by Joseph McLean

According to the American Institute of Stress, 73% of American people regularly experience psychological symptoms caused by stress. Our hectic lives and exhausting jobs can have a negative impact on our health. We find ourselves tired all of the time, and we can barely find free time to do what we truly enjoy.

Finding a balance between the pleasant and the necessary might be tougher than expected; however, it is not impossible. A good way to release anxieties and worries is meditation.  Through meditation, our bodies connect with our souls, and we start feeling inherently connected to our energies. We will present to you three great reasons why you should start meditating.

Meditation fact #1: Meditation Reduces Stress and Anxiety

Leah Barter, freelancer specialized in assignment writing at CoWork and former nurse shares her knowledge. “Biologically, mental stress is caused by an increased release of the stress hormone cortisol. Emotionally, stress makes us feel overwhelmed and helpless; we might even experience anxiety and depression in stressful-related situations. It has an increasingly negative impact on our bodies and our lives.”

But how can we avoid stress in our day to day lives, when it’s literally everywhere? We can’t, not really. That’s why we should meditate daily. Here are some stress relief techniques you might want to try:

• Mindfulness meditation– cultivates awareness of the present moment.
• Grateful meditation– thanking everyone and everything for what they are, and what impact they’ve had in your life; thanking your food for giving you energy; thanking you blankets for keeping you warm at night; thanking yourself for everything that you are.
• Music mediation– music can have a powerful impact on our emotions, so when we feel stressed, listening to high-frequency instrumental songs can have a positive effect on our well-being.
• Water meditation– whether you are meditating in your bath, in front of a river, or in the middle of the mountains next to a waterfall, water meditation it’s been proved very beneficial for stress relief.
• Releasing tension meditation– focusing on every single part of your body and releasing tension gradually is a good way to release physical stress.
• Breath meditation– solely focusing on your breath and on being present.
• Walking meditation– walk, breathe, and think of nothing. Simply admire the beautiful scenery and be grateful for your eyes, lips, nose, grateful that you can see, feel, smell, love.
• Mantra meditation– choose your favorite mantra (example: “om”) and practice saying it until you feel it connecting to your body and soul.

Stressful situations cause anxieties; anxieties cause worries, and worries usually cause health problems. Avoid all that by meditating! Choose the technique that feels the most proper to you, and get started on your spiritual journey.

Meditation fact #2: Meditation Develops Self-Awareness

Living in the past or future cannot be considered “living.” Living in the present moment means truly living our lives and being aware of our present experiences. Some tips on how to develop self-awareness:

• Design a special time to meditate each morning. Wake up 20 minutes before the usual time, and be with yourself. Breathe in, breathe out. Clear your head of any worries – this is your time, and your time only.
• Make time for yoga every now and then. It doesn’t have to be daily, but you should attend yoga classes at least 3 times per week. Focus on your breathing and Asana positions as much as you can. Yoga and meditations will change your horizons.
• Write down your experiences. Meditating opens up new doors of perception unknown before. Keep a journal and note how you are feeling after each session. Read your notebook at the end of each month, and see how much you’ve progressed.

Accepting your feelings and dealing with your emotions is crucial in any healing process. Take things step by step, and open the doors to the unknown by meditating. Practice your favorite type of yoga as often as you can, and don’t forget to leave enough time for yourself each morning.

Meditation and mindful fact #3: Meditation Helps with Your Long-Time Productivity

Let’s not forget about our work, since it provides the financial support for our lives. Meditation helps you in this aspect as well – it helps you become more productive and focused on your work. When we meditate, we concentrate on only one thing, which is usually nothing. Emptiness. Void. Living.

When we take these meditation lessons and implement them into our daily lives, we find that we’re able to focus better on our tasks and stay connected with our work for a longer period of time. Thus, our productivity increases and our effectiveness maximizes.

We start seeing great changes in our work life too, we might even improve our personal relationships, and that’s because we are now truly present when we chat with someone, and care about their opinions in the sincerest manner. We don’t just listen, we seize the day, and are inherently curious about their lives.

Start meditating today if you want to release stress and anxiety, develop self-awareness, and become more productive. Good luck!

Photos: Pexels

Do you use meditation to improve your life? Share your tips and tricks in the comments below!

For more on mindfulness:

• Podcast: How mindfulness leads to happiness
• Supercharge your learning with mindfulness
• The link between mindfulness and achieving happiness
• The mindful business conference: Experiments in mindfulness