Life is a struggle.
Modern tech pushes our minds to the brim with so much to keep us running – cell phones, friends, shopping, bills, work, personal projects, o-m-g it goes on and on. Even when I’m sleeping, I’ll jolt awake at 3AM to write down an idea I had during a dream.
When I felt like I hit my breaking point this time last year, I found an article on mindful meditation. My first thought was, “I already know what that is, it’s baby stuff I can clear my mind this won’t help.” And I put the article away. I’m stubborn haha. It wasn’t until I joined a yoga group that I felt the impact that five minutes of meditation has on your mind. So…
What is meditation?
Meditation is focused thought on the present and deep breathing. It starts the processes of refreshing your mind so that it’ll reload faster. It does for your brain what emptying your livingroom before cleaning it does. It makes more sense to empty the room first or you won’t eliminate all the clutter. Same goes for your mind. You have to focus and put your thoughts away.
The benefits of meditation are supported by modern research.
In a recent study by the University of Siena and Harvard Medical School, scientists sought to gain empirical evidence that meditation improves brain function. The experiment went a little like this:
48 participants were divided into two groups- one that practiced meditation through training for 8 weeks and one that didn’t.
All of the participants took some tests and MRI exams before and after the training. These tests measured for anxiety, depression, mindfulness, excessive worrying, and emotional connectedness. The MRI tests also measured brain mass in different areas of the brain.
The results showed that decreased levels of worrying, anxiety and depression in the group who practiced mediation. Participants reported feeling happier and more relaxed. The MRI results also showed increased densities of gray matter in the brains of the meditative participants. The control group, who did no training, showed no differences before and after the 8-weeks. While we’re not 100% sure what to make of this, I believe meditation is a wonderful practice to pick up to improve your life.
This study only covered 8-weeks; imagine the goodness a lifetime could do…
Our minds can become our own biggest cages. Life shucks stuff in our path and if you don’t have a strong support group, you’ll fall down and have trouble getting back up. It’s true that the way you handle stress goes a long way to show how you’ll handle true success.
By approaching life with an open and nonjudgemental attitude, you can handle the bumps with finesse. After I meditate, I feel more energetic and I have the motivation to finish what I set out to do. I don’t feel so limited inside of myself. I’m still working on my social anxiety + the deep-breathing techniques I’ve learned help lessen my attacks. I feel like I can influence my anxiety to make myself less awkward and more relatable ;] If you feel like you have trouble connecting with other people or you feel like it is a struggle to relax, you probably need to meditate because your mind is overloaded. What do you have to lose?
If you’re looking on how to meditate, check out the articles I’ve found helpful:
I hope this helps. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.
xoxo
Passion