Why Meditate?

There are so many wonderful benefits you can enjoy from a regular practice of meditation! What might surprise you is that these benefits are particularly relevant to today’s go-go-go society.

Here Are 10 Reasons Why Meditation Will Make Your Life Better!

1. Relaxation. Too often, we don’t fully relax during the day. In our misguided desire to “do it all” and always achieve more, we neglect relaxation. I’m not talking about taking an hour off to do nothing. Let’s face it – most of us just can’t take that much time and actually relax, because we’d be constantly worried about things that aren’t getting done!

My recommendation? Start small! A 10-15 minute practice is perfect to start with, and you can increase the duration if and when you have more time. You can squeeze that into the busiest schedule by doing it at a time you have the least distractions and urges to “do stuff” – such as just before bedtime.

2. Inner peace. With all of the negativity that the media, Internet and TV throw at us all day, it’s no wonder we’re always fearful and on edge. You can train yourself to be calm and peaceful inside, and not let yourself be as affected by external events and influences.

3. Happiness. Meditation stimulates activity in the brain’s “happiness center” – the left prefrontal cortex. Simultaneously, it relaxes activity in the amygdala, which is the brain’s “stress center”. Most meditators report feeling happier during and after meditation, and they report being happier in general than people who don’t meditate.

4. Better health. This is huge! The body’s parasympathetic nervous system is stimulated during meditation. That’s the body’s “rest and digest” functions, which help the body heal and restore proper organ functioning. Yes, your body does this during sleep, but if you experience sleep disruptions or don’t get enough sleep, meditation will help keep your body functioning at its best.

5. Slower aging. Did you know that meditators look and feel an average of 12 years younger than people the same chronological age who don’t meditate? That means – your biological age is significantly younger than your peers. What a great way to turn back the time!

6. Greater memory retention and recall. When you’re stressed out, overwhelmed and overworked, it’s tough to come up with the answers that are “on the tip of your tongue”. But when you meditate, you train yourself to create a mental stillness and during that stillness, you can easily relax and bring up relevant information from your mental archives.

7. Greater compassion. It’s easy to let people get under your skin when you’re busy and stressed, but you can learn to pause and see things from their point of view, even in the heat of the moment. You can understand that they too are experiencing some struggles in life – perhaps even greater than yours – and you can easily prevent things from bothering you.

8. Mental rehearsal. You can mentally rehearse success in any area. While this can be considered “creative visualization” and not truly meditation, you can use a particular idea as a sort of visual mantra – rehearsing a physical movement over and over again keeps the mind present-focused, engaged and quiet. And, bonus… you pre-learn something that might be causing you some anxiety, including overcoming an obstacle!

9. Emotional self-control. How many times have you exploded in rage only to later regret your behavior? Meditation teaches you to self-regulate and pause in any situation so that you can choose the best response rather than succumbing to an emotional snap reaction.

10. Better sleep. Part of a person’s inability to sleep can be caused by stress. Meditation helps you de-stress, put things into their proper perspective, and it teaches you that no matter how big a problem you think you have, you are clever and resourceful enough to find a way around it – if you just listen to your inner guidance!

When so many sports professionals, celebrities and successful people all around the world are enjoying the wonderful benefits from meditation – when more and more doctors are recommending meditation for an abundance of stress related illnesses… my answer is why not make meditation part of your daily routine?

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!