Discover the Psychological Benefits of Meditation

Originally posted on YogaToday.com.

Let’s talk about the many psychological benefits of meditation that might spur you to start a simple meditation practice.

Does the thought of sitting still in meditation have you running for the hills?

Not to worry. Like yoga, meditation is a practice. Some folks gravitate easily towards sitting still, and some do not. Either way, “stuff” will come up as you start to meditate. But that’s the point! The tendency is to want to stop, get up, and run away when negative thoughts arise. Meditation allows us to let all thoughts rise up fully so that we can release them without attachment.

Newer to meditation? First drop into this kundalini flow class, Balancing Rajas, with Sarah Kline. Sarah explains how our yoga and meditation practices can move us to a more balanced state. For those of us who would rather escape than sit still in meditation, moving and breathing through a physical practice first allows us to burn off “stuck” energy in our minds and bodies.

The Power of Thought

As human beings, we all have a natural negativity-bias meaning most people lean slightly toward negative thinking. At its core, this is just an embedded survival mechanism to keep us out of danger. Some experts estimate that the average individual has 50,000 – 70,000 thoughts per day. Meditation can give us the freedom to choose which thoughts we give our attention to.

However, the psychological benefits of meditation aren’t solely about focusing on the positive. The benefits come with acknowledging and addressing all of our thoughts. It is imperative that we equally embrace negative thought patterns to gain a better understanding of them. Then, and only then, do we have the chance to shift them to become growth-oriented and uplifting. This practice can mean major breakthroughs for both our minds and bodies.

Modern society urges us to suppress the negative, while simultaneously focusing (often too much) on the positive. This has proven to create imbalance with a massive ripple effect toward our family, friends, co-workers, and teams. It also creates a self-environment of being too hard on oneself for not meeting and exceeding expectations beckoned by today’s world.

Marketing, advertising, social media, our upbringings, and even our most intimate relationships can create this unconscious drive to be perfect. Endlessly striving to be the most successful, adaptable, supportive and strong person possible only creates severe imbalance. Health and wellness practitioners see these manifestations expressed psychologically and/or physically in clients every day.

These unrealistic expectations keep people from dropping into vulnerability and sharing their truths. Vulnerability drives connection with ourselves and with others. Sitting still in meditation benefits us in that we give ourselves the opportunity to create awareness around all of our truths. We then learn where our thoughts come from and why. This awareness, with continual attention and practice, eventually allows for massive shift. Our thoughts become more positive. Our beliefs are improved. Then our actions and expressions become much more constructive, creating a positive ripple effect into the world. 

Want to meditate but not sure where to start? Check out this complete guide on YogaToday!

The Benefits of Meditation Can Extend to Our Physical Bodies, Too.

Let’s start with a very common issue psychological issue: stress.

We’ve all experienced stress. There is no way of getting around it, physically, mentally or emotionally. Unless we have the luxury of moving to a far-away land, removed from society, meditating with the masters for the rest of our lives.

When we experience stress, the brain interprets the event as positive or negative. If negative, the brain sends a message to the body to respond.

Body responses to a negative message include:

• releasing stress hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine

• increased heart rate

• increased blood pressure

• muscle tension

• extraction of vital energy out of the organs to prepare for “fight-or-flight”.

Living in a state of chronic stress, our bodies are never given the opportunity to recover. The parasympathetic nervous system is unable to reset itself. This can go on for years, resulting in weight gain, heart disease, adrenal fatigue, and so on.

Meditation can begin to break down our stress-inducing thoughts and patterns, allowing our parasympathetic nervous system to reset and our body’s stress responses to finally let go.

Ready to medi? Adi Amar guides you through a ten-minute meditation to Neutralize Negative Patterns, changing negative thoughts to more positive thoughts.

More Surprising Benefits of Meditation

Meditation truly bolsters our minds, bodies and their incredible connection to one another.

1. It offers the opportunity to better understand our thoughts and shift them to the positive.

2. We give ourselves the gift of a precious time-out from this fast-paced world to go within and create exactly what we desire.

3. We reduce inflammatory stress in a constructive manner. We feel better physically which always translates to feeling better mentally and emotionally – and vice versa.

