Solitude, serenity and mindfulness-all these words come to your mind when you picturize meditation. Meditative practice is not a new trend. It has been a part of the culture in many early civilizations which man ever had. Today, we see modern forms of yoga and mindful meditation being integrated in lifestyle for its healthy outcomes.
Oldest evidences of meditation can be found in Chinese literature, and writing as old as 3rd and 6th Century BC. Around this time, techniques like, ‘guarding tranquility’ and ‘embracing simplicity’, were used. Although, it is not particularly clear that who particularly invented meditation, but we do know some great leaders who practiced and worked all their life to spread the message across. Some of the names we know are; The Buddha-also known as Siddhartha Gautama from India. Next is Lao-Tze, also called Lao-Tzu & Laozi, from China. Another one is Dosho, who was a monk from Japan. He travelled to China for training and opened up the first meditation hall back in Japan on return.
Here are five reasons why meditation is a great daily practice to include in your busy schedule:
1. Improves Brain Power:
Meditation has proven to improve focus and memory skills with regular practice. With improvement in concentration, meditation can help you achieve your future goals without being carried away too often.
2. Keeps Insomnia at Bay:
Yes! If you have sleep difficulties due to your current circumstances or due to chronic condition this is your go to solution. Meditation triggers relaxation and induces sleep. As soon as you start to meditate, you wander off to your imaginary getaway and lure yourself to sleep.
3. It Keeps Your Cortisol Levels Down:
Stress, anxiety and depression can trigger huge amounts of stress hormone in your body. This in turn pushes your body into and emergency mode with detrimental side effects on internal organs and mental health. With meditative practice, all this can be handled and kept within limits. Not only this, but meditation can help you stay calm and confident in stressful and challenging situations.
4. Keeps Your Happy Brain Active:
Your pre-frontal cortex is associated with happiness and this area has been shown to be fully active while meditation, as per research. It doesn’t mean that you have to meditate for hours and hours to reach this outcome. A few minutes of reconnection with your mind, heart and spirit can make a huge difference in your life. The entire idea is about being aware and gratified about your current self.
5. Motivates You to Stay Positive:
This is one of the most sought-after technique to incorporate positivity, motivation and productivity in one’s life. Re-channelizing your chi helps you to revitalize and energize while making the most of life. Moreover, mental health problem and stress can stay away for good with mindful meditation and yoga.
No matter where and how it all originated, meditation teaches you to learn to be happy and contend with your inner-self. It is an integration of mind, body, spirit and teaches you how to belong to yourself in this hustling, bustling, life on planet Earth. Meditative practice is a self-altering practice which can channelize all your energy into positivity and utmost productivity.
