Experiment 2: Meditation

So last week I was all over a bit of daily meditation. Well, mostly — I forgot one day entirely but I managed 6 days out of 7 and even persuaded my husband to join me (just once but still)!
Why did I try it?
Studies suggest that regular meditation can lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol and have a positive impact on mental health. Not only that, but meditation might also help to reduce blood pressure and the intensity of physical pain, protect the brain from ageing and reduce inflammation (i.e. the immune system’s defence response). This all sounded too good not to at least give it a go!
Being a total novice, I used a variety of 5 minute guided meditations (Headspace is a great resource or you can see what you can find by way of a general internet search for guided meditations).
How did it go?
I wasn’t very good at meditating at the same time each day but this did help me work out that I got more benefits from fitting in 5 minutes in the mornings than later on in the day/evenings when I was more tired.
To begin with, I found my mind was jumping around all over the place but apparently that’s normal and I did generally feel calmer and more refreshed after taking the time to do the meditation. There’s a lot to be said for just taking some time to focus on breathing properly! That definitely had a positive impact on the days where I was dashing around.
I was also surprised that my husband seemed quite positive about his whole meditation experience too. This was despite the fact I’d managed to put on a gender-specific meditation aimed at women by mistake and then spent most of my 5 minutes trying not to scoff with laughter. But he seemed to let it all wash over him and emerged from his meditation in a zen-like state of calm (to be fair, he’s pretty laid back anyway and I’m suspicious he might have just dozed off).
So in “scientific” conclusion, I wouldn’t say that I’ve had a meditation epiphany this week. I think I need a lot more practice but I can see that in the longer-term, managing to incorporate a short meditation on a daily basis could have real value to overall wellbeing. I’ve also realised that you don’t necessarily have to set aside a specific time to meditate, you could try and incorporate it into what you’re doing, e.g. you could give walking meditation a go (just don’t close your eyes or it could end in disaster!) or try a bit of meditation at the end of a yoga class.
Have you gained any benefits from incorporating meditation into your life? Or did you give it a go for the first time last week like me? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences!
#wimbledonwellbeing
