Meditation is good for you.
Why?
Science says so!
Not that you need to be a rocket scientist to work out that taking a little quiet reflection time for yourself each day can make you feel amazing.
According to a plethora of scientific studies (some of which I have included links too if you are interested in reading journal articles) mediation has been shown to reduce distress, elevate moods, self-maturity and creativity levels, and alter the neural connectivity of your brain. These listed benefits are just scratching the surface of the literature available!
A study conduced by the Social and Ecological Sustainability movement (SESM) has shown that there is a link between personal wellbeing and planetary wellbeing in people who participate in mindfulness meditation practice. Which ties in perfectly with this months NYNC theme of including wellbeing, wisdom, wonder, and giving into our lives as a measure of our personal success and to create a happier life for ourselves and others.
The SESM study also suggested that people who didn’t have a ‘spiritual practice’ (like meditation) in their life may struggle to align personal lifestyle choices with environmentally aware lifestyle choices.
For those that don’t have a regular practice or are worried that they don’t have time to meditate, a wonderful way to get a bit of ‘meditation on the go’ is ‘Mindful Walking’. Mindful Walking, according to ‘The Art of Mindful Walking’ by Adam Ford, is taking yourself on a journey (even if your journey is a walk to the bus stop on the way to work) with mindful and attentive regard to:
- the activities of the body,
- sensations or feelings,
- the activities of the mind, and
- ideas, thoughts and conceptions.
By taking a journey with your self in the present moment Ford suggests that you can ‘avoid sleepwalking through life’. He also suggests that, like any form of meditation or mindfulness practice, that ‘thoughtful walking’ will cause thoughts to naturally arise in your mind. The journey can stir up as many things as it settles.
He suggests the best thing to do it ask yourself at times of deep thought ‘is this my body taking my mind for a walk- or is it my mind that is in control and doing the walking’. This will bring your mind back to the action of walking.
If you find that you are struggling to muster the effort to walk mindfully on your own and need some assistance I recommend checking out the Meditation Oasis Walking Mediation app. Which for less than the price of a coffee and a fifth of the price of a yoga class will help you walk your way to all the wonderful benefits that meditation can bring.