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Meditation improves memory retention

A recent medical study conducted confirmed that consistent meditational practices increase gyrification. This essentially means that the brain creates more folds on the cortex which enhances memory retention capability. Brain waves in regular meditation practitioners are seen to adjust better as well.

Meditation slows down neurodegenerative diseases

Meditation not only reduces stress but proves a positive relation in slowing down the extensive formation of neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s.  Patients diagnosed with Alzheimer were introduced to traditional meditation practices and submitted positive results of less cognitive decline and a higher sense of wellbeing.

Meditation increases multitasking capabilities

Studies indicated that indulging in mindfulness meditation for a fact can enhance one’s multitasking abilities. Regular participants of meditation who practiced twice daily for a minimum of two hours showed increased multitasking abilities as compared to those who do not meditate. Meditation allows its participants to apprehend interruptions and other distractions without losing focus of the task at hand.

Meditation helps manage pain

Aside from providing you with various health benefits, regular meditation can help you manage pain by reducing the perception of pain. How this achieved you ask? Meditation trains the brain to change the manner in which it perceives and anticipates pain.

Meditation instills kindness

Regular meditation cannot only reduce stress and symptoms of anxiety but instill a sense of compassion and understanding as well. Meditational practices increase the sense of social interconnectedness among strangers thus increasing emotions of kindness and love in the brain.

Meditation can help the brain to function better

Meditation has ridiculous amounts of benefits mentally. Studies confirm that the longer you spent meditating, the more beneficial it is for your mind. Meditation is known to loosen up neural pathways flowing with negative sensations such as fear and anxiety and instead form new neural pathways with positive thoughts and empathetic responses.

Meditation can help one’s ability to take better decisions

Engaging in regular and consistent meditation can help increase gyrification of the cortex. This, as a result, creates more surface area in the brain as compared to average brains. Additional surface areas mean that the mind is capable of processing more neural information and perform at better than optimal levels, which as a result increases the ability to take better decisions.

The benefits of meditation are endless. It not only entails psychological benefits but medical benefits as well.

Stress and anxiety relief

Meditating regularly, can for a fact help significantly reduce stress and anxiety present in the body. It helps regulates hormonal levels and balance the central nervous system which as a result will lead to calmness in the body and mind.

Heart diseases and ailments

Meditation can help reduce the presence and occurrence of various heart diseases by increasing the functional capacity of individuals. Reports suggested that meditation can help reduce the risk of heart disease by 30 percent and risk of stroke by 48 percent.

Regulates blood pressure

Performing deep meditation techniques can help monitor and reduce blood pressure levels on an average of 7mm/Hg. When blood pressure is regulated, underlying ailments associated with it such as kidney failure, damage to arteries, cardiac arrest, aneurysm, etc. are substantially reduced.

Immune system

Regularly indulging in transcendental meditation practices can for a fact, help strengthen the body’s immune system by boosting the power of immune cells meant for fighting off harmful bacteria and virus.

Slower aging

The telomere is an essential factor which plays a crucial role in maintaining the cells freshness and health. Telomere present in regular meditation practitioners is seen to get refreshed and improved which ultimately results in a longer and healthier life by decreasing aging symptoms.

Helps cancer patients

Patients diagnosed with cancer are recommended to consider beneficial practices of yoga and transcendental meditation as non-invasive supportive care.

Autism spectrum disorders

Regular indulgence in meditation can teach the mind to calm down naturally and progressively. This helps victims of regular anger management issues turn into happy and calm personalities.

Helps alcohol and drug addiction

Consistent meditation enables one to gain control of his or her mind and firmly abstain from regularly indulging in alcohol, cigarettes and other types of drugs. With regular practice, the abstinence will grow stronger as well.

Depression

Daily practitioners of meditation are seen to erase any sort of work-related stress and underlying symptoms of depression.

Eating disorders

Victims of eating disorders are typically initiated through binge eating when under stress. Eradicating such stress will significantly help stop binge eating and eating disorders.

Stop smoking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YZqgEu6pNs

A study revealed that meditation is comparatively more effective in hindering smoking than therapy. A figure of nearly 50 percent of smokers quit smoking in the first two years after succumbing to meditational practices.

PTSD

Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms are observed to reduce substantially in regular practitioners of meditation.

ADHD

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms such as sleeping issues, lack concentration, depression, etc. are seen to be effectively redressed through regular indulgence in meditation.

Meditation is a practice where an individual makes use of techniques in order to gain attention and awareness with the goal of being mentally clear; it is one of the eight limbs of yoga. The roots of meditation can be traced back to as early as 19th century, often practiced as a part of the path that leads to Nirvana. It doesn’t necessarily take any fancy equipment or even a major chunk of your time to meditate; it could include almost any practice that leaves you feeling at peace, energizes you, as it is mostly you trying your hand at training your mind to focus on one particular thing for a period of time. While you cannot be a yoga guru at your first attempt, dedicating yourself to meditation will surely yield results gradually.

How do I meditate?

Got you covered. Not going to lie, it is going to seem a little boring initially.

Your thoughts will wander, your legs will twitch, and your brain will scream at you to move around for a bit. Guess what? That’s okay.

Find yourself a place and sit comfortably, you’re going to be here for some time.

Start focusing on one thing (could be a thought, object or your breathing pattern).

Now you’ll find yourself getting distracted, which you must not try to suppress.

Once you get used to it, you’ll be able to return to your object in focus.

