With our busy lives, we often forget to slow down and take care of ourselves. Meditation is a great way to start a new day or unwind after a long one. The goal of meditation is to train the mind to reach a natural state of rest, which may seem like a hopelessly esoteric endeavor. The truth is, however, that meditation is a skill and just like any skill, it can be developed by anyone willing to try.
The past two decades have seen extensive scientific interest paid to the benefits of meditation. Research shows that just 10-20 minutes of dedicated practice per day can strengthen your mind and body in amazing ways.
Meditation has ben shown to improve focus, memory, critical thinking, empathy and feelings of well-being, while decreasing occurrences of depression, anxiety, and stress. It actually helps your brain produce gray matter and increase cortical thickness. In other words, meditation makes your brain bigger.
Furthermore, meditating regularly has been shown to decrease pain, inflammation, and blood pressure, while increasing immune function, and regulating the sleep/wake cycle.
There are many different schools of meditation, and each person on earth will have a different approach because it’s such a personal experience. In the next post, we will explore a very serviceable method that will lend some structure, and demystify the process.
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