Mindfulness Meditations Benefits – In this article, our new journalist Mahrosh Kanwal talks about the importance of mindfulness in our increasingly busy lives
Mindfulness Meditation is a simply a method of mental training. This practice doesn’t take a lot of time, although some patience and persistence are required. Many people soon find that meditation liberates them from the pressures of time, so they have more of it to spend on other things. Meditation is not complicated. Nor is it about ‘Success’ or ‘Failure’. Even when meditation feels difficult, you‘ll have learned something valuable about the workings of the mind and thus have benefited psychologically.
A typical meditation consists of focusing your full attention on your breath as it flows in and out of your body (see one-minute meditation box, above). Focusing on each breath in this way allows you to observe your thoughts as they arise in your mind and, little by little, to let go of struggling with them. You come to realise that thoughts come and go of their own accord; that you are not your thoughts. You can watch as they appear in your mind, seemingly from thin air, and watch again as they disappear, like a soap bubble bursting. You come to the profound understanding that thoughts and feelings (including negatives ones) are transient. They come and they go, and ultimate, you have a choice about whether to act on them or not.
Mindfulness is about observation without criticism; being compassionate with yourself.
When unhappiness or stress hover overhead, rather than taking it all personally, you learn to treat them as if they were black clouds in the sky, and to observe them with friendly curiosity as they buy 500 xanax drift past. In essence , mindfulness allows you to catch negative thought patterns before they tip you into a download spiral. It begins the process of putting you back in control of your life.
Overtime, mindfulness brings about long-term changes in mood and levels of happiness and wellbeing. Scientific studies have shown that mindfulness not only prevents depression, but that it also positively affects the brain patterns underlying day-to-day anxiety, stress, depression and irritability so that when they arise, they dissolve away again more easily. Other studies have shown that regular mediators see their doctors less often and spend fewer days in hospital.
Memory improves, creativity increase and reaction time become faster .
Here I am discussing few benefits of mindfulness meditation
Numerous psychological studies have shown that regular mediators are happier and more contented than average. These are not just important results in themselves but have huge medical significance as such positive emotions are linked to a longer and healthier life. Anxiety, depression and irritability all decrease with regular sessions of meditation. Memory also improves, reaction times become faster and mental and physical stamina increase. Regular mediators enjoy better and more fulfilling relationships. Studies worldwide have found that meditation reduced the key indicators of chronic stress, including hypertension.
Meditation has also been found to be effective in reducing the impact of serious conditions, such as chronic pain and cancer and can even help to relieve drug and alcohol dependence. Meditation bolsters the immune system and thus helps to fight off colds, flu and other diseases. Meditation helps cultivate a deep and compassionate awareness that allows you to assess your goals and find the optimum path towards realising your deepest values.