4. Meditators are regenerating on a cellular level resulting in youth, vitality, and optimal wellness. Studies have shown increasing support of meditation as a way to decrease the chances of heart disease as well as benefit those living with cancer.

5. Research offers that practiced meditators may have an increase in tissue in the areas of the brain that involve impulse control and attention.

6. Research also presents that those who meditate may just become a little bit more kind.

These are the precious muscles we are strengthening with meditation. We learn to pay attention to ourselves which in turn cultivates awareness. This new-found self-awareness aids us in the ability to listen, pay attention, step out of our own shoes and into another’s, growing a more conscious awareness of our entire collective.

Beautifully, the result of meditation is the ability to respond, rather than react, to life’s happenings from an authentic, grounded, heartfelt place. What’s not to love?

Want to meditate but not sure where to start? Check out this complete guide on YogaToday!

How Yoga and Meditation Can Help Cope with COVID-19

Originally published on TrustedNutrition.com

Are anxiety and stress creeping in?

Considering COVID-19, no one is escaping the underlying anxiety that is part of today’s “new normal”. Yoga and meditation are now more available than ever to help us cope.

Globally united by the coronavirus, we are being asked to sit still.

We’re being asked to be more present with ourselves and our loved ones. Both of these realities can be immensely challenging. Most of us are accustomed to non-stop action, consciously or unconsciously avoiding what is within us and sitting right beside us. Here lies our opportunity to embrace the present moment. Yoga and meditation offer the tools and techniques we need.

Yoga and meditation offer an abundance of opportunity to cultivate these skill sets to better cope with modern life. The physical yoga practice prepares our bodies to sit still in meditation. The ability to sit with oneself, and observe our thoughts, feelings and reactions is priceless. We learn to create a space between what crosses our mind and how we react. In time, we cultivate healthy neutralized responses rather than knee-jerk reactions.

What to Know Today:

1.     Creating a learning environment at home is an epic and equally challenging place to start. Now more than ever, yoga classes are readily available online for everyone. Classes for kids, prenatal offerings, mental health focused classes, and even “chair yoga” for office workers, the physically challenged and elderly, are all easily sourced. Remember, it may take time and patience to find what works for each of us.

2.     Keep in mind that yoga and meditation are both practices. Throw perfection out of the window. This is not a place for competition. There is no need to be hard on ourselves. We are human and simply must start where we are. Know that what comes up during these practices is 100% okay and may be exactly what we need to address. If anything at all becomes “too much”, back off during this strenuous time we are all now experiencing.

Within these practices, it’s normal to feel intense waves of anger or helplessness. This current pandemic is a prime example where such emotions may arise. These modalities are not about suppressing or ignoring rightful emotions and feelings. 

With healthy boundaries in place, we have every right to feel and express what is ok and not ok for us individually. Yoga and meditation are paths to creating awareness around whether our thoughts, feelings and emotions are valid. We then learn to work with our minds and allow these waves to roll by so that we can better respond during times of increased stress and anxiety.

Try this free meditation today to relax and destress.

The Mind-Body Connection

Now backed by science, our minds and bodies are proving to be inextricably linked. At times, what we are experiencing emotionally can manifest in our physical bodies. Today’s stress and anxiety can lend to our immune systems potentially functioning less than optimally. Given a healthy immune system is now more important than ever, yoga and meditation are top tactics we can employ to boost our immunity now and year-round.

The Anxiety and Depression Association of America has addressed managing anxiety and isolation during the quarantine. For anyone with a history of trauma, be sure to seek out “trauma-informed” yoga classes for extra support. 

Many people dedicated to holistic health have also offered pro-bono services during this time.

Why? Because we all deserve the opportunity to live stress-free.

After all, stress is the #1 source of doctor visits today. Certainly, circumstances arise when we should be supported. However, we must also take responsibility in supporting ourselves. 

The coronavirus pandemic has presented a time to dig deep and discover our holistic health individually. Yoga and meditation support our cultivation of self-awareness. This leads to increased conscious awareness of how we all affect one another.

If you enjoyed the free meditation, find more Mind-Body Training HERE with code “JONI30” for additional support during this time. 

Let’s come together and better support ourselves so that we can better support one another in training for this “new normal” as well as life moving forward.