Make Time For Meditation
The people who are most in need of meditation and relaxation are often those that have the busiest and most demanding lives.
It can be hard to think that adding one more thing to your hectic schedule can really help you relax and beat your stress, but meditation really does bring many health benefits.
Researchers have recently discovered that practitioners of this ancient art significantly reduced the thickness of their arterial walls compared with those who didn’t practice meditation. During meditation the respiratory rate decreases, blood pressure decreases, and cardiovascular function improves, which explains why it is so helpful at reducing stress, especially when used together with aromatherapy.
Don’t feel that you have to spend hours meditating each day in order to achieve a benefit from it. In fact, even taking just a minute or two to breathe deeply and clear your mind can be of tremendous value to you. If you have more time, then you can always meditate more. But if you only have a few minutes, make the most of them. Building meditation into your schedule is the easiest way to build consistency.
In 1976, Australian psychiatrist Ainslie Meares published research in the Medical Journal of Australia documenting how a patient’s cancer regressed after sessions of intensive meditation.
Meditation is also known to lower blood pressure levels, which is beneficial to patients who are at risk of hypertension and other heart-related conditions.
For example, you may want to make it a regular practice to meditate each morning before you start the day. This can help you to face the coming challenges with greater focus and purpose. You’ll feel more comfortable and connected to the world in which you live.
For some people, meditating before going to bed can give the relaxation so desperately needed before trying to get a good night’s sleep. When the stress of the day has piled onto your shoulders, meditation can help you to relax, unwind, and clear your mind.
Have you ever gone to bed with your mind racing about all of your experiences and all the things on your to do list for tomorrow? Meditation can free you from this cycle that can disrupt your sleep patterns and leave you feeling weary.
But you can also build meditation into your day at any time. If you have a lunch break, you can take five minutes to clear your mind and feel more refreshed by meditating. Even just taking one minute throughout the day to breathe deeply and refocus can have great benefits.
To practice meditation you just need a nice quite place to sit comfortably, and simply repeat a word or ‘mantra’ in your mind for about 15 to 20 minutes, which helps to calm your mind by blocking out anxieties and worries.
Basically, you give your brain something else to focus on instead of whatever is stressing you. You don’t have to sit cross-legged in the lotus position to meditate, you can sit comfortably in a chair or even laying on a bed – the main thing is to just relax and clear your mind.
To take the experience to a whole new level, diffuse soothing essential oils such as frankincense, geranium, jasmine, lavender, sandalwood, rose, bergamot, neroli, or ylang ylang since they really help you to unwind more quickly. If you prefer your oils ready-blended, try our Illuminessence Mood Enhancer which was created specially for use with meditation.
Meditation really can dramatically reduce the stress in your life once you have learned to calm and focus your mind with a little discipline. If you haven’t tried meditation before – give it a go. You’ll be glad that you did.
Copyright © Quinessence Aromatherapy Ltd 2020. Written by Sue Charles
