I took a class many years ago in my educational journey on creativity in leadership. One thing we learned – or practiced – was the art and science of meditation. I thought at first this wasn’t for me – they seriously wanted me to sit still and “do nothing” for 15 minutes?! And to try to quiet my roving mind? I struggled with this at first and will admit it took me a number of years to really embrace the art of meditation.
Fast forward to my life now. I love meditation! I can’t say I practice it every day, but rather, several times a week. One of my favorite times is after a yoga class, where I’m guided by my instructor to quietness and mindfulness. For me, meditation is helpful at bedtime, or in a busy afternoon.
As a holistic nutritionist, I value the physical impact meditation can have on an individual. Meditation has been shown to:
- Lower blood pressure
- Improve the immune system
- Increase and improve decision-making abilities
- Decrease stress and its associated hormones, like cortisol
- Increase mental alertness
- Reduce internal inflammation
- Promote an overall sense of happiness
- Make you feel relaxed
- Make you more compassionate
And, as with my class, it heightens creativity.
If you’d like to give it a try, here are some basic steps. In my class, we were instructed to sit comfortably in a chair, close our eyes and breathe normally – inhale…exhale. I tried to clear my mind – I pictured an empty balloon or bubble in my head. If my thoughts began to stray – “what will I have for dinner?” or “what will I do after this class?” – I acknowledged the thoughts, but pulled my mind back to my balloon/bubble. And, I just kept breathing – inhale…exhale. Simply keep this up and let your mind rest for a bit. Our brains work so hard – they love this oasis of peace every so often!
It wasn’t easy, but after repeated attempts, I can say that meditation does get easier and begins to come more naturally. Start small, with a time frame of as little as 5 minutes, and work up to 15 minutes – or more! If you want to keep track of your time, set an alarm for 15-20 minutes. If you finish early, that’s fine – honor your brain’s intuition that it’s been enough time for this session. You’ll end refreshed, centered, and ready to tackle the rest of your day or night!
To Your Vitality!