Meditate

I'm choosing to kick off my blog with a post on meditation as this is where the journey for a more mindful way of living started for me.

The benefits of meditation are vast, they include eliminating stress, lowering blood pressure, decrease  in tension related pain, gain clarity and peace of mind, increase in happiness, sharpens the mind, intuition develops, improves the immune system, increases energy and more.

For someone who doesn't know anything about meditation other than people in orange robes crossing their legs and chanting for hours, the idea can seem a little strange. It did for me. I was first introduced to it in my early twenties. My mum was going through treatment for breast cancer and a friend of hers had given her a chakra balancing guided meditation to listen to. I walked in on her laying on the bed covered in rose quartz crystals listening to a soothing voice telling her to imagine she was walking through a beautiful green forest. I thought great, she's lost it. But I gave it a go. At the time I was struggling with chronic depression and wasn't feeling very hopeful.
I was pleasantly surprised, it took me away for 30 minutes and I came out of it with a sense of calm.

I began trying out different guided meditations, buying books and talking to others that practiced meditation. I took myself away on a Buddhist retreat where I meditated with monks for hours every day. It was there that my practice changed and I learned the true meaning of meditation. To find stillness in the mind.
Meditation rests the mind and helps you attain a state of consciousness that is very different from the normal waking state. In this state you will experience the centre of consciousness within.

Meditation is not a religious practice, anyone can do it. It is a truly loving and kind gift that you should allow yourself to enjoy daily. It has made huge changes to my state of mind and can do the same for you.

Take a look at my page on meditation where I give you an easy breakdown of how to meditate. There are 1,440 minutes in a day, take just 10 of them to dedicate to yourself.