Meditation is a big word that’s getting lots of attention these days! So many people are talking about it but can anyone actually tell you what it is?!?
Maybe it would be easier to start with what it is not.
Meditation is not a religion; it is not a cult, its not scary or dangerous.
Meditation is a way to gain a better understanding of what is going on inside your head and your body, and it can help you have a better life.
How do you Meditate?
There are almost endless different kinds of meditation but they all have one thing in common, the seated posture. Sitting with your back straight and your legs crossed allows the body to become motionless for long enough to get in touch with the feelings you are having inside, and the effect those feelings are having on your state of mind.
All of the different forms of meditation have one purpose, to allow you to detach your ‘self’ from what’s going on in your head!
Why does posture matter?
Why does this matter? Because most of what is going on in our heads isn’t very nice!
You see our brains have evolved over millions of years, to help us survive. Back in the days of lions and tigers trying to eat us, we had to be VERY sensitive to dangers around us. Now, millions of years later, the biggest threat we face in life is someone dissing us on Twitter, yet our minds are still programmed to seek out danger, so we tend to look at everything from a negative slant.
Well, it doesn’t need to be that way! It is only the primitive part of our brain that sees the world that way. We are not cave people anymore! The newest parts of our brain that have evolved are where our feelings of love and happiness and creativity function.
What does Meditation do?
Meditation helps us cool down the fear response that comes naturally to us, and helps us access the higher function areas of our brain.
This allows us to live happier, healthier more productive lives. By having access to this new awesome area of the brain we can do better at school, perform better in sports, have better relationships with our parents and friends, AND spot dangerous thoughts feelings and behaviors before they lead us into trouble!
As I said, there are almost endless different types of meditation used for different things, but the one I find the most useful in our everyday life here on planet earth is called Mindfulness Meditation.
The technique of Mindfulness Meditation is super easy to learn, simple to use all throughout the day and is the foundation for a happy healthy life!
For a few minutes in the morning and in the evening we sit cross-legged with our back straight to ‘practice meditation’. Then we take the skill out into our daily lives and use it every moment we can to dramatically improve the quality of our reaction to the things going on around us.
To Learn More Check Out The Next Article Called ‘What is Mindfullness?”
Have Your Say
Do you meditate? How do you choose to relax? Comment below.
