MEDITATION- What can it really do?

 

Meditation helps us get out of the monkey mind. This is when our circuits are firing round the default mode network- often this is the place where our thoughts spiral. You know those repetitive, obsessive, compulsive thought patterns. This isn't a bad thing (though it can be if we don't tap into it). I always think of this as a good sign, a sign that there is something there that needs to be addressed. Stress is like pain, it tells us when our way of living is dangerous to our health.

There's so many benefits to doing it. Brain scans of long term meditators suggest that meditation counteracts the thinning of the cortex that occurs when we age so it can protect us with memory loss, decision making, reasoning, judgement, language.

It helps reduce stress or more so alters how we respond to stress. There have been multiple studies where they see a reduction in inflammatory responses that are stress related. This can also stimulate improvements with anxiety and depression. Some forms of meditation can improve depression and reduce negative thoughts. It may also decrease levels of inflammatory cytokines, which can contribute to a whole host of conditions.

It helps you get more in touch with yourself- your emotions, sensations within the body, your mind, your soul… When you begin to look deeper within yourself. This can be a starting point for making other positive changes in every area of your life. Which is really powerful (and exciting!)

It can help with addictive behaviours, thought patterns and substance dependencies. As you increase your mental awareness it helps manage triggers for unwanted impulses. This can help you recover from addiction and redirect other unwanted habits.

There are many studies and research on how it can help with sleep.

Meditation can help alter the perception of pain in the brain. This is incredibly powerful with chronic conditions that pain is a side effect with. It can cause a greater ability to cope with pain and can even result in less experience of painful sensations.

Honestly the list goes on and I will delve deeper more into it in this page as time goes on.

J&R xoxo