Voila! There you have it, you’ve achieved the 3 C’s- concentration, calm and control.

Iteration of the aforementioned steps on a daily basis will help aid the achievement of deep concentration as you will train your mind to wander less with the passivity of time.

The importance

To function better in a confrontational and isolated world such as ours, we need to be able to manage our interpersonal relationships and understand ourselves better; learn our triggers and know why we respond how we respond to things and situations. Ubiquitous situations such as demise, victory, fear elicit predictable yet normal emotional responses. It is imperative that we need to be aware of emotions or situations that have an adverse effect on our mental being which further elucidates that meditating will enable us to control our reactions.

• Helps in relieving stress, anxiety, pain.

• Enables you to question the validity of heightened emotions.

• Slows down ageing.

• Reduces cortisol production; a hormone that is stress-related.

• Lowers blood pressure levels and cholesterol levels.

• Lengthens attention span.

• May help fight addiction.

• Helps in becoming more empathetic.

• Improves the quality of sleep.

You are what you eat. Now, how many times have you heard that phrase being thrown around? It is true though! Take for instance your performance at the gym. When you eat something heavy and head to the gym, you will not be able to function as well as you did when you went in after eating something healthy. Likewise, your meditation depends on what you eat before you sit down to practice mindfulness.

You might not realize, but you’re probably putting yourself through hardships by simply not sticking to a proper routine, not timing your meals properly. If you feel drowsy while doing your normal day to day tasks, your diet is mostly what you need to check first. It is ideal to wait for a minimum of one or two hours before you meditate.

The science

For those of you who believe that being mindful about what you eat is an urban myth of sorts, there is actual evidence to prove the benefits of a proper diet. This concept mostly revolves around digestion. You will most likely have trouble focusing on meditating right after you eat because your body just got its fuel and now it is busy processing and breaking down what you just ate, which requires all the blood from your system to be drawn in for that activity which ultimately causes you to feel sleepy right after you eat.

We, however, need to consider that everybody is unique and everyone’s body reacts differently to different things.  Ideally, it is suggested that giving your body time to recover and timing your activities promotes efficiency.

Say yes to these

Fruit

Foods that are low in their sugar content are safe. Fruits like peaches, bananas, blueberry, guavas, and apples are good for your body mostly because it helps in felicitating the production of glucose that can help you stay alert.

Chocolate

Yes, you read that right. Chocolate! Though it is advisable to avoid milk chocolates, dark chocolates do not cause any harm. Other than producing dopamine, it contains flavonoids that help in remembering things and increases the flow of blood to your brain. Not too many though, just a few pieces should do the trick.

Dry fruits

How healthy does that sound? Almonds take the throne for this part because they help your appetite by keeping those hunger pangs away and keeping you energized since they contain essential vitamins and minerals such as vitamin E, magnesium and potassium.

Water

Staying hydrated is very important. Other than helping you flush out toxins, it helps in making you feel energized and refreshed.

Say no to these

• Coffee
• Carbohydrates
• Aerated drinks
• Dairy

1. Loosen up your body and mind –

From a merely physical perspective, the extending associated with yoga loosens up the body and builds the supply of blood and supplements to the muscles. It discharges connective tissue, enhancing the manner in which we move, capacity and feel, all of which bolsters psychological wellness. One of the most frequently asked questions is whether different types of activity can give all of you of these physical advantages. The appropriate response is “yes.” Nonetheless, ongoing exploration appears to demonstrate that yoga has leeway over different kinds of aerobic activities with regards to emotional stability.

2. The posture-pain-depression link –

The attention to alignment in a considerable lot of the yoga positions enhances act.  Frequently the proper style of yoga will lessen spinal pain, migraines and different sicknesses that are a consequence of poor stance. These illnesses can invigorate or add to the misery.

3. Inhale away nervousness and anxiety –

The attention on breath work and specifically Ujjayi breathing is one of a kind to yoga. This kind of breath acquaints the breath with the lower flaps of the lungs. For any individual who’s on edge, breath is coordinated mostly to the chest. This lower flap breathing enacts the parasympathetic nerve receptors which give us that relaxed quality after a yoga class. The sound that the breathing makes in the base of the throat can likewise be mitigating, and I generally urge understudies to “grapple” their attention to this sound.

4. More joyful brain cells –

A delicate routine with regards to yoga likewise discharges a compound called Gamma-aminobutyric corrosive (GABA) in the thalamus. This compound assumes a focal job in stifling the neural movement that prompts tension. Certain antidepressants and liquor initiate the cerebrum’s GABA receptors, however when quickly pulled back can result in sleep deprivation and uneasiness.

5. A superior stress-buster –

Most doctors across the globe are willing to endorse yoga to those appearing of gloom or suffering from severe mental illnesses such as depression. From an essential perspective, the individuals who do yoga reliably figure out how to unwind, so their feelings of anxiety and [the push hormone] cortisol go down, and they turn out to be less responsive. It’s not simply a workout. It’s a mind control exercise.

6. Yoga can help your vitality-

Rehearsing yoga for as meager as three months can decrease exhaustion and diminish aggravation in bosom malignant growth survivors, as indicated by an exploration contemplate. The more the ladies in the examination rehearsed yoga, the better their outcomes.

7. Yoga drastically reduces Eating Disorders –

A study issued in the most recent issue of Psychology of Women Quarterly reports that mind-body workout, for example, yoga, is related with more noteworthy body fulfillment and fewer side effects of dietary issues than conventional aerobics like running or utilizing cardio machines.