What is meditation?
Meditation is a way to train your mind to gain more awareness and a better understanding of the state of your being - thoughts, body, emotions, etc. Meditation modalities could include breathing exercises, intense focus on an object or sound, a pattern of movements or repeating a mantra.
Originating in India, followers of Vedantism – a Hindu philosophy – meditated to gain enlightenment and connect with themselves and others. Centuries later, other forms of meditation developed across China and South Asia, each with its own variation on the practice
Why meditate?
People come to meditation for any number of reasons, including to gain clarity, to reflect on their state of mind or to relax and decompress from distractions. For some, meditation offers a chance to understand their emotions better or to take a step back and check in with body and mind. For others, it’s an opportunity to breathe deeply and reflect on the things in life that they’re grateful for.
Fans of meditation are sure to rattle off a variety of different reasons why this ancient practice enthralls them. And, unlike some wellness trends, meditation comes with credible scientific backing.
Meditation benefits
Meditation can:
Ease anxiety
Increase feeling of wellbeing
Alleviate insomnia and promote better sleep
Improve memory
Help relieve symptoms of depression
Aid in pain or disease management
Mindfulness meditation
Perhaps one of the most commonly practiced styles of meditation in the West is mindfulness meditation. This technique has due to its contemplative, silent and accessible nature, so you can practice it pretty much anywhere -- whether on the train to work or while sitting in a park. You can practice mindfulness any and every day by directing your attention to the present moment; you could be listening to music, going out for a walk or brushing your teeth -- try not to get lost in thoughts and focus solely at the task at hand.
The idea behind mindfulness is to try to concentrate on whatever it is you’re doing rather than being swept up in worries about the future or ruminate on the past. Ever been so lost in thought that you didn’t even realize what was happening around you? Maybe you drifted off at work, only snapping back to reality after a coworker approached you with a question, or perhaps you’ve driven home on autopilot, not even noticing the journey until you arrived. In cases like these, your body was functioning just fine, but you just weren’t mindful.
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