Why Meditate?
Many of us are in a chronic low level of stress, the ‘fight-or-flight’ states, sometimes without even realising it. Meditation can be utilised as a way of resetting the nervous system to return to a state of ‘rest-and-digest’ that allows your mind and body to feel fully relaxed.
The Mind-Body Connection
If you are experiencing any type of stress, from work or at home, you are most likely stuck in fight-or-flight if you are thinking about an issue beyond the actual stress-inducing event.
You may be in the fight-state if you are frustrated with something, or in flight-mode if you are trying to avoid or dread something or perhaps you’re not quite ‘feeling yourself’.
When we are in these stress states we are often thinking into the future rather than being fully present. The ideal is to have a strong mind-body connection for overall health and mental wellbeing which improves our resilience to life.
Interoception, Our Sixth Sense
Being in the present moment often relies on our sense of interoception which is our ability to “tune into” and sense our body which can be developed through meditation. The vagus nerve serves as the mind-body connection that is involved in self-regulation between the brain, heart and gut and so our thoughts, feelings and intuition respectively.
Types of Meditation
There is a type of meditation for everyone, here are just a few options depending on what you are looking for:
Nature Meditation - Is your screen time making you feel disconnected? Go for a walk and do as the Japanese do and ‘nature bathe’ by spending time outside connecting to nature.
Mindful Eating - Are you struggling with digestion or do you find that you eat too fast? Try eating mindfully by putting your cutlery down between bites to slow yourself down.
Emotion-Focused Meditation - If you are experiencing difficult emotions, meditation gives the mental space to process those emotions through giving your focused attention to those feelings and also through questioning what the emotion could be labelled as and what the original cause was.
Sleep meditations - Are you struggling with sleep? Gradually slow your mind ready for sleep by using the body scanning technique. This meditation method involves focusing on relaxing the muscles on each part of your body, starting at your feet and making your way up to your head until your whole body is relaxed.
Silent meditation - Constant inner dialogue of the mind can lead to a lack of clarity. Take time to silence the mind by practising a ban on thinking thoughts for inner peace. Go for a walk and look, but don’t label what you see.
Visualisation Meditation - Have you got a challenge coming up that you want to feel prepared for or is there something you want to improve? Practise the experience you want to create by creating the experience in your mind first. Do you want a healthier morning routine? Visualise your perfect morning routine and create a plan that you can then put into action.
Present Moment Awareness - Are you worrying or living in the future too much? Return to ‘the now’ by engaging your senses by focusing on what you can hear, see, smell, taste and touch.
Walking Meditation - Going for a short daily walk and focusing on only the world around you at that moment will give your mind the space to have a refresh.
Active Attention Meditation - Are you wanting to increase your productivity? While doing tasks, such as driving or washing the dishes, you can focus fully on the task by not letting your mind wander off. This attention can then be applied to any task.
Breathwork Meditation - Are you finding yourself low in energy? Meditating on your breath can make you feel alert and relaxed. Focus on breathing in for 5 seconds, and exhaling for 5 seconds (all through your nose) and feel your energy reset.
Exercise Meditation - Exercising, particularly getting your heart pumping has a positive effect on letting go of stress. Exercising has been found to improve interoception and leads to greater mental wellbeing.
Guided Meditation - Not sure where to start? YouTube has a wide variety of guided meditations to pick from, along with apps that focus on a range of topics including sleep and breathwork.
Any one of these meditation practices are a step towards a greater mind-body connection and so a greater sense of wellbeing. This is the perfect time to get started with a meditation routine, even if you can only dedicate 5 minutes of your day, you will notice the difference with practice.
