Meditation is good. Actually great!
Here are 76 scientifically proven benefits that you may not be aware of; not to mention the ones that you feel when you close your eyes right now and suddenly feel blissful and relaxed!
It does not stop at the cushion or yoga mat in the morning or evenings!
Think of meditation and many people think yoga mats and cushions and a lotus position. What picture does meditation evoke when you meet it the first time? Leave your comments below.
Good news is; there’s more to it than simply sitting down and closing the eyes! The satisfaction and presence found within a lotus position can be created anytime and anywhere. As Jon Kabat Zin proposes, wherever you go, there you are! But how can we make it a routine? Routine projects a kind of boredom and since that’s far from our definition of routine, we shall call it a way of life!
How do I make mindfulness, meditation my way of life?
Go
od question! Oftentimes, we may get lost in the big words. Trying to comprehend mindfulness and all that meditation is and isn’t. Two things stand out in meditation, the presence that comes with being in the NOW and the choices that emerge from what is happening NOW! The presence, we can call that awareness! The choices, we can call it intention or what I choose to focus on NOW! Simple, right?
Now, we are asking ourselves, how do I become present to what I choose to focus on NOW?
What we all need to understand is that everything good and bad that we aspire to acquire calls for time, attention and energy! And when I say everything, I mean everything! Unless you have a counter opinion, which I would really love to hear in the comment box below…
You claim not to have time?
Do you get distracted? To your phone, Social Media or a chitchat with a friend? For that, you have time, why? Because you have allowed it to happen. How can we also allow an intentional distraction to bring attention to the present? Here are simple ways to do it:
- Set a reminder on your phone or a mindfulness meditation APP to secure 3-5 minutes breaks to reconnect to the present.
a) How about every 60 minutes?
b) … or based on your concentration span at work, you can set every 20-30 minutes to remember to come back to the present
Whatever works for you is what you choose. You can pick a time-frame and adjust every week or month as you deem fit. A soft tune reminder will do.
2. Ding Dong! Wow! Time travels so fast! I can’t imagine 1 hour is gone!
You set the reminder and… Phew! Now what?
You have a lot of options to choose from based on what you find most appealing, and interestingly, what you connect with. Here are some of them:
a) Paying attention to my body and breath at this moment.
b) Spend some time observing the content of my thoughts and feelings at that moment (What am I thinking right now, How do I feel at this moment? What am I creating at this moment)?
c) Use a meditation object:
i) A personal mantra such as “clear and bright”, love and light” or any other you choose.
ii) A visual object such as the sun, moon or a flower…
d) Reaffirm my intention or a specific quality I am cultivating using the “I am”. An example could be “I am kind, I am Love” I can smile and relax more, acknowledge in gratitude support systems around me among others.
e) Always finish with a smile of gratitude and get back to what needs to be done, with more presence and intention!
Simple as it may seem, nothing will happen unless you take your trigger seriously! You cannot “snooze” the APP or alarm. If you are lacking motivation, or inspiration, which is very important by the way, why not inspire these qualities during your 5 minutes moment of silence? You can reaffirm your motivation too!
In summary, life is complete in itself. The benefits that one gets with bringing more presence and intention to their life are evident at experiential level. No book, blog or article you read will explain it to you any better than you feel it when you try for yourself! But to try, we got to step out of our comfort zones and dare try it NOW! And in case, you lack an inspiration, that too, can form a part of your moments of mindfulness.
