You probably hear it or maybe you say it to yourself sometimes; “Meditating more often would help.” For some it can feel like they are not cut out for meditation or that it doesn't suit them. Yet there are benefits to meditating that apply to all of us.
WHAT IS MEDITATION?
When you decide to meditate, you actually decide to stop for a while. Often there is the misconception that while meditating you don't think or should think about anything at all. However, meditation is often used to learn to observe thoughts without directly identifying with them. You don't have to go into all the thoughts that shoot through your head at all. Meditation is therefore also known as “training the mind”.LESS STRESS AND ANXIETY
People who meditate regularly appear to experience less stress. In a raging world where a lot has to be done, it is logical that our body becomes overstimulated. To calm down our nervous system , meditation is a perfect solution. While you sit still and watch your breathing, the autonomic nervous system also gets a chance to catch its breath. This causes your body to drop back into your parasympathetic state, the state in which you can feel relaxed and safe again.
LESS LONELY
Meditating can also ensure that you suffer less from loneliness. huh? How? When you meditate you go back inside. You are alone in your head with your own thoughts in the silence. For many people this can feel a bit scary and maybe even confronting when they start meditating because they are not often alone. Learning to be alone with yourself, without any distractions or other stimuli, will make you feel more secure with yourself. Gradually you learn to trust yourself more, so that being alone is less experienced as being lonely.
BETTER CONCENTRATION
Perhaps it goes without saying, but meditating also improves your concentration. Because you learn to focus and sit still without any distractions or other stimuli, your concentration will strengthen. People's attention spans are getting smaller and smaller due to social media and technology. So this is a nice way to balance that out for yourself.
