A few years ago when a fellow co-worker inquired about my mindfulness practice I was a bit confused. "My what?" was my response.
But then she shared a youtube video with me of a guided meditation that changed my life.
Meditation is a practice that involves focusing or clearing your mind using a combination of mental and physical techniques. Meditation has many benefits. Here are just a few:
- Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations
- Building skills to manage your stress
- Increasing self-awareness
- Focusing on the present
- Reducing negative emotions
- Increasing imagination and creativity
- Increasing patience and tolerance
- Lowering resting heart rate
- Lowering resting blood pressure
- Improving sleep quality
Meditation is mind medicine and can produce a deep sense of relaxation and bring calm to our nervousness system. We need that ya know.
Meditation is not always sitting in silence with infrequent chants of "om". Meditation is simply focusing inward on a thought of your choosing or removing excess and unwanted thoughts.
If you are brand new to the idea, Youtube is your friend. Search "guided meditation" and select one with a time frame you can commit to. Do this a few times before you decide if its right for you.
If you have meditated before but have not made it a regular practice, there might be a mobile app that can help you become more consistent. Headspace, Calm & Aura to name a few.
Make meditation part of your selfcare routine and let us know the results!