Does Meditation Work?
My journey to finding inner peace.
I think it’s safe to say that the events of 2020 changed everyone in some form or another. For me, it was dealing with something that I never imagined I would suffer from, anxiety. I’ve always been very confident and outgoing, and never felt anxious or scared to do normal things, but the panic that surrounded us all during this pandemic changed my thought process. The things I once found joy in made me nervous, and just going out in public for my day-to-day was awful. So I did what most people did last year, I tried to find ways to keep busy at home and to ease that stress and anxiety that I was suddenly feeling.
My husband has always been a great motivation to me, and meditation was something that he dabbled in regularly; when he suggested it to me, although I was skeptical, I gave it a shot; I was willing to try anything to suppress these feelings. He told me to try an app that he was using (Relax Meditation: Guided Mind) and take 10 minutes to sit in silence. I gotta say, those first 10 minutes did not work for me; my heart was racing, I felt nauseous, and I convinced myself that I would never be able to focus long enough for this to work. Against my gut, I stuck to it anyway, anything would be better than feeling this unnecessary nervousness all day long.
After two consistent weeks of daily meditation (10-minute sessions), I started to realize that meditation was becoming a part of my daily routine. I looked forward to having those 10 minutes before work to sit in silence and just become one with myself and my thoughts. During those moments nothing else mattered but me, and I was able to focus on my breathing and letting go of any overwhelming emotions.
Meditation teaches you how to center your thoughts and allows you to release all the bad energy so that you can breathe new life into your body. My experiences with meditation have been life-changing. Even though you are just listening to someone talk you through breathing techniques, and explaining that it’s ok to take a deep breath and let it all go, it’s so cathartic to feel as though a perfect stranger understands what you’re going through.
I’ll be honest, although meditation is a wonderful tool to manage stress and anxiety, I too have fallen off the bandwagon sometimes, but it’s ok. If we focus more on giving ourselves grace rather than being so judgmental, that alone will help decrease our stress and anxiety levels significantly. We can be our own worst enemies at times, so we must treat ourselves with compassion and love. So we’ve fallen off our meditation routine a little, it’s perfectly normal, but on the flip side, it’s also important to recognize that if something is good for us, and it’s making a difference, that we put ourselves back on track and focus on these positive habits as it can only get better from here.
Just 10 minutes of quiet time per day is good for the mind and soul. Everyone needs a little reflection time, whether it be meditating or journaling, these healthy practices can help keep our stress and anxiety at bay.
So what’s the consensus? Is meditation worth it? Is it helpful? The answer for me is a solid yes! It’s beneficial for the obvious practice of getting in some zen, quiet time, but it really does help with mental discipline. Having someone coach you through how to breathe and how to let go of anything that plagues you is truly freeing. Learning about how to be kind to yourself and patient with your needs, is one of the greatest gifts that we can give ourselves.
I’ve taken everything that I’ve learned from meditation and applied it to my day-to-day life, and I can’t begin to explain how helpful it’s been. If I start to feel myself getting anxious while I’m waiting in line at the store, or I’m stuck in traffic, I just pause for a moment, take a deep breath in and release any tension that I’m holding on to. I know what you’re thinking, “Well, of course, take a deep breath when you’re feeling stressed, it’s common sense!” Although it might be, it’s the positive inner monologue and disciplined technique with which you practice this breathing that truly makes it effective. Will meditation work for everyone? That is to be determined; but if you’re open to trying new things and would like to welcome some peace and positivity into your life, I say give it a shot, it might surprise you.
