It is almost impossible to run from diabetes and obesity if you have a family history like mine. My whole paternal family is stricken with hypertension, obesity, and diabetes, and I have been warned, I can be the next person to get in this list. Thus, it is more vital for me to take care of my health because I am too vulnerable to these health problems, and after trying many options, I realized that meditation was my best option.
HOW DOES MEDITATION HELP?
Meditation has a long history, and it dates back to 5,000 to 3,500 BC in the Indian subcontinent. Throughout the ages, people have adopted one or the other forms of meditation to find inner peace and mindfulness that make them calm and control their bodies. Meditation has no right or wrong way of doing it, but it is essential to understand your body requirements and find a practice that complements those needs. Some of the health benefits of meditating are summed up below,
- Helps in retaining memory
- Builds self-awareness
- Helps in better focus
- Reduces stress, depression, and anxiety
- Helps in controlling pain
- Promotes emotional health
- Can help fight addictions
- Improve sleep
- Control blood pressure
MEDITATION FOR A HEALTHY MIND
“In the same way that rain breaks into a house with a bad roof, desire breaks into the mind that has not been practising meditation.” Buddha
Fitness is not just about being physically fit; mental fitness is equally important to live a healthy life. When you sit to meditate, your mind might wander and all the worries, self-doubts, old memories might come flashing right in front of your eyes. Through meditation, you take control of the vehicle of your mind and steer away to a more peaceful place. Buddha promised that through meditation, you could elevate from all the expressions of your self-criticism, self-doubts, and build a positive image of yourself and eliminate all the sufferings caused by the untamed mind.
MEDITATION FOR A HEALTHY BODY
Stress, hypertension, anxiety, and depression have drastically increased because of lifestyle choices and hectic working conditions. People are often juggling between their office work and their house chores, leaving them no or little time to take care of their health.
For these people, meditation can be the life saviour because they can meditate while sitting in their office chairs or travelling or any free time between their tasks. With meditation, one can control their negative thoughts and stress, which can further calm the body and reduce the chances of hypertension and depression.
MEDITATION FOR A HEALTHY HEART
Our heart is the body’s soul, and for maintaining a healthy heart, one needs to control certain factors such as stress and hypertension that can put a lot of pressure on our heart’s pumping mechanism and impact its functioning. Regular meditation can support your heart and its functioning in several ways – from helping you cope with stressful situations to maintain your blood pressure. Meditation can help you to control the factors that discourage the healthy functioning of your body. With meditation, you can elevate yourself from all the bodily pain and find your inner self.
HOW TO MEDITATE?
There is no single way to meditate – people find peace and comfort in different meditation practices. We are not all built the same, both physically and mentally and require different styles such as spiritual meditation, mindfulness meditation, and focused meditation.
A GUIDE TO SIMPLE MEDITATION ROUTINE
Beginners can follow a simple routine that can be performed at any place, such as;
- Sit comfortable and shut your eyes.
- Breathe slowly and feel the air coming in and out of your lungs.
- Relax your muscles and loosen up your body.
- Adjust your legs and arms to a comfortable position.
- Shrug your shoulders and roll your neck from left to right and right to left. Further, move your neck front and back slowly and feel the movement.
- Take deep breaths and feel your diaphragm expanding and lungs filling in and then exhale slowly.
- Try to control your thoughts by focussing on one point and avoiding any deep thoughts, like a cleanse.
- If your thoughts wander and you feel distracted, go back and start again
- Do this for 5-10 minutes.
- Feel the change in yourself.
Meditation is an excellent approach to a healthy lifestyle, especially for the working class.
It can be done at any place, doesn’t require any equipment and heavy gear, and is inexpensive and a very accessible method.
“The purpose of meditation is personal transformation.” – Henepola Gunaratana
