Meditation is a great way to improve yourself – it opens your mind and allows you to get rid of negative emotions. This is a practice that will help you reduce stress levels and make you happier. Contemplation is becoming increasingly popular. How to start meditating and how to love yourself?
Meditation is one of the greatest basic practices of Eastern philosophy: Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism. Few people know that elements of contemplation have long been present in Western culture as well. Similar rituals were practiced by Celtic druids and by early Christian monks.
Currently, the practice of meditation and relaxation is experiencing a renaissance. Often they are not closely related to any of the known philosophical and religious systems. Modern humans use concentration of mind as a tool for calm and self-improvement.
Meditation Can Relax Your Nerves
The Latin word meditari can be translated as meditating or contemplating. Meditation can therefore be understood as the practice of training the mind by focusing the mind to improve the overall mental state. In the East, contemplation is seen more as a ritual to change the perception of reality and reach a higher level of consciousness. The concentration exercises currently practiced in the West are aimed more at calming the mind and are treated as a method of combating negative emotions.
Certain elements of Buddhist ritual were “imported” to Europe and the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Contemplation was absorbed by mass culture and became a completely abstract trend from religion (with the exception of the growing popularity of Christian meditation). The concentration of attention in the secular version is to serve the improvement of the quality of life which is widely understood.
How to learn meditation?
Meditation – how to start , if you have never done relaxation exercises? First, it is worth getting acquainted with the techniques of contemplation. Buddhist rituals distinguish three ways to calm the mind:
- Concentration
- Attention
- Affection
The first of these methods is the simplest strategy of contemplation, which is why you should start your journey with concentration. This involves focusing your attention on one thing – you can focus on an object (such as a mandala) or on a specific activity (regular breathing or mantra). The purpose of technology is to train the mind to stay focused on one thing.
Beginner’s morning meditation can be done as follows:
- Get into the right position – straighten your spine and stretch your muscles a little.
- Choose an object to focus your attention on – a candle flame, the tip of your nose, or the main Hindu hymn, the most important mantra of Om.
- Try to keep your attention on the selected stimulus – focus your eyes on a specific object, listen to your own breathing or repeat the words of the mantra, focusing only on them.
- If you find your mind wandering around other things, take a moment to realize what’s really distracting you and then refocus on your meditation subject.
Remember that mind flight is perfectly normal. Human perception works on the principle of flow of consciousness – it focuses on many different stimuli simultaneously (sound, touch, smell). Therefore, if you find it difficult to focus your attention on one subject – don’t worry. In line with the principle that training makes perfect, practice meditation every day and we guarantee that you will achieve the desired results.
What do you need for meditation?
You don’t need much to start meditating. Self-denial and an open mind are enough to lead the first session. Concentration training can be successfully carried out in the privacy of your home garden or even in bed. However, when you practice, you will be able to concentrate even in public places: at work or traveling by train.
If you want relaxation exercises to become a permanent part of your life, you can purchase an item that enhances the comfort of the exercise, such as a meditation pillow, meditation mat or relaxation mat. Some contemplation lovers also like to listen to relaxing music during sessions or fill the room with the scent of incense.
Effects of meditation on well-being
The benefits of relaxation exercises are many. Mental concentration techniques are primarily used to recognize, prioritize, and control emotions in the body. Systematic contemplation helps combat stress and soothes damaging feelings. Meditation reduces anxiety, helps you see things objectively, and stimulates levels of serotonin – the happiness hormone – in the body. In addition, concentration exercises develop creativity.
The positive effects of meditation on well-being have been scientifically proven. Research conducted at the University of Michigan showed that attention training affects the formation of new connections of neurons in the hippocampus – an area of the brain responsible for controlling emotions, learning, and memory. Evidence of the effectiveness of contemplation is the fact that it is used in the treatment of certain disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease or rheumatism.
Mind training is an accessible way for everyone to tame stress and control emotions. Regular practice of meditation has a number of positive effects on your health – both mental and physical.
