As the year 2021 drew to a close, I was writing about the highlights and positive habits which I inculcated last year in my notes. The year 2021 for me was an exciting year both professionally and personally. I was able to contribute well in my job at Lenovo India, got recognized for doing well with an award. On the personal front, I was able to achieve my health and fitness goals by doing regular workouts or Yoga for 30 minutes and more every day. From a learning point of view, I learned a new language, completed a couple of online courses, and added new skills to improve my productivity.
However, when I reflected on the past year a bit deeper, I discovered the most important positive habit which I brought into my daily schedule and which I believe is the central reason for being able to work on multiple things is the meditation practice that I incorporated into my life couple of years ago.
I feel excited to share my meditation journey with all and would attempt to share my thoughts and the benefits I have received while doing meditation regularly.
What is meditation ?
Meditation, as per me, is a practice of giving oneself time to pause, explore and refine ones’ thoughts in order to become aware of what goes inside the mind. It is a way through which one can experience the stream of thoughts in their mind and how one can make the best use of or channelize this immense power in a more productive way. For me, it has been a way of finding inner peace and calm in daily life.
How meditation helps ?
Meditation for its simplest benefit helps you clear your thoughts. The human mind has the ability to think and process thousands of thoughts in a second. Because of this unique characteristic, we are in a continuous state of flow which leads to a barrage of thoughts popping in the mind (imagine like being on auto-pilot), where you are in auto-mode, executing tasks by best using your instincts or past experiences and least using the mind. Meditation allows you to filter and focus on which tasks you want to take action on. Once you pause and sit to explore this thought process you would be able to understand that by simply clearing your mind for even 15-20 minutes a day, you can focus on tasks in a much better way throughout your day.
Meditation has helped me feel happier, fresh, recharged, and rejuvenated after every meditation session. It has resulted in enhanced physical and emotional well-being for me, my imagination and creativity improved & I was able to increase my patience and tolerance.
As part of my job, I interact and talk to many people, respond to & write hundreds of emails a day, after practicing meditation I was able to respond to each of these actions in a calm, patient, and energetic manner despite working for long hours.
How to do meditation ?
While I am not an expert on ‘how to do meditation, I will share here 3 of the techniques which I follow. Do note there would be many other ways to bring stillness and calmness in your thoughts.
One of the techniques is observing your breath. You can sit still with your eyes closed and can start to observe the flow of your breath. Place your attention as the breath enters your nostrils and then travel through your throat all the way to your abdomen. Likewise, observe the exhale process. It may take a while and a bit of practice to be able to concentrate the mind on this inhale-exhale process, however even if it doesn’t happen right, it is still fine. The process of observing the flow of breath will start to create a positive sensation in your body.
The second technique which is also known as Mindfulness meditation: is to sit still with your eyes closed and observe all the thoughts that come to your mind. This type of meditation is based on being mindful of having an increased awareness and acceptance of living in the present moment. In mindfulness meditation, you broaden your conscious awareness. You can observe your thoughts and emotions, but let them pass without judgment. In this technique, while you would be aware of which thought is appearing however you don’t have to stop or go deeper into that thought, just allow that thought to come and disappear. In this technique hundreds of thoughts /memories of past or future may arise, the only thing you have to do is let the thought pass silently.
Again if you are not able to let all thoughts pass, it is perfectly fine. After a few minutes of this process, you will start to feel more relaxed and calm and you will realize the number of thoughts has reduced, you may also feel a little lightness in your mind. Do note this would come from practice, so even if you don’t get in the first few days, give it a little time.
Mantra Meditation: In this type of meditation, you silently repeat a calming word, thought, or phrase to prevent distracting thoughts.
It’s doesn’t matter much which one of the techniques you may be using to rest your mind and allow it to enter into a calm state, what is important is to find time to pause and reflect on your thoughts.
When to do meditation? : While there is no specific time that is better than others, the best time is whenever you get time to stop for a while in your busy day. However many people prefer to do it in the morning time, before starting their day. So that you can carry the calmness and benefits of mediation throughout your day.
Personally, I like to do my meditation in the morning either before or right after the workout. Post-workout meditation also helps me to calm down my breath and allow my mind to enter into a relaxed state.
Why is it important in today’s time?
In today’s time, there is more information floating than it was ever available, hence the human mind is constantly busy processing that information. The constant social media buzz, flash news, and WhatsApp notifications – all of it is keeping our mind on alert mode. This constant alertness when prolonged gives rise to stress, fatigue, or anxiety.
Due to this information overload, we have very little time to pause, think, and take actually take action on things. In today’s busy lives where you need to focus on multiple tasks, a clear mind helps you prioritize & focus on tasks better.
It also helps you to pause, think and then take action so that your response to the situation becomes more balanced.
In my journey of doing meditation over the last couple of years, it has helped me bring calmness, stability, and stillness in my thoughts and responsibility towards others, besides making me feel happier and more confident in life.
Do Practice, it may change your life
If you’re someone looking to relieve stress or someone who wants to maximize the potential of what a focused mind can do, I would urge you to start practicing meditation. As someone who has seen immense benefits and always looks forward to the calming 30 minutes of every day, I would confirm that people who meditate are less stressed, healthier, sleep better, and have a more positive outlook on life. Simply put, meditation makes you a happier person!
While you meditate, pls note not to judge your meditation skills. Meditation takes practice. Keep in mind, for instance, that it’s common for your mind to wander during meditation, no matter how long you’ve been practicing meditation. If you’re meditating to calm your mind and your attention wanders, slowly return to the object, sensation, or movement you’re focusing on.
Also, experiment, and you’ll likely find out what types of meditation work best for you and what you enjoy doing. Adapt meditation to your needs at the moment. Remember, there’s no right way or wrong way to meditate. What matters is that meditation helps you reduce your stress and feel better overall.
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Thanks for reading!!
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