“The quieter you become, the more you can hear.” – Baba Ram Dass
I’ve heard it said that prayer is talking to God and meditation is listening for the answers. I started my meditation practice about four years ago, 11 days before my mom passed away from cancer. I had absolutely no clue what I was doing, I just felt led to start. And so I did. I even meditated in the hospital room holding my mom’s hand while she was in a coma. {This was an experience I’ll blog about later, it was so amazing.} I truly believe mediation is what helped me get through the days and weeks (and maybe even years) following the loss of my mother. The stillness and the quieting of the mind are supreme gifts. I think it’s the only time during my day when I am still. (And sometimes even though my body is still my mind is running all over the place and I have to remind it that we are being still and quiet). Every thing after my meditation practice is motion and noise and lists and kids and texts and…you get the idea, you probably have a similar day. But those 20 minutes every morning in silence, with just my breath and the stillness, are pure bliss.
But beyond bliss, there are proven health benefits to incorporating a daily meditation practice into your life. I saw one article that listed 76 {wow}, but I’ll just list a few:
- Reduces stress
- Improves sleep
- Helps control anxiety
- Decreases blood pressure
- Reduces age-related memory loss
- Improves concentration
- Increases your compassion
- Helps regulate emotions
There are lots of apps available to help you begin your meditation practice. I usually do a guided mediation, but there are also unguided, with relaxing music or no music at all. You kind of have to find what works for you. The Headspace app is a great place to start. They have a free trial that walks you through how to begin…perfect if you’re a newbie like I was. Calm is another great app for beginners. It even has “sleep stories” which are similar to bedtime stories, designed to help you sleep better at night. {yessss!} My recommendation is to find a nice quiet spot where you won’t be interrupted (I used to meditate in my walk-in closet because it was the only place I could hide from my kids) and just start. Even if you can just sit for 5 minutes, it’s a start. Soon you’ll be saying namaste every day!
Light and Love,
♥k