-

Does Meditation Work?



Everyone is dealing with post-pandemic stress, work stress, health stress, or financial stress. Whichever stressor it is, we are meditating on problems, which frustrate and drain our energy.

The term “meditate” means think deeply or focus one’s mind for a period. So, worry and rumination is meditation, however it is subconscious and not controlled. While worrying is a waste of time, meditating on something with intent has purpose.

Even though society encourages multi-tasking, it is not possible to fully focus on more than one thing at a time. There are two meditations that are active and work to make us feel better.

Unlike just willing the mind to do something, breath meditation and mantras concentrate on an activity, and away from worry and stress.

Breath meditation slows breathing, activates the nervous system, oxygenates blood, and regulates the heart; instantly giving a feeling of relaxation and ease.

Breath meditation is quite simple. Consciously breathe in deeply and exhale slowly and fully. If feeling stressed, slowly count while breathing in and out.

After a few deep breaths, we move forward with more clarity of thought. While it is not a cure-all, breath meditation can be done anytime, anywhere.

A mantra is a word, phrase, or sound that is repeated to aid in concentration. It helps to pick a mantra that has personal meaning, so in addition to distracting your mind, it replaces the negative inner voice with a positive one.

When I went through radiation treatment, while lying on the machine I repeated, “I am safe, I am calm, I am in control.” Other times, it was “I can do all things through Christ.”

Something as simple as our own voice, or silent inner voice, is a distraction from worry.

Meditation DOES work! These two active meditations provide immediate results and can be used anytime, anywhere. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

-
Image
What is Wellness? Being well means more than just not having a disease or illness. A big part of being “well” is the feeling of general ease or normalcy. We perceive “wellness” when we don’t have to think about how we feel. When something is off, we want to go back to “normal”, or the way we are accustomed. Wellness is a status quo, or homeostasis. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could freeze ourselves in a permanent state of ease? The answer to that is complex. While it would feel nice, we would never learn what to avoid, and we would not have gratitude for the natural feeling of just being. Trauma occurs when something disrupts our status quo. Our bodies adapt to whatever has changed to protect us from harm. We don’t like this change because it puts us on high alert, and we want to go back to homeostasis as soon as possible. If the trauma is severe or persistant, this new way of feeling may last a long time, or even be permanent. It is then that we will have to redefine what “normal” or h...
Read more
-
Image
 Am I Well? How do we know if we are well? Being well is different for each of us, but there are certain quality of life factors that we can use as indicators. Wellbeing can be defined in economic terms; where wealth creates things like safety and peace of mind. And, it can be decided by having freedom to choose how we spend our time. Some aspects of wellbeing are external, like the environment, and some are internal, like how we feel about something. First, lets talk about economic wellbeing and the relationship between money and happiness. This is subjective. The World Health Organization describes economic quality of life as “an individual’s perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations standards and concerns.” Positions can be your job, housing, education, work-life balance, and access to services and healthcare. If any of these are missing or inadequate, it may be outside our...
Read more
-
Image
 Should I Float? Let's talk about float therapy, or sensory deprivation therapy, using a float tank. First off, why would anyone want to deprive themselves of all the senses? The theory is to allow the mind and body to reset from excess stimuli met in our everyday lives. For people who are overwhelmed, this therapy is planned time with no distractions. Thinking about it, the two daily activities we have with little to no stimuli are sleeping and taking a shower. Everything else is sensory heavy. Float tank sessions last thirty minutes to an hour. If you’re not familiar with floating, the tank is a large pod filled with enough Epsom saltwater to cause your body to float effortlessly. The water temperature is the same as body temperature and simulates a feeling of continuum with the water and your body. Not having to hold your bodyweight, in addition to the absence of sound and light, makes floating an ideal environment for sensory and activity deprivation. The tank has user options...
Read more