Meditation is one of the best forms of stress relief and relaxation for anyone and everyone who is patient enough to believe in the power that it can have. Back in the early uses of meditation, it was thought that meditation brings intelligence and wisdom, while not meditating left ignorance. Meditation has been scientifically studied and proven to be medically beneficial in various ways, as well as having become much more popular. There are even variations of meditation for those who believe in the power of different things that work to bring about the same result.
Types of Meditation
There are three main types of meditation: Yoga, Mantra, and Mindfulness. Yoga meditation is part of the five pillars of yoga and is meant to focus on one point, which will allow you to arrive at self-realization. This type of meditation, along with the other four portions of yoga, will allow your mind and body to grow and act together.
Mantra meditation is the most common type of meditation that people will think of. It is the “Ommmmmm” meditation, to those particular monks anyway. How it works is the meditator picks a few words that they want to repeat over again to relax themselves in that mantra. And the best part is you don’t have to verbalize that mantra, so it can be just yours. With this type of meditation, you are falling in the category of believing in the power that words have on us.
Mindfulness yoga is the final type that focuses on breathing. This type of yoga helps you become inherently aware of the world around you, as well as the world inside your head. Once you have your breathing in a nice, slow rhythm, you can start to focus on the world inside your brain and begin picking off the thoughts that torment your brain.
What are the benefits of meditation?
It’s one thing to pick a strategy of meditation to try out for a month or so. But what are you trying to accomplish with your meditation? Here are five benefits to meditating on a daily basis.
1. Improvements to stress-related conditions
As previously mentioned, meditation is a good way to relax yourself and relieve stress. Not only that, but it can help to alleviate heart disease and things like IBS. By working to take away stress, you are giving your body a break and letting it recharge for awhile. And letting it recharge can be good for letting physical ailments to recover.
2. Boosts Immune System
By meditating, you can boost your immune system by not forcing it to compete with stress and anxiety to keep your body healthy. With developing a regular meditation practice, you can eliminate a large portion of the stress-related chemicals that are released.
3. It improves your relationships and creativity
Most people may not associate relationships and creativity, but they are. Think about it, when you are stressed, and you want to go on a date with your significant other, your creativity is going to need to be flowing. Or, when you are trying to pick out a gift, meditating can eliminate the stress and let you be far more creative than if you were stressing about it. Meditating lets you relax and break older patterns that you had been struggling to break free from.
4. Increase in concentration and a feeling of wholeness
Since meditation is essentially learning to concentrate on your own bodily functions such as breathing and thoughts, this is a natural step to take outside of yourself. When you can build concentration and learn when things shifting away from the task at hand, and bringing it back to that task. When you finally reach a place where you feel comfortable meditating, you will experience wholeness or oneness that let’s your mind feel at ease.
5. Self-confidence and Self-acceptance rise up
Meditation can truly make you more aware of yourself. You will learn so much about yourself and what makes you tick as a person on a daily basis. In that sense, you can learn to head off some of the conflicts that induce mental stress in your life. Along with understanding your body and your mind, you become more confident in yourself. And because of this new confidence, you’re able to handle negative energy and not let it cause as many problems in your daily life.
The Important Take Away
Meditating has so many great benefits for the mind and body of anyone who begins a daily practice of meditating. Once you have chosen the style of meditation that fits best for you, you will begin to reap the benefits of meditation and taking control of your inner self.
