Imagine every single person on this planet sat or lied down to meditate daily…

I mean you can literally meditate while mowing the lawn, cooking dinner or playing golf.

But sitting down on a daily basis alone, taking time to yourself to connect on a deeper level is extremely powerful…

Let me show you some of the many benefits from this beautiful ancient practice.

1. Stress Reduction:

Research shows that mindfulness based therapy (MBT) is an effective treatment for reducing stress, anxiety and depression, this was done on over 209 studies with over 12 thousand participants.

Mindfulness is a form of meditation, this is where one will bring their attention to something that's happening in the very present moment, for example directing attention to your breath, thoughts or physical sensations in your body. Whilst this is happening there needs to be a level of acceptance observing those feelings and sensations without any judgement, just let them come - then let them go.

2. Emotional health

Meditation has also shown to improve people's general outlook on life, and a better self image. Two studies with 4600 people showed again that mindful meditation was reducing people's depression…

Another study with 18 people who were watched over three years showed that they experienced long term reduction in depression.

The electrical activity in our brains were also looked at in another study where people who practiced mindful meditation and people who didn't, the ones who did showed changes in positive thinking and optimism in their day to day lives.

By maintaining a regular meditation practice the research clearly shows that there are long term and short term benefits. Consistency is the key here.

3. Enhances self awareness

Some meditations can help you grow into yourself more and create a stronger understanding of yourself.

Here is an article on self enquiry meditation that aims to help you develop a better understanding of yourself and how you relate yourself to others around you in your life. 

In this 2019 study who used a mindfulness meditation for two weeks experienced reduced feelings of loneliness and they found increased social contact compared with those in a control group.

4. Physical health

Non transcendental meditation may be an alternative approach for lowering systolic and diastolic blood pressure , now of course there is many other ways to reduce blood pressure like eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, cutting back on alcohol, even some studies showing practising yoga and visualization similar to meditation, and of course taking medication if needed or advised by a doctor.

But I think what's important here is whether its blood pressure or any health issues it's crucial we look at our diet, lifestyle and daily practices.

Meditation can also enhance focus and your mood, potentially reducing aggression whilst encouraging positive coping strategies in times of stress.

5. Sleep

Sleep - something that we all need, everyday… It is extremely important for our overall wellness.

Meditation can shorten the time it takes to fall asleep, whether you're doing a body scan, or other practices that involve meditation like Yoga Nidra it can be a fantastic way to relax before your time of rest and recovery.

Sleep deficiency may cause you to have trouble learning, focusing and reacting, you can feel frustrated, cranky and potentially worried in social situations.

I use meditation not only in the morning, but also at night to help with preparing my body for time to rest before the next day commences.

These are only a small handful of the areas mediation can help us with our lifestyle.

My advice: if you're not meditating, start implementing a daily or weekly practice. There are plenty of apps out there like Calm or Headspace. They have a brilliant interface for beginners and experienced practitioners. 

We will leave it there for this week's blog, I hope you enjoyed it!

PS: Here's the link to my Online Breathwork/Meditation every Sunday 8pm(Irish/uk time) if your interested in grounding on Sunday evening :)

Feel free to drop me a message if you have any questions on 👉 Instgram or email andrewmowatt11@gmail.com

See you next week. 

With gratitude,

Andrew.