Written by: Flora Bami, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Meditation originates from Hinduism and Buddhism and has grown in popularity worldwide in the last decades as we begin to wake up to the many benefits that have to offer. Meditation is the art of observing your thoughts and feelings without judging them.
“Meditation is choosing not to engage in the drama of the mind but elevating the mind to its highest potential.” – Amit Ray
I started meditating with Headspace in 2015 out of curiosity without even being aware of the benefits that a meditation practice can offer. Over the years, I tried different guided meditations (Calm, Headspace, Rising Higher Meditation) until 2021 when I started my PCC (Professional Coaching Course). One of the daily mandatory practices was a 30-45 min sitting practice, without any guidance, or music – simply sitting on my own, with my thoughts, body, and emotions – me and silence. Since then, my meditation practice has evolved a lot and became a basic need that I need to meet daily – it's like drinking water.
Simply put, meditation changed my life — and it could change yours too. It helped me connect with myself and realize what I really want out of life and that life is short and there’s no time like the present to chase your dreams. It reminded me to slow down and breathe. And it reminded me that taking stock of my life as it is now, is the best way to take massive action on my dreams moving forward. It also helped me to take distance from unpleasant emotions and allow them to come and go without getting attached to them. But the biggest life-changing benefit I am experiencing is that during my meditation practice, I am creating my life and getting spiritual guidance – only in a state of silence and peace we can create a life we deserve and love and connect with our higher self, soul, and the Divine.
Meditation, any kind, is one of the practices that I am inviting all my clients to embed in their life. The good thing is that you can’t fail at meditation and that anyone can do it. You don’t need to do it well, but like any other thing, it’s a skill that you build over time. The problem is that many of us want to see immediate benefits when doing something. We set a habit of going to the gym but quit after weeks of not seeing results or start to write a book and quit after we get frustrated. If you focus on the benefits that meditation can give you instead of focusing on the process of meditation itself, then you’re doomed to failure.
Benefits of meditation
Meditation has been proven to be helpful to our mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual wellbeing.
1. Inner peace
Peace on the inside, peace on the outside. When tasks and deadlines are moving at a frenetic pace, you can’t always control how peaceful your life is. Thankfully, you can still cultivate peace from within by practicing meditation. “Peace doesn't mean things are not moving,” Jay Shetty said. “They're just moving at a natural pace. That's where we get peace. If we're not looking at connecting with peaceful things in our lives, how can we expect to experience peace?”. Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace, and balance that can benefit both your emotional well-being and your overall health. Meditation can help you learn to stay centered and keep inner peace.
2. Recharge and Reduce stress
By incorporating even a simple 5-minute meditation in your day, we can begin to calm the amygdala and go from surviving to thriving. Meditation is believed to influence the sympathetic nervous system, keeping blood pressure, respiration, and heart rate in check. When poorly controlled, these are the physical parameters that go hand in hand with feelings of stress and anxiety. By stressing less, we get our energy back. You can practice “STOP” throughout your day as a mindful reset when feeling stressed. There can be no doubt that meditation lowers stress. It reduces your heart rate and lowers the production of cortisol which is the hormone responsible for stressful feelings. What you’re doing when you meditate, in whatever form, is stepping out of your day long enough to reorient your mind and body. This allows you to return with renewed perspective, focus, and energy, instead of just being stuck in a cycle of stress. You can also use it to relax and cope with stress by refocusing your attention on something calming. Once the mind is relaxed, you're able to focus, concentrate, increase your attention span, and sleep better.
3. Create the life you want
Meditation brings new clarity to the life you envision for yourself. It clears the clutter or noise each day and allows for your heart’s desire to come to mind. New ideas and more positive feelings come into play from your inner dialogue with the subconscious to a conscious mindset. Your mind also becomes more open, and you will see that the Universe wants to give you what you really desire. Accept and be in the flow. A better choice emerges that empowers you to step into a new reality. By using meditation, you can create anything you want in your life! Dr. Joe Dispenza explains in his books and retreats what happens during meditation and how that process changes our brain, so we are able to create our desired future faster. As Joe Dispenza states, meditation is the easiest way to achieve our goals!
4. Healing
Meditation can activate theta and delta brain waves. These brain waves are associated with heightened states of relaxation, enhanced intuition, and healing. Recent research has shown that meditation has the capacity to heal your brain and pump up your mood. A few minutes of meditation can work like an instant mood changer and help us see where the root cause of your challenge stems from. You will experience the same negative feelings or emotions through different situations over time until the root cause of your mindset barrier is fully released. When fully released from your mindset and body through the steps of awareness, acceptance, and forgiveness, the solution will present itself to fulfill your life’s desire or purpose going forward. Did you know that our emotions have a direct impact on the body? The way we feel inside reflects outside. That is why you might have noticed that the health of some people drastically goes down when they are stressed out or depressed for a long time. Stress is one of the primary reasons for poor health. When we meditate, the mind becomes calm and relaxed. Meditation helps release stress from the mind and body. When the mind is quiet, the emotions are balanced, and the effect shows on the body. We stay healthy and free of diseases. In fact, consistent practice of meditation for a period of time can even help cure certain prolonged health conditions.
Meditation can transform the mind; mind can transform the body
5. Self-awareness
One positive side effect of practicing meditation is that we begin to see ourselves more clearly through the process. By quieting the noise and witnessing our thoughts without judgment or inner commentary, we can become more intimate with ourselves, our needs, our desires, and our limitations. Self-awareness is about more than just paying attention to emotions and feelings – it’s also about using your discoveries to live more fully in the present moment. With self-awareness, you have a better sense of which situations and emotions leave you feeling drained or anxious, and which ones give you a sense of purpose and joy. Meditation naturally gives the mind space to discover itself: this is true self-awareness and shows you clearly that not every emotion or thought is worth reacting to. It helps you prioritize and use your energy and time wisely and efficiently.
“You have a treasure within you that is infinitely greater than anything the world can offer” – Eckhart Tolle
And this is your meditation practice, sitting, taking care, and discovering yourself. Meditation works best when it is performed regularly so try to find a regular time when you can meditate, even 5 min is enough to start with.
And... the more you meditate, the more you experience the benefits.
Enjoy the journey.
Flora Bami, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Flora Bami is an optimist, an experienced and passionate integral coach, with expertise in life, mindset, relationships, and wellbeing coaching. Her main focus is on making your relationship with yourself healthier and reframing your inner voice based on self-love, acceptance, and compassion.
Her mission in life is to support people in their life journey to reach their potential and feel better and happier through individual coaching and setting up wellbeing programs in big organizations.
Better people, better world!
Happier people, happier world!
After going through a deep transformation herself and turning trauma into a gift, she dedicated her life to supporting people reconnecting with their true selves.
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