There are many buzz words about matters that affect your physical and mental health. Amongst such trendy words is meditation. But what is meditation? What are its benefits?And how to perform meditation?
What is meditation?
Just because it has become fashionable now does not mean the practice is new. Meditation is a centuries old tradition, which is also linked to many religious practices as well. However, it is only recently that its benefits for mental health have made people more curious about it.
Essentially, meditation is a practice that is intended to increase your awareness of your own self. It involves focusing your attention to your mind and body, and in this process, it also paves way for your mental wellbeing, as a Psychiatristwill also tell you.
An important element of meditation is its impact on the structure of the brain. Regular mediation has been shown to reduce the parts of the brain that cause anxiety and fear, alongside increasing the volume of the areas that are concerned with emotional regulation.
What are the benefits of meditation?
Self-awareness
The noise of the world can be deafening, and you can lose the site of yourself. What you want, what sort of person you are, what your desires are, you are not entirely sure of it yourself. When you mediate and gather your mind and thoughts, you can have better awareness of the sort of person you are.
Good for mental health
Meditation can help with improving the symptoms of certain mental health issues. It can aid managing stress better. Furthermore, meditation is also helpful for those suffering from anxiety.
Good for physical health
Impaired mental health has implications for your physical health as well. Alongside causing problems like hypertension, heart disease, sexual dysfunction, it can also lead to lowered immunity. When you are catering to your mental wellbeing, your physical health also improves as well.
How does one meditate?
Meditation can be slightly abstract and intuitive, so some people might be confused as to how to perform the act. The core idea is to focus on one aspect and tuning the rest of it out. There are different techniques that help in this endeavor. Some to try include:
Breathing meditation
Your breathing and stress are closely tied; when you are feeling anxious or stressed, your heart starts to race because it falsely perceives itself to be in danger.
So, moderating breathing can be of help. To perform this type of meditation, you can practice deep breathing. As you do this, try also to focus on your breath, notice how it moves through your body. Marvel at the process and quiet down the noise in your mind.
Mantra meditation
With mantra meditation, you must first come up with affirmation or mantra that you’d like to repeat to yourself. These could be words to bolster your self-esteem, or ways to reduce your stress.
Then, carve out time; it could be sitting in a quiet spot or walking etc. And repeat the mantra for some time.
Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness is focusing on the present moment and observing your thoughts without any reaction or judgement. It requires you to focus on one thing; it could be your breathing, the environment, etc.
Alongside heightening your self-awareness, mindfulness also helps you to enter into a safe space where your past and future are not haunting you, but you are becoming focused on the now.
You can perform mindfulness meditation anywhere; just find yourself a comfortable spot and sit with yourself and your feelings.
Walking meditation
If you find it hard to be still, you can take up waking meditation. It involves picking a nice walking spot and emptying your mind. You can also put on a meditation track or practice a mantra during the walk.
Getting help
Even though meditation has great benefits for your mental health, however, some cases might require the assistance of an expert, like the Psychiatrist in Rawalpindi. Hence, do not hesitate to get professional help.
