Over the past 12 months I’ve finally been able to find my groove with meditation. After years of dabbling, trying and yet never quiet committing, the last year has seen me find the sweet spot, where most days, 7 days a week, I’ve made the time to meditate for between 10-15 minutes every day.
I first recommitted to my meditation practice when my son was about 2 weeks old. A stint in hospital had my reach for my phone, put my earphones in and start meditating. I felt like circumstances were out of my control and yet, that little window of still and quiet, I felt a sense of calm wash over me. It was there and then, that I committed to practicing meditation.
Now, well over a year later, I’m starting to see tangible benefits in my life and that’s what I want to share with you today. The effects of meditation have started cumulating, in a more practical way in my day to day and I also love the ritual of my night time meditation as I wind down for bed.
What are the benefits of meditation?
Like you, I’d heard of the benefits of meditation, things that sounded good to me, although were quite hard to know if I’d achieved (although I always feel calmer).
Some of the commonly referred to benefits of meditation are:
- Reduced stress, worry and anxiety
- An increase in mental health
- Improved focus and attention
- Improved sleep
- Improvements to the physical body through a rested nervous system things like decreased blood pressure
These alone are all great benefits, but here’s what I started to find the more I meditated.
Greater Self Awareness
Now this is a doozy because to be able to change anything within ourselves, we first must become aware of it. In improving my negative self talk, I started to realise that the first step wasn’t actually catching the thoughts (I’ve written about the 4 steps to change this negative dialogue here)… the first step was actually becoming mindful so I could become aware of what I was doing. Until I started practicing meditation, I caught my negative thinking so much less than I do now.
Greater Self Control
Now this is another great benefit for me because I’m a mum of 2, running a business in the constant, modern world. I began to notice how reactive I was.
What I started to notice over time was the pauses and refocusing that are part of meditation, started to translate into my days. I began to notice more and more times were I was about to react and had the insight to see myself and pause. I could then choose something different. The first time I saw myself do this, I knew it was from meditation. I just knew it was pause between thoughts, I could see the thought roll in and choose to let it go.
Increased alignment and vibration
Now I’m going to go a little ‘woo’ here but bear with me. Every emotion vibrates at a certain frequency. The more I’m operating from a calm space, the more aligned I feel and the better state I take action from. When I’m operating in this frequency, it compounds, positive things come to me, I notice more details, I feel more grateful for everything I have. Put simply, my mindset it just better. More full-full than half-empty, if you know what I mean.
There are so many positive things to say about meditation I know it’s doing my body, my brain and my nervous system a world of good. If you knew in 10-15 minutes a day, you could increase your self awareness, have greater self control and just feel better and that you live from a more positive and high vibration state, would you meditate?
For me, it’s become a no brainer, it’s now just one of the things I do in the evening like having dinner and brushing my teeth. I always make sure I have meditated before the day is through. It’s a non-negotiable now. The benefits are worth it.
Interested in meditating? Want to create a supportive routine to clear your mind and reconnect to you? Download your free e-guide here Reawaken You
