Benefits of Meditation

Hey everyone! Welcome to another post.

Today, I want to talk about something that I think will be extremely helpful for many people. Meditation. It's not just for monks in old Eastern movies anymore. It's hit a big trend lately, I, myself, have been doing it for the last few years, and it's helped me in many ways.

I use meditation for a lot of different things, and for different reasons. To help me sleep, relaxation, to clear my mind, and it's amazing the benefits that come with it. I know what you're thinking: "But, I don't want to sit cross-legged on the floor for hours repeating a sound. I don't need to find enlightenment or anything."

Common misconception from those old movies I was talking about. While meditation can be used to broaden one's mind, it can be done by anyone for any reason. And, you don't need to sit cross-legged with your hands resting on your knees. Just find a position that is comfortable to you, and you can stay in that position for however long you'll be meditating. I usually sit on a pillow with my legs in front of me and bent slightly. I've also laid flat on my back, or in a chair. You just need to be comfortable. Also, there's no real need for the constant chant. People use that as a focal point. You need to focus on something to center your mind and block out everything else around you. I use my breathing to do that, but you can use whatever you want, as long as you can focus on it.

Now that you understand that meditation is much simpler than you thought, I'll go ahead and list some of its benefits for you. There are so many, but I'll just go with a few of them. Enjoy:

1. Stress Reducer
• "Meditation is mind without agitation." says Narasimham. Life is full of stress, and stress leads to agitation and anxiety. Meditation allows you to take control of your mind and push away all the things that are causing that stress. They may come back, but with meditation you're able to better regulate your emotions and think more clearly in the face of stress.
2. Encourages a Healthier Lifestyle
• Just doing something that is good for your body makes you want to do other things that are good for it. It's like when you go for a walk-even if it's a short one-and then you're more inclined to eat a bowl of fruit afterwards then a pizza. Good things lead to better things. 
3. Meditation Increases Self-awareness
• Meditation calms your mind, and helps regulate emotion. Let's say you have a short fuse, and just want to cause violence because you're so angry; meditation relaxes you and pushes away that anger. Eventually, your mind will become detached from that anger if you continue to push it away. It sounds silly, but meditation is just you looking into yourself. When your mind is calm you're able to explore yourself and learn things that you never knew about your thoughts or behavior.
4. Increase in Happiness and Acceptance
• Meditation studies have shown that the people who do it regularly show the brain signaling increased in the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for happy emotions. Learning about yourself, and working against those negative emotions benefits greatly for your overall happiness
• Meditation is not easy, but the lifelong benefits it brings make it something you can't live without. Say you've lost your job, or your boy/girlfriend broke up with you; meditation can help you accept what has happened and move past it in a positive way. 
5. Benefits Cardiovascular and Immune Health
• Meditation induces relaxation, which increases the compound nitric oxide that causes blood vessels to open up and following that, blood pressure drops. 
• Meditation also improves immunity. Increased blood flow means more white blood cells coursing through your body. It's a win-win.

I hope you all enjoyed this post, and I hope it helped you realize the many benefits that meditation brings you. Don't be afraid to give it a try. It will feel a little silly, at first, but if you force yourself to continue doing it, it won't take long to feel the improvements.

I'll be back tomorrow with another blog.

Buh-bye.