Motivation Mondays – Meditation

 For those of you who don’t know already, meditation has many benefits. Studies show that meditation can basically help by resetting  the nervous system. Did you know that people with Fibromyalgia and Psoriasis have been using meditation as a form of treatment and it has shown significant improvements? It can help get rid of bad habits by rearranging your thoughts and promoting positivity with a conscious effort. The goal is to let go of physical and emotional tensions. My husband has tried several times over the last two years to get me to start meditating. My passion to pursue meditating comes from wanting to reduce stress and lower my anxiety. I have also seen improvement in my sleep and patience. Most importantly, my spirituality has grown and I have become more grateful of my life. The more traditional method, Transcendental Meditation, uses a mantra (word or phrase) to calm internal thoughts with rhythmic sounds. If you are a beginner to meditation then TM would probably be best to try first. Positive thinking, noise-free environment, and an open mind is really all you need to start meditating.If difficulties arise early on, try to focus on your breathing instead of a phrase or Mantra. Take a deep breaths to help you concentrate. If it helps, you can focus your body parts. Start at your head and relax it. Go through each major body part and continue down to your toes. This will help calm your entire body and create balance. Lately, I have been very aware and conscious of my posture so I like to also take this time to strengthen my back and core when inhaling and exhaling. Surprisingly, even if thoughts are running in my head non-stop, I can still focus on my breath and get back to my “safe spot” and/or happy place.

I have learned through trial and error that it’s ok to have thoughts while you meditate. In fact it’s quite difficult to stop all of your thoughts or clear your head completely. Self-direction comes from clearing your mind and becoming focused. Sometimes an image or thought interrupts you.Patience is key. There is no exact science to meditation and there are many different ways to try.

Make time, be consistent and complete each session. Whether you schedule 5, 10 or 20 min, don’t give up!