Have you ever gotten to a point in your day where you just need to shut your eyes and relax? A great way to do this is through meditation. When I was in elementary school, my teacher used to put on meditation for 10 minutes after recess, focusing our minds and helping us return to the classroom with a fresh mindset.
Meditation is the practice of connecting your mind and body, clearing your mind, and letting yourself physically relax. It doesn't have to take much time and can be super beneficial to your health! In this post, we'll breakdown some top benefits to practising mindfulness and meditation!
It's Easily Accessible
Resources for meditation are everywhere on the Internet! You can choose between guided meditations or meditation music/background noise. There are many great YouTube guided meditations to choose from (my top favourite is Boho Beautiful!) and a variety of apps to get you started!
It Doesn't Take Much Time
A great part of meditation is that it can take however long you need it to! The majority of guided meditations on YouTube range from 5-30 minutes. When you are first starting out, start slowly, graduating from a couple of minutes to around 10 minutes. After that, try some for longer periods of time and if you're feeling up to it, you can even meditate for an hour or more!
It Helps with Aging
There is growing research on the benefits of meditation and cognitive decline with aging. In a review study, they looked at 12 different meditation studies and the effect of meditation on the brain. They found that meditation was easy to teach to the elderly and there was some evidence of meditation counteracting cognitive decline.
It Helps with Mental Health
There are many studies that looked at the effects of meditation on mental health and quality of life. Mainly, these studies have found that meditation improves symptoms of anxiety or depression better than some types of therapy, relaxation training, or no treatment. There is also evidence of meditation improving the quality of life for patients with cancer.
Overall, meditation is a great way to refocus and ground yourself! Would you try meditation? Let us know how it goes!
Resources:
Gard, T., Hölzel, B. K., & Lazar, S. W. (2014). The potential effects of meditation on age-related cognitive decline: a systematic review. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1307(1), 89–103. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.12348
Hofmann, S. G., & Gómez, A. F. (2017). Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Anxiety and Depression. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 40(4), 739–749. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psc.2017.08.008
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. (2016, April). Meditation: In Depth. NCCIH. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation-in-depth
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