When you think of meditation, what comes to mind? Is it sitting on a yoga mat in silence? Co-founder at Boom Journal Matt West and Matt Cook, amidst of a crisis, is on a mission to change that through a new meditation app that will launch in early 20201. There are many ways through which you can clear your mind and understand yourself better. One of those ways is meditation. There are many health benefits of meditation. Many people are skeptical about the positive effects of it on our bodies. That’s understandable because some people don’t like being in situations where their head is empty. It makes it even more difficult for them to relax. For most people, however, relaxation and an empty head are the two most popular allures of meditation.
What is meditation?
Meditation refers to an ancient practice said to have originated in India. Today people practice it all over the world. It is used to achieve a state where one feels mentally relaxed which leads to a heightened sense of awareness.
In the past, it was mostly used for spiritual purposes. In the religion of Buddhism, it served as a pathway for Buddhists towards “awakening” and “nirvana”. In the modern world, most people use it to gain a new perspective and understand their thoughts and emotions better. There are many ways to meditate. Some methods are rooted in science, some aren’t.
Mindfulness Meditation
One of the most popular methods of meditation is mindfulness meditation. By focusing on an “anchor” (which can be sounds, visuals, objects in your surrounding area, etc), you boost your concentration and learn to become aware of your thoughts and feelings. The main objective of mindfulness is to observe your thoughts without any judgment.
Here’s how you can do it:
Find a quiet place where you can sit and write. Put all your electronic gadgets in a different room so you don’t check your phone or smartwatch every five minutes.
Make sure your body is relaxed. Relax your shoulders, back, everything.
Focus on what you are writing down. This is going to be your anchor. Take a deep breath and then exhale slowly. Can you feel your diaphragm moving as you breathe? If not, then you’re probably breathing through your chest. Breathing through your diaphragm will help you relax more easily.
Once you begin to feel comfortable, your mind will start to wander. Thoughts will enter your head and try to distract you, but you have to make sure you don’t pay them any attention. Focus on your breathing. Your anchor.
If you’re a beginner, it’s easy to lose focus, but being distracted is in itself a part of mindfulness meditation, so don’t worry too much! What matters is you bring your mind back to focus. This is how you develop self-awareness.
Open Monitoring Meditation
This is another type of meditation that’s popular among meditation enthusiasts. Open monitoring meditation is further divided into two types: internal open monitoring meditation and external monitoring meditation. The purpose of the former is to help you focus on your thoughts and your feelings. The purpose of the latter is to become aware of your surroundings.
Internal open monitoring meditation works in the same way as mindfulness meditation – you sit in a quiet place and see where your mind travels. You observe your thoughts, whatever they may be, without any judgment.
With external open monitoring meditation, you learn to focus on your surroundings instead of your inner thoughts. You observe everything around you without reacting and this helps you reach a state where you become more aware of your surroundings.
What Are the Benefits of Meditation?
There has been plenty of research done on meditation benefits and how meditation affects us mentally.
1. Meditation Improves Concentration
The whole purpose of meditation is to help you focus better on yourself and your surroundings. Meditating on a regular basis will improve your concentration. If you’re consistent, the effects will be there even when you’re not meditating.
2. Meditation Reduces Stress and Anxiety
Meditation is supposed to help you feel calm and relaxed. People who suffer from anxiety tend to overthink and with the help of meditation and better focus, they can get rid of the thoughts that make them anxious. Meditating regularly results in breakdown of the connection between the medial prefrontal cortex (also known as the “Me Center”) and the part brain that deals with fear. This causes you to remain calm when you experience something that makes you anxious and you assess it in a rational way.
3. Meditation Increases Creativity
Open monitoring meditation has been shown to affect creativity levels in people in a positive way. In a study conducted at Leiden University, it was found that people who practiced open monitoring meditation regularly did better on tasks that demanded creativity than people who practiced mindfulness meditation.
4. Meditation Helps You Become Self-Aware
When you sit down in a quiet place and focus on your thoughts and emotions daily, you develop a better understanding of yourself. Having self-awareness means you’ll figure out which thoughts benefit you and which don’t, and this will help you become a better version of yourself. You can easily transform your thought habits into a healthier pattern.
5. Meditation Gives You More Compassionate
Meditation makes people feel more positive and it eliminates negative thoughts and emotions. One type of meditation, called loving-kindness meditation, teaches people to be compassionate towards yourself. As you develop self-love, you become more compassionate towards the surrounding people, as well.
Why is Meditation Important?
People who meditate regularly lead healthier and more positive lives. It’s no secret that meditation has been used for thousands of years as a way to connect with yourself, your soul, and the external world. We don’t know how true the benefits of meditation actually are since there hasn’t been enough research done on them – what we do know is there are no negative effects of meditation, so there’s no harm in practicing it even if you’re skeptical about it.
Meditation won’t cure your depression or help you find your dream job, but it will change your attitudes and beliefs about the world and yourself. With the help of meditation, you can learn to have a more optimistic view of the world which will affect your habits and your mental state.
All in all, meditation is an important ancient technique that’s used for various purposes. Some use it to find a deeper meaning to life and some use it, so they can understand themselves better. There are different methods of meditation and which one you should practice depends on your goals. If you want to feel calm and emotionally stable so you can concentrate and become more aware of yourself, then mindfulness is probably the best method for you. Start meditating today so you can lead a happier and healthier life!
Boom Journal
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