Mental health
06/30/2023

Thinking About Meditation? Here’s How to Work It Into Your Routine

Calm barefoot middle aged female sitting on carpet in half lotus posture, making mudra gesture and closing eyes, having peaceful facial expression, doing mindful meditation, concentrating on breathing

We all feel stressed from time to time. One effective way to deal with it according to Mayo Clinic1 is to meditate. It can help you find a sense of calm, bring you peace of mind and boost your overall wellbeing per Mayo Clinic2. That can sound mighty good if you’ve been dealing with a particularly stressful time in your life.

Meditation (and its close cousin mindfulness) has few risks per the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)3. In fact, there may be significant health benefits reports the NCCIH4. In addition to helping people manage stress, recent studies suggest mediation and mindfulness may be useful for treating anxiety, depression, and even symptoms associated with nicotine, alcohol or opioids says the NCCIH5.

Types Of Meditation

There are several types of meditation you may want to try according to Everyday Health6. These include:

  • Mindfulness - the process of being fully present with your mind and thoughts per Everyday Health7
  • Concentration - when you focus on a single item to help you be more focused, and make your mind calm
  • Guided - using mental pictures of relaxing situations like a garden or singing birds chirping reports Everyday Health8 to calm yourself
  • Compassion - the practice of directing positive wishes to others and wishing yourself to be more at ease

Everyday Health9 mentions other forms of mediation as well but, in general, the goal is the same: to calm your mind and spirit.

Relief From Symptoms Of Medical Conditions

In addition to mental health, mediation may be helpful if you suffer from certain medical conditions states Mayo Clinic10. Research shows meditation might be beneficial for patients dealing with symptoms from these conditions reports Mayo Clinic11:

  • Asthma
  • High blood pressure
  • Irritable bowel syndrome
  • Sleeplessness
  • Tension headaches
  • Cancer
  • Heart disease

It’s important to note, as Mayo Clinic12 does, that meditation doesn’t replace medical treatment, but it can serve as a useful addition to other treatments in some instances. As always, be sure to talk to your health care provider about what’s right for you states Mayo Clinic13.

Tips To Get Started

If meditation sounds like something you’d like to try, here’s a surprisingly easy exercise from Everyday Health14 that uses Concentration Meditation. To start, find someplace quiet where you can sit cross-legged or lay down. Next, close your eyes and pay attention to your breathing.

Think about each inhale and exhale says Everyday Health15. Watch how your abdomen rises and falls with your breathing. Focus on one aspect of your breathing, maybe your chest or the air flowing in and out of your nose, suggests Everyday Health16. Try to keep focused and, if you catch your mind wandering, refocus says Everyday Health17. Do this for five full minutes.

People have used meditation for thousands of years per the NCCIH18. If you’re feeling a little stressed, anxious or depressed, you may want to consider adding meditation into your daily routine.

 

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Sources:

  1. “Meditation: A simple, fast way to reduce stress” Mayo Clinic, Last accessed April 20, 2023, https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/meditation/in-depth/meditation/art-20045858
  2. “Meditation: A simple, fast way to reduce stress”
  3. “Meditation and Mindfulness: What You Need To Know” National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, Last accessed April 20, 2023, https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation-and-mindfulness-what-you-need-to-know
  4. “Meditation and Mindfulness: What You Need To Know”
  5. “Meditation and Mindfulness: What You Need To Know”
  6. “Meditation 101” Everyday Health, Last accessed April 20, 2023, https://www.everydayhealth.com/meditation/
  7. “Meditation 101”
  8. “Meditation 101”
  9. “Meditation 101”
  10. “Meditation: A simple, fast way to reduce stress”
  11. “Meditation: A simple, fast way to reduce stress”
  12. “Meditation: A simple, fast way to reduce stress”
  13. “Meditation: A simple, fast way to reduce stress”
  14. “Meditation 101”
  15. “Meditation 101”
  16. “Meditation 101”
  17. “Meditation 101”
  18. “Meditation and Mindfulness: What You Need To Know”

 

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