"Mindful Meditation"
- by: trulee
- Feb 20, 2015
- 3 min read
I was introduced to meditation by my counselor. She gave me a number of exercises that I can do for relaxation, visualization, and mindfulness. She didn't introduce me to the Buddhist "meditation", she simply showed me the basic idea of focusing on the breath and bringing my attention back to the breath when I'm distracted by my own thoughts.
It was called "Mindful breathing".
I started doing some research on meditation, because I was hearing a lot of good things about it. Now that I know how tremendous the positive affects are, I practice meditation for 45 minutes every morning.
1. How To Meditate (Mindful Meditation)
The basic principle of meditation is learning to stay present without being carried away by the jumbled thoughts in our minds.
The how? Very simple! :
Start by setting an alarm for a set amount of time (2 min is great for starters)
1. Sit down comfortably where you won't have distractions, with your back reasonably straight.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Start breathing in through the nose slowly and breathing out through the mouth.
4. Focus on your breath. You will be distracted by your thoughts (such as, "Oh that was not a good thing for me to say to Bob this morning", "How am I going to pay my bills?", or even the recalling of trauma.) If you do, just notice that your mind has wandered, and gently bring your attention back to your breath. You do not need to follow your thoughts, just let them go and evaporate. Do not judge your thoughts--they are neither good nor bad.
This is your time for relaxation. Everything else can wait.
Practice letting go of the thoughts even if you think of something that you want to keep thinking about.
5. Do this until your alarm calls the end of your session.
The important part is that you do this everyday. I like to do this in the morning so I have the whole day to carry around my meditation-relaxed mind.
There are different types of meditation from guided meditation to mantra meditation and more. On this post I have introduced you to the most basic type of meditation called mindful meditation.
2. Benefits of Meditation
Meditation produces deep relaxation that we normally would not get into. And as you practice meditation and get better at it, you will notice that you are more able to stay present, control your thoughts, and regulate emotions.
Here is a Ted Talk video about meditation that explains its benefits.
Here are some of the known benefits of meditation that I've found through research.
a. Mental Benefits
- Increased self-awareness
- Gaining new perspectives on stressful situations
- Better focus
b. Physical Benefits
- Lowers blood pressure
- Increases seratonin and thus improves mood and behaviour
- Helps with pain
- Decreases sleep problems
3. What Happens to the Brain When We Meditate
Scientists have been able to find out the physical affects of meditation on our brain through technology such as fMRI scans. The main difference is that our brain stops processing information as actively as they normally do. There is a dramatic decrease in beta waves (shown in bright colours on the left figure) as the photo below shows:
Here is an explanation of what happens to different parts of the brain during meditation. (brought directly from: source)
Frontal lobe This is the most highly evolved part of the brain, responsible for reasoning, planning, emotions and self-conscious awareness. During meditation, the frontal cortex tends to go offline.
Parietal lobe This part of the brain processes sensory information about the surrounding world, orienting you in time and space. During meditation, activity in the parietal lobe slows down.
Thalamus The gatekeeper for the senses, this organ focuses your attention by funneling some sensory data deeper into the brain and stopping other signals in their tracks. Meditation reduces the flow of incoming information to a trickle.
Reticular formation As the brain’s sentry, this structure receives incoming stimuli and puts the brain on alert, ready to respond. Meditating dials back the arousal signal.
Meditation is definitely be one of the powerful tools that I have for healing from my childhood trauma and abuse. It will start to change my brain physiologically. I hope this post helped you gain a deeper understanding of meditation, and I highly recommend that you give it a try!
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