How to Nourish Your Spirit
Meditation and mindfulness have their roots in ancient Eastern religious and spiritual practices, particularly Hinduism and Buddhism. There has been a prolonged trend in the West toward incorporating meditation and mindfulness practices into daily life, following a wide breadth of research outlining the positive health and emotional benefits. Research indicates that such practices have restorative benefits on the brain and improve one麻豆传媒檚 mood.
Mindfulness is the practice of expanding one麻豆传媒檚 sense of self-awareness. It is defined as 麻豆传媒渁 moment-to-moment awareness of one麻豆传媒檚 experience without judgment.麻豆传媒 Specific practices that promote mindfulness include, but are not limited to: meditation, guided imagery, yoga, and tai-chi.
Meditation is the practice of directing one麻豆传媒檚 attention to a single point of reference. It may involve focusing on one麻豆传媒檚 breath, on bodily sensations, or on a word or phrase known as a mantra. All in all, meditation involves one turning their attention away from distracting thoughts and focusing their attention on the present moment.
Research on mindfulness and meditation has outlined the following benefits:
- Reduced Rumination. Decreases time spent thinking, worrying, and experiencing anxiety.
- Stress Relief. Reduces stress.
- Memory Boost. Improves working memory.
- Improved Focus. Increases focus and concentration on a specific experience or task.
- Emotional Regulation. Improves management of emotions in a healthy way, rather than through avoidance or reacting negatively.
- Cognitive Flexibility. Creates new and more adaptive neural pathways, resulting in less rigid and more creative and flexible thinking.
- Relationship Satisfaction. Helps people respond better to relationship stress, resulting in improved communication and greater ability to reflect on positive aspects of relationships, which then leads to greater feelings of satisfaction within relationships.
- Self-Awareness/Insight. Promotes greater understanding of oneself.
Try the following apps and resources to help guide you in meditation and mindfulness:
Resources
Relaxation And Meditation Apps
- Stop, Breathe, Think