This year we are changing our health one week at a time! By now you are drinking more water and getting at least 7 hours of sleep a night right? Did you know that 15 minutes of silence whether it is meditation or prayer can improve your health immensely? Fifteen minutes of mediation/prayer can actually change your brain waves from high frequency waves associated with stress and anxiety to lower frequency waves associated with relaxation, happiness, awareness and focus. A UCLA study concluded that meditates had better preserved brains and more grey matter than non-meditators.
The benefits of meditating/praying for at least 15 minutes a day show lower blood pressure, decreased anxiety attacks and depression, improved immune function, increased energy, improved memory and focus, greater emotional stability, increased happiness, increased serotonin levels which improve mood, increased life fulfillment and feelings of gratitude, and more shown on an image below!
Simple Steps For Learning To Meditate:
- FIND A QUIET PLACE YOU WILL NOT BE DISTURBED FOR AT LEAST 15 MINUTES. Sit on the floor with your legs crossed or in a chair with your feet touching the ground. Relax, put your hands in your lap and sit up straight. Do not slouch!
- BREATHE SLOWLY & DEEPLY. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Focus on only your breath. Inhale deeply through your nose and out your mouth. Do not force the breathing, let it come naturally. With each breath, it will get deeper. Count to 5 as you breath in and count backwards from 5 as your breathe out. This will help you focus on your breath. Take as long as need until you feel relaxed and calm.
- CLEAR YOUR MIND OR FOCUS ON A POSITIVE QUOTE OR PRAYER. If you find yourself having busy thoughts coming in your head, focus back on your breathing and do this for the entire fifteen minutes. When you practice meditation, clearing the mind and controlling your thoughts will become easier. This is difficult to do for many people so just go back to focusing on breathing.
- END THE SESSION SLOWLY. Try to meditate for at least 15 minutes or longer a day. When ending the meditation, do it slowly. Start with focusing on at least 3 things that you are grateful for. Take 3 deep breaths in and out as you reach your arms over your head with each inhale and drop them down with each exhale to get the body moving again. Place your hands over your heart and say thank you!