conquer meditation practices and implement them into our daily routines? Below we list a few helpful suggestions to help our readers become skilled and knowledgeable in the art of meditation.
- Take it five minutes at a time: A lot of people can feel overwhelmed by the idea of staying in meditation for one-half hour or an hour when starting out. Our advice is to start small at first and take each meditation five minutes at a time. When you know that you’re only taking five minutes out of your day (to help gather your thoughts and clear your mind), you’re more likely to dedicate this time to yourself (as opposed to other obligations). Once you realize the benefits and positivity felt from the practice, you may decide to increase you meditation time allotment gradually.
- Stimulate brain activity with music: A lot of people often use meditation music to help them with their mental workout. After all, it could be difficult to sit there and think about nothing. Our minds are constantly running and forming thoughts at the speed of light. Fortunately, with the music, it can help us relax and focus on meditating properly. A study at Stanford University found that the brain paid more attention when listening to music (and showed greater peak activity to pauses in between each song). So, next time you’re trying out a meditation practice, pair it with some soothing music for better results.
- Try a meditation program: There’s no need to guess when it comes to meditation. There are so many wonderful meditation programs and classes out there, that can help break down the fundamental learnings of meditation. By using assistants (especially in the beginning), you’re ensuring that your body and brain get the most benefit from the practice.
With the long list of benefits, it’s crazy to think that some of us carry out our daily routines without meditation. If you’re interested in pursuing meditation as a ritual or practice, try Aaptiv, which helps give you the guidance and tools you need to master the craft.