Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Positivity Series: Benefits of Meditation :College Lifestyles

In our fast-paced society, it?s hard to find any time to yourself, let alone quiet time to meditate. Most of us think that every moment of our free time should be occupied with something productive, but the constant stress on our brains can be detrimental to our mental health and, ironically, our level of productivity. We?re only human and sometimes our mind needs to take a break. This is where meditation comes into play. The reflection and inner peace of meditation can be extremely beneficial to our mind and body. If you?re thinking I?m not the meditation type, think again. There are many forms of meditation. You can meditate while doing yoga, you can simply dedicate 15 minutes a day to repeating your own affirmations, and you can even meditate while running! At first, it may seem a little silly, but stick with it for a couple weeks and you will you will notice an improvement in your mental health. In addition to mental clarity, here are some other benefits of meditation:

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1. Reduced Stress: Whether it?s 15 minutes or 60 minutes, turning off the world around you for that time and focusing only on meditation in that present moment will lower your stress and anxiety levels tremendously. The deep breaths and the clearing of your mind will increase oxygen concentration and lower your body?s cortisol levels, a stress inducing hormone.

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2. Improved Physical Health: Studies have shown that people who meditate have a lower chance of developing heart disease and other health issues. This is connected to the lower levels of stress that meditation brings, since stress has been known to cause heart disease, cancer, and other illnesses.

3. Taking Control of your Thoughts: With such busy lives, it?s natural that we let our thoughts get out of control, but through meditation, you will be able to get your feelings and ideas in order. This will also allow for creativity and better decision making.

4. Less Irritability: Let?s face it. Life is full of little annoyances from stop-and-go traffic to slow waiters, but imagine living a life where you become detached from these irritating events rather than letting them bother you. Well, after meditating regularly you will find that life is full of these inevitable annoying instances and you will deal with them with little to no irritable feelings.

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5. More Concentration: As you continue to meditate, you will find that your ability to concentrate on almost anything has increased. Meditation requires concentration and, although it may be a struggle at first to sit still and quiet for a period of time, it will become easier and easier to focus your energy and thoughts on one thing.

6. Increased Self-Awreness: Being alone with nothing but your thoughts can make you learn a lot about yourself. Meditation can help you connect with your true self and discover what you really want in life. Many people take the time to meditate when they are feeling lost or empty for this very reason. Meditation brings you closer to yourself and this can in turn boost your self-confidence because you will learn to accept yourself for who you are.

7. More Positive Thoughts: This is not to say that you are not allowed to have negative thoughts. Meditation is not about fending off negative thoughts. It may actually bring these harmful thoughts or feelings to the surface, so that you can conquer them and live in a life of truth and reality.

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The list of meditation benefits goes on and on, but these are the most important and obvious reasons to meditate. Before you think of meditation as a spiritual practice that?s only done by yogis, remember all of these amazing benefits it can bring.

Raquel Santos is a Health and Fitness writer for College Lifestyles?. She is a junior studying Dietetics at Rutgers University in New Brunswick and an absolute gym rat. When she?s not training for races, she likes to catch up on the latest health trends, read, hang out with friends and family, draw, and write in her blogs.

Source: http://collegelifestyles.org/2012/08/positivity-series-benefits-of-meditation/

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