Do you ever have a moment when you wish you could take a vacation or break? Of course you do, probably every day. The crazy world we live in is filled with constant stress. We have cell phones, so people can reach us no matter where we go. We have stressful jobs in order to make ends meet. Some of us are stressed from not having a job. There are computers, internet, electronic devices of all varieties, constant noise, distractions, catastrophic events, distractions of all kinds, and too many other stresses to list. What if I told you that there is a way to get a break or vacation every day and it will not cost you a dime? Wouldn’t you owe it to your stressful life to find out what that is? Well, I am going to share that little secret with you. The secret is meditation.
At this point you are saying, “Meta what?” Meditation is a vacation for your mind. The basic meaning of Meditation is the quieting of your mind and body, while focusing or concentrating on something. The goals of meditation are simply personal transformation, self improvement, healing, spiritual growth and increasing present moment awareness. Some of the things you can focus on during meditation include; sound, an object, visualization, the breath, movement, a word, a bible verse, and etc. These are just the goals of meditation, however the benefits are incredible. There are over 108 different types of meditation. Hundreds of studies have been conducted by scientists, doctors, leading Medical School, and Universities into the effects of Meditation on the brain and body. The results of all the studies are astounding. The internet has thousands of these studies posted the results of all of them are always positive. Unlike drugs and surgery, meditation has no side effects or bad results, only good ones. You only have to do it a few minutes a day in order to benefit. There are more benefits than we can list in a newspaper article, but I will touch on the most important ones.
The biggest benefit of meditation is stress relief and relaxation. When you meditate daily, you sleep better. I personally fall asleep much faster since I started meditating. Meditation improves focus and concentration, which can benefit you in both on the job and at school. Studies have shown that meditation greatly improves ADD and ADHD symptoms for children and adults who meditate. Meditation lowers blood pressure, which most of us need help with. It strengthens the immune system. Studies show that people who meditate regularly get sick much less and recover quicker from illness. Meditation can help your body to heal from all sorts of illnesses, injuries and diseases. Meditation improves the blood flow to your brain and is helpful both for preventing Alzheimers Disease and Dementia, as well as helping people who already have these diseases. Meditation can help you solve problems, get new ideas, and be more creative. I get the best ideas and solutions to problems when I am meditating. Tons of studies show that meditation is helpful for anxiety, panic disorder, mild depression and even anger issues. Meditation helps these things by helping the meditator to manage their feelings and emotions and to remain calm.
Mindfulness Meditation programs are currently being used in two federal penitentiaries that have the highest rate of murders and violence. So far, the results have been excellent. The Mindfulness Meditation has decreased the murder rate by 30% or more and the violence has decreased dramatically. My personal experience with meditation is that I no longer suffer from panic attacks and anxiety. I used to have to take medication and thanks to doing Mindfulness Meditation, I no longer need to. I began meditating 7 years ago, because my doctor recommended it for my anxiety, since the anxiety drugs gave me terrible side effects and did not work. I have been freed of the disorder ever since and decided to help other people have the same positive results in their lives.
People who are overweight because of emotional eating benefit greatly from meditation because of its ability to help you manage your emotions. In combination with other weight-loss programs it can give you twice the benefit. Meditation helps relieve chronic pain due to arthritis and other disorders as well as from injuries. It does this, by reducing the perception of the pain, promoting relaxation of the parts of the body that contain the pain and helping to manage the negative emotions associated with pain. One of the best benefits of all is improvement of all your relationships. Just think about it! If you are calm and able to manage your emotions, aren’t your relationships going to improve as well? Stressful things are always going to happen to everyone, but meditation helps us all to deal better with the stress, so it cannot harm our bodies or mess up our lives. Studies show that 80% of health problems are caused by your emotions. There are tons of books on the market written by famous doctors and self help gurus that speak about the effects of stress and emotions on your body.
So all this being said, are you ready to get started meditating? With over 108 styles of meditation, you need to first figure out which one is the right one for you. The best way to do that is to either take some classes with a local instructor, research meditation styles on the internet, or read some books on meditation. The Internet has many different “how to” websites for very basic meditations. Any local bookstore stocks plenty of books on meditation, or you can order books on-line. For right now, you can get started with a simple 5 minute meditation. You will need to find a quiet spot to sit, where you will not be interrupted and have little or no background noise. You can play some soft music if you would like. First you want to sit on either a chair or on the floor in lotus or semi lotus position. You need to make sure your posture is very straight. Your back and neck need to be aligned vertically with the earth. Pretend a straight line runs from your head to your tail bone. Next, take a few deep cleansing breaths by breathing in deeply for a count of 8. Hold in your breath for a count of 4 and release your breath for a count of 8. Mentally scan your body for any tension and consciously try to relax and release the tense area of the body. Then, close your eyes and start focusing on your breath or on some soft music. Sit with your mind focused on the breath or music for 5 minutes. Don’t control your thoughts, feelings, emotions, or body sensations while you are sitting. Just give the thoughts bare notice as they come in and out of your mind. Each time you notice a thought or feeling just return to focusing on your breathing or the music. Continue to do this for 5 minutes. A timer or alarm is helpful. You can also buy incense sticks that burn down in the amount of time you wish to sit. You can do this meditation any time of the day that you wish to relax and de-stress. You should try to work up to 20 minutes or more a day if possible. So what are you waiting for? Start your meditation practice today and begin transformation of your mind, body and life. You will also experience the daily vacation you were waiting for.
For more information about meditation and how you can start practicing it, please contact Kimberly Palm, C.M.I. at Body & Mind Healing, LLC (206)484-0312
Kimberly Palm is a Certified Meditation Instructor with Body & Mind Healing, LLC. Kimberly is Certified from the University of Holistic Theology and has over 7 years experience with studying, practicing and teaching meditation and natural healing. Kimberly teaches Mindfulness meditation, healing, visualization, relaxation and stress relief classes to people of all ages. She teaches both in person, over the phone and through the internet. Kimberly also provides Mindfulness Life coaching. Kimberly is married with two kids and lives in Washington State. Her main goal is to transform the lives of every person she meets through meditation, mindfulness and present moment awareness.