“Half an hour’s meditation each day is essential, except when you are busy. Then a full hour is needed.” – Saint Francis de Sales
I often hear people say that they are extremely stressed about so many things in life. These things include work, money, children, lack of free time, etc. We live in a society in which “busyness” is looked upon as productive, but the truth of the matter is “busyness” is wearing people out.
People are walking around tired, apathetic, and full of anxiety. Stress is actually becoming an epidemic here in Australia. There always seems to be somewhere to go and something to do to keep up with the “Joneses”.
Listen to Corrie Ten Boom’s thoughts on the matter, “Beware the barrenness of a busy life.”
People tend to speed up instead of slowing down. They start running when they feel pressured instead of taking a deep breath, sitting down, and relaxing for awhile to gather their thoughts and a plan. I liken it to a woman running frantically down the road as a car is chasing her. She is running and screaming for her life, when all she really has to do is get off the road and let the car pass by.
With so much stress piling on, what is a plausible solution? Let me share with you one simple practice that everyone can follow easily and from the comfort of their homes that will help them overcome the problem of stress and tension – meditation.
Meditation, which was initially referred to as a mystical activity associated to religious beliefs, has now been widely accepted even by mainstream medical professionals as a technique to lead a healthy and vibrant lifestyle. There are many perceptions that people have about meditation and many do not understand the benefits of meditation.
Health Benefits
Primarily, meditation involves the inward process of training one’s mind in order to realise some benefit. It is an art to be learned in order to bring the body into a state of relaxation and the mind into a state of higher consciousness.
It is so simple, yet people tend to resist the practice due to various reasons. Probably the biggest reason people do not practice meditation is because they are so inclined to “do,” they cannot just sit and “not do”. To sit with yourself for a few minutes each day breathing deep and relaxing sounds so simple, but yet multitudes choose not to take advantage of the benefits of meditation.
Not only can meditation help a person mentally, it can also bring about numerous health benefits to people, especially when practised in the morning. Morning meditation is typically more powerful as the mind tends to be calmer and clearer in the morning and by practising meditation in the early morning, it becomes easier to clear the mind and gain a new perspective for the day. It sets your vibration for the day quite well and many who practice meditation in the morning will tell you that their days go better.
There are numerous ways to practice morning meditation and there are key meditation benefits as well. These include:
- Mantra Meditation – This is the transcendental meditation that involves the use of sound or mantra to relieve stress.
- Yoga – This method controls the breathing and also augments the body flexibility.
- Prayer – The most widely practised method that involves saying prayers.
- Reflection – Meditation through written or spoken word.
- Walking – A highly effective method using physical exercise to focus thoughts.
Benefits of meditation
Are you ready to commit to this ancient practice? Do you think you can spare a few minutes every morning for “you” time? If so, it will take a commitment on your part, because most mornings you won’t “feel” like sitting still and clearing your mind. Usually as soon as you awake you are geared toward thinking about all of the things you must do that day or begin worrying about your problems.
Morning meditation provides the following benefits:
- Helps in building skills to tackle stress.
- It promotes self-awareness.
- It aids in reducing negative thoughts.
- It enables people to decide on their goals and intentions for the particular day and also helps them stay focused in order to achieve them.
- Provides relief for people having illness caused by stress and tension.
- It enables the body to function in harmony with other medical treatments as it enables people to achieve focus of mind and thought.
- It helps to overcome problems of allergies, asthma, anxiety disorders, fatigue, mental depression, increased blood pressure levels and insomnia.
If you happen to be in a climate that is warm, consider doing your morning meditation outside. Hearing the birds sing and smelling the wonderful fragrance of nature aids in calming the body and mind. Being out in nature is therapeutic in and of itself, so consider getting out as much as you can to take in all of the beauty and peace.
The benefits of meditation are definitely worth the time and effort. In fact, with such extensive benefits and a very simple technique, morning meditation is truly a comprehensive solution for people experiencing high levels of mental tension and stress and very helpful for becoming more enlightened. Commit to just a few minutes a day to begin with. You will find yourself enjoying the practice more and more and even look forward to the time each morning.
There is Brahmakumaris meditation…that relaxes the mind…nurtures a healthy balance between inner and outer worlds…
Looks good. I had a look online. Thanks for the message!