Do you feel like your thoughts are out of control? Wish you could stop the swirling chaos going on inside your head?
Meditation is so much more than a passing trend. It really does work. The best part is there’s no minimum requirement. So, let’s start with 5 minutes.
The Origin of Meditation
Meditation is an ancient spiritual practice. Depending on what type you’re referring to, it could have any number of origins. For our purposes, let’s focus on Zen meditation.
Zen meditation has Buddhist origins. Buddhism itself first appeared around 2,600 years ago in Southeast Asia. The form of Zen meditation appeared sometime in the 7th century.
The key characteristic of Zen meditation is that you can do it while seated. Some different ways to practice it are observing your breath, sitting quietly and letting thoughts drift through your mind without judgment, and sitting silently in a group.
How Meditation is Used Today
You hear that meditation is fantastic and easy. There are endless ways to practice: apps, Youtube videos, even local classes. It has the feeling of a temporary craze that’s taken over. But it’s much more than that.
Meditation started making its way to the U.S. and other western countries in the 19th century. However, it wasn’t until the mid-20th century that it really took hold. Dr. Herbert Benson and John Kabat-Zinn were leaders in the field of meditation studies at that time.
Benson and Kabat-Zinn used scientific studies to show the health benefits of meditation. Around the same time, several celebrities started practicing and praising meditation in the media. This gave it even more popularity.
People started looking for gurus to follow. Books on the topic published by authors such as Deepak Chopra were wildly successful.
Meditation is just as popular as ever with several authors and experts on the subject.
Health Benefits of Meditating
There are so many benefits you will experience from meditation. Let’s look at a few of the biggest ones.
1. Stress Relief
The time we live in is busier than ever before. People are constantly connected, always responding to an email or text message. Off buttons are hardly ever used. This is difficult to maintain and leads to burnout. Meditation can fix that.
There have been many studies that illustrate how effective meditation can be for stress relief. Here are a few: here, here and here. Meditation has even been shown to reduce inflammation caused by stress.
2. Better Sleep
Wouldn’t you like to sleep deeper? Fall asleep easier? In one study, 100% of insomniacs reported improved sleep after starting a meditation practice.
3. Increases Your Focus and Attention
Some studies suggest that meditation can, in fact, increase your attention and focus.
4. Decreases Depression and Anxiety
There has been a scientific link between meditation and lowered anxiety and depression. This can take the form of fewer panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, paranoid thoughts, etc.
5. Decreases Pain
One study showed that patients with chronic pain lowered their doctor visits by 36%.
Start Meditating Today
I’m sure after all those statistics and facts you’re ready to get started meditation. If you still feel unsure, let me share with you my personal experience.
I started meditating 3 ½ years ago. Friends recommended it and after a long bout of procrastination, I decided to finally give it a try. 5 minutes was the amount of time I set my alarm for.
The first day, I didn’t really notice anything. My thoughts were wild and loud. It was hard to hear over them and focus on being mindful. So, I tried again the next day. And the next day.
Eventually, the thoughts quieted down. I increased my time little by little. A couple of months later, I was up to 8 minutes a day.
Now, my meditation practice looks a lot different from what it was then. Usually, I sit on my yoga mat after a little stretching and just breathe. I’ll meditate for as long as my schedule will allow, and it makes a world of difference.
Take today for example. I didn’t meditate this morning. I slept in. All morning everything seemed to go wrong. Plans were canceled last minute, our dog peed inside, my son wouldn’t take his nap. I was in a pretty negative mindset.
After I dropped my son off at his grandpa’s, I decided it was time to meditate. I did a few stretches and sat outside on my mat. Immediately I felt my heart rate slow and the headache I’d been nursing all morning started to disappear.
Just a few minutes of silence made a world of difference to my day. My mindset is clear of those negative thoughts and everything doesn’t seem so awful anymore.
Get Started
You don’t need a lot to start meditating. Simply find a quiet place, or you can put in some headphones and play calming nature sounds. Sit down, set a timer on your phone for 5 minutes and close your eyes. You can focus on your breathing, even use a mantra or count your breaths. You can listen to your thoughts, just don’t engage with them.
If you’re easily distracted, like me, try meditating on one image or thought. Think of a time in the past when you were completely happy and breathe in and out while focusing on it. Or think of something you’d like to happen in your life and do the same with that image. This is how I started meditating and I still check in sometimes with these “happy places” if I’m having a particularly hard time quieting my thoughts.
There are any number of ways to meditate and no one is best. Just choose to take 5 minutes for yourself to sit quietly and get started today.
I highly recommend doing your meditation practice as soon after you wake up as possible. It has helped me keep a positive outlook throughout my day for years.
Keep Going
It’s easy to fall out of good habits. Don’t let that happen to you. Set aside those 5 minutes, or more if you’re feeling ambitious, and commit to them. Post a sign on your door saying “please don’t disturb” if you have to. Talk to the people around you and let them know what you’re doing and that you aren’t to be bothered during that time.
Even if you feel crappy. Even if everything seems terrible. Even if you don’t think it will help. Just do it.
Final Words
Meditating is popular for a reason. It really works to help gain control of negative thoughts and bring awareness to your day. There are many health benefits to be gained from meditation from better sleep to stress relief. With all you stand to profit from 5 minutes of sitting quietly, what are you waiting for?
