Meditation is not a practice that requires anything special. Just some time to disconnect from all the noise and demands of your day. It is a way to just be with yourself and to allow time to listen to your silence, your thoughts and to your body. The goal in meditation is to reconnect within and to learn to relax and just “be” without having to do anything. It is an art and a skill that has benefits way beyond those that meet the eye.

To make it more compelling for you to adopt meditation, here are three of the top benefits to consider that can help you in your everyday life:

Benefit #1 – It reduces daily stress build up.

Stress is inevitable in our life. With life’s daily demands, we naturally experience stress. When we keep that stress compounding without releasing it, it will end up coming out one way or another – one day or another. If we are not aware that we have to consciously release our stress everyday in an effective way, we will not realize the build up that we are keeping trapped. This build up eventually impacts our relationships, our health, our happiness and our success. In fact, the most common reason for chronic health issues, anxiety, frustration, unhappiness, relationship issues is due to stress build up. Physical problems are also found often to be a symptom of turmoil on the inside that attack our body as a result of stress.

Meditation is one of the most powerful tools that help manage our daily stress by clearing away the information overload that builds up every day. With meditation, you calm down the mind and put the body in a deeper form of relaxation and healing. This also helps overcome inner turmoil and overwhelm and aids with emotional and physical well-being. As a result, it lowers blood pressure which decreases risk of chronic diseases and other health risks caused by stress.

The one thing you can do to help yourself when you are feeling off, restless, overwhelmed, or frustrated is to take 5-6 deep breaths and allow yourself to take a 15-minute break to calm your mind down by just focusing on your breathing. You’ll be amazed how something that simple can make a significant difference in your day.

Benefit # 2 – It builds your inner power to be a master of your own thoughts.

Having negative thoughts is part of being human. In fact studies have shown that 80% of people’s thoughts have negative connotations and 95% are repetitive. We are taught the importance of positive thinking and intellectually know that, however sometimes mastering your mind is no easy feat, why? It’s because our mind works on autopilot and it is conditioned to think in certain patterns. So being positive becomes a skill we have to practice over and over again.

One way you can break a pattern of thought that is not serving you, is to master how your mind works. To do so, you need to become more aware of your thoughts. That’s what becoming more mindful means. It starts with awareness that we all have empowering and disempowering thoughts that run through our mind all day long. In fact, studies have shown that we have over 6000 thoughts a day, which means our mind is in a continuous stream of thoughts that we are mostly unaware of because it is running from the patterns of our unconscious mind Our thoughts create emotions and our emotions create our energy. So it becomes easier to identify what our thoughts are when we become more in touch with our emotions and the energy we feel. 

Mastering your thoughts begins first with acknowledging them and accepting them without judgment regardless of whether they are positive or negative. Once you acknowledge them you want to challenging them by asking yourself how much they are serving you to grow or thrive. This is a form of self intervention to help you upgrade those thoughts to a higher level of energy , The tipping point is when you are able to release them, reframe them, and transform them in the moment to uplifting and inspiring thoughts., Most people who are stressed don’t believe they’re able to control what they think or feel. They fall victims to their thoughts and in fact validate them by continually reinforcing that they are stressed or frustrated or depleted.

By bringing meditation into your life, it helps you access your thoughts so you upgrade your pattern of your thinking. It will help you better control your thinking and be more in control of your thoughts. Gratitude is one of the most effective ways to start to replace any thought. Gratitude is a great way to start your meditation practice and enables you to reset your thoughts with a focus on happiness and peace. This is how meditation builds on your peace of mind and happiness. By spending some time in focused and targeted personal reflection, you’ll gain a greater wisdom and appreciation of all your experiences both good and bad and learn to consciously start your day in the most productive way.

Benefit # 3 – It improves your focus and productivity

A by-product of meditation is the ability to practice focusing your mind, Our mind is like a muscle. As John Assaraf says, we have to keep working at “innercising” our mind. With continual daily practice, we build a new type of inner strength that welcomes peace and tranquility into our life. When you alleviate the stress at the beginning and end of each day, you’re better able to concentrate on the things that are important and that serve you in positive ways.

With continued meditation your focus will be expanded to encompass many aspects of your life. It helps your mind become sharper and clears it from the chaos and fog that get in the way so you can be more focused and productive in whatever you want to do!

15 minutes a day is all you need to start

Although we all may know that meditation can provide peace in our life, it can be hard to make the time to fit it into our day. Simply find a quiet place and allow yourself to relax and feel at peace for 10-15 minutes.

There are many types of meditation and there are many ways to meditate. Keep it simple as you start out. Create a morning and evening routine to settle your mind down by simply focusing on your breath. You can use an app like Calm, or do a little research on YouTube and pick a guided meditation or listen to some meditation music and ust focus on your breathing to calm your mind to start.

Meditation is personal. Find a way that works for you. There is no right or wrong way. It is a practice that evolves. It’s like any other habit. The more you do it, the more natural it is. Over time with regular practice you’ll begin to experience the benefits by your inner state of calm. You will see things clearer, you become more focused, more energetic and you will notice that you become a lot more in touch with your intuition. Things that you need will also start flowing easily to you and help bring you the support you seek in what you are trying to achieve!