10 Benefits of Meditation — Why is meditation so powerful?
Meditation is a practice that has been used for thousands of years. We have all heard of the benefits that it brings including cultivating inner peace, clarity, and focus.
So why is meditation so powerful? Because it causes shifts in our awareness and changes the pattern of over-identifying with our thougths and emotions.
As a life coach, helping clients navigate all the various challenges that arise in life, I have seen first hand the difference including meditation can make. It’s one of the quickest ways to get relief from stress, anxiety and overwhelm and has both physical and mental health benefits.
I was so inspired that I created a YouTube channel to help foster the practice.
What I have discovered is that even short spurts or mini-sessions of meditation help. I even created a meditation music channel to help my clients get motivated and make it easy for them to just log on, choose a video and just sit back and relax.
In this article, I’m going to outline some of the core ways a meditation practice can positively impact our lives.
1. Reduces Stress and Anxiety
One of the primary benefits of meditation is its ability to reduce stress and anxiety. Meditation has been shown to lower cortisol levels, which is the hormone associated with stress.
When we meditate, we enter a state of deep relaxation, which can help us to let go of worries and anxieties. With regular practice, we can rewire our brains to be more resilient to stress and to respond to challenging situations in a more calm and centered way.
2. Improves Sleep
Meditation can also improve the quality of our sleep. Insomnia is a common problem for many people, and it can have a significant impact on our physical and mental health. Studies have shown that regular meditation can help to improve sleep quality and duration. Meditation helps to relax the body and quiet the mind, which can help us fall asleep more easily and stay asleep throughout the night.
3. Boosts Immunity
Another benefit of meditation is that it can boost our immune system, which is so helpful, especially during Covid and winter. Meditation can also reduce inflammation in the body, which is linked to a variety of chronic health conditions.
4. Improves Focus and Concentration
Meditation can also improve our focus and concentration. There are many different kinds of meditation, there’s walking meditation, Vipassana style, where we focus on our breath. Transcendental meditation provides a mantra.
There are also many apps that have guided meditations, which are awesome. Whatever form works best for you, it will certainly strengthen your ability to concentrate and focus in other areas of our lives, such as work and in your relationships. Regular meditation has been shown to improve cognitive function and memory, making it so important at any age.
5. Increases Self-Awareness
Another benefit of meditation is that it can increase our self-awareness. Yah!
When we meditate, we learn to observe our thoughts and emotions without judgment. This can help us to become more aware of our habitual patterns of thinking and behavior. We can get to know our “saboteur voice” better and separate out the various messages we hear repeated in our minds.
With increased self-awareness, we can begin to ask who is behind the thoughts we are having and begin to question if they are true or not. From there, we begin to make conscious choices and create essential positive changes in our lives.
6. Helps Regulate Emotions
Along with increased self-awareness, meditation can also promote emotional well-being. Just as we observe our thoughts, as we meditate, we learn to observe our emotions without reacting to them. This can help us to develop greater emotional resilience and stability.
It is truly amazing that with practice and time, meditation has such a profound effect on helping to regulate our emotions and respond to challenging situations with greater calm and clarity.
7. Enhances Creativity
Another amazing benefit… meditation can also enhance our creativity. When we meditate, we enter a state of relaxed awareness, which can help us to access our creative potential.
This may come about because, regular meditation helps clear away mental clutter and distractions, allowing us to tap into our inner wisdom and inspiration.
8. Creates a Mindset of Compassion and Empathy
All the cumulative benefits mentioned above create another wonderful benefit… Increased compassion and empathy. When we meditate, we cultivate a sense of connection with ourselves and with others. This can help us to develop greater empathy and understanding for others, as well as for ourselves. With regular practice, we can learn to approach others with greater kindness and compassion.
9. Cultivates Gratitude
Meditation can also cultivate gratitude. When we meditate, we learn to focus on the present moment and to appreciate what we have in our lives. This can help us to cultivate a sense of gratitude. And adapting an attitude of gratitude will go a long way.
10. Equanimity (aka, being chill)
What is equanimity… it’s a mental state of balance, calmness, and evenness of mind, regardless of the situation or circumstances. It’s the ability to remain grounded and centered, rather than impulsiveness or reactive. Not such an easy task…
Meditation helps foster equanimity or an equanomous mind, the oposite of the “monkey mind”…that noisy head that most of us are really familiar with.
The practice of meditation trains or gives space for the mind to focus on the present moment, rather than dwelling on past regrets or future anxieties. This helps to cultivate a sense of detachment from negative thoughts and emotions, which in turn reduces their impact on our overall mental state.
Keep posted as I’m going to be writing more about the various forms of meditation, but in the meantime, visit my meditation music channel, find a comfortable spot, close your eyes, ideally have your back straight, and focus on the in and out breath. Try it for 2 minutes first, then 5 and then onwards to whatever timeline feels good.
Meditation is one of the ways I offer my clients to assist while we are not in our coaching session. If you are interested in finding out more about my coaching, schedule a free discovery call! I’m passionate about helping people navigate lifes challenges.
And check out Meditation Music Sanctuary, my new YouTube channel for inspiration, relaxing music and some unique visuals that might enhance your meditation journey. Visit www.youtube.com/@meditationmusicsanctuary
Enjoy!