Meditation Can Change Your Life
As busy people living in a society increasingly planned down to the minute, sometimes we can feel as though we are losing touch; with ourselves, with our loved ones and with the planet itself. Days can often be ruined by feelings of exhaustion, anxiety or stress causing decision making and happiness to suffer. These are common symptoms of a life without meditation. But the good news is that it doesn’t have to be like this.
Once you make time for meditation in your life, these problems begin to fade away and you can become more relaxed and focused. More specifically, meditation can change your life by:
Increasing focus. Meditation helps you to slow down and focus on what really matters. There is so much noise out there that sometimes it can feel like you need to make a decision every moment. Meditation builds your ability to tune out, slow down and prioritize.
Increasing productivity. Productivity is connected to focus and because meditation helps you to live in the present moment, you can give your all to what needs to get done.
Increasing discipline. By slowing down and looking inward, meditation can help you understand what really matters to you in your life. This clarity of purpose improves your discipline and thus your decision-making.
Increasing happiness. A life with more perspective and less stress is a life with more happiness.
These benefits appear to be confirmed by a large body of scientific research. In fact, Researchers at Harvard Medical School used MRI technology on participants to monitor brain activity while they meditated and they found that it activates the sections of the brain in charge of the autonomic nervous system. This is the system that governs the functions that we can’t control such as digestion and blood pressure. These functions are most commonly affected by stress. So it isn’t surprising that regulating these functions could help ward off stress and anxiety.
Another study conducted by researchers at the Maharishi School of Management in Fairfield, Iowa found that meditation has a profound effect on stress. Their study looked at a group of people meditating for 4 months and found that they produced less of the stress hormone cortisol.
Given these incredible benefits, there is no wonder that Ray Dalio, Russell Simmons, Katy Perry, Clint Eastwood and many Fortune 500 executives have become practitioners. Nevertheless, buy-in has not been restricted to the elite. Over the past decade, wellness programs that target employee physical fitness and nutrition have received a record amount of attention and funding from corporate human resources programs. Decision makers are starting to realize the importance of employee morale in maintaining a work-life balance and are making the necessary adjustments to foster this type of culture.
Although much of the talk about meditation has been centered around its performance benefits, it should be remembered that it is fundamentally about connecting with your inner self through quiet contemplation. Paradoxically, this act of putting oneself in focus is the reason why meditation is so hard for many of us to get comfortable with. Taking the time to be quiet and look inwards is an orientation that many would prefer to avoid. However, with practice, what happens is a release of ego and a heightened awareness of how we experience the world and how the rest of the world experiences us.
So how can you get started? Well luckily you don’t have to quit your job or fly to Tibet and join a Buddhist Monastery. In fact, studies show that meditating for as little as ten minutes a day leads to increased alpha waves and decreased anxiety and depression.
I use this routine:
- Tune out the noise. Turn of all electronic devices that connect you to the world.
- Find a comfortable spot. Find a spot that doesn’t distract you and get comfortable.
- Focus on your breathing. Listen to your breathing; the inhalation and exhalation of your breath and stay focused on that. Breath from deep in your diaphragm and, if it helps, say one simple word while you exhale. (e.g. Om)
- Silence your mind. Forget tasks and commitments. Let your mind wander. Acknowledge thoughts and let them go. Bring your mind back to your breathing. This will get easier with practice.
- Establish a routine. 5 to 10 minutes of meditation a day can work wonders. I tend to go with mid-day but there is no “one size fits” all. Create a routine that makes sense for you.
