Aaheli
What is Mindfulness Meditation?
Mindfulness meditation teaches people to attain a state of mind marked by heightened awareness of the present that specializes in the instant and accepting and acknowledging it without becoming distracted or distressed by stress. Mindfulness improves the quality of life, reduces anxiety, and improve coping strategies.
Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is systematic training in mindfulness to help people manage their reactions to stress and negative emotions.
How Can You Practice Mindfulness Meditation?
If you are an anxious person and feel that stress is always piling up in your life, it will be difficult for you to sit in a fixed position for a long time. In such a situation, it is better to meditate only for a few minutes and gradually increase the time according to your preference.
Let us now look into the steps of Mindfulness Meditation:
- Sit in a comfortable posture
There is no ‘hard and fast’ rule that you have to maintain a particular position. You can bend or outstretch your muscles, or sit upright in a chair. You can also keep your spine straight or lay your back. Find a position that suits you the best.
- Eliminate your distractions
Find a comfortable place that has as few distractions as possible. Close your eyes and eliminate all the distractions in the surrounding. After some time, you will be able to feel your breathing pattern. Focusing on your breathing pattern will eventually help you to bring an altered state of consciousness.
- Complete the process
Try to complete the entire process of meditation with your eyes closed. Do not let your mind wander and bring your attention to the meditation. Upon completion, open your eyes and perform some stretches for additional benefits.
- Do not give up
Initially, the meditation process is likely to induce anxiety and the thought like “Is this the right way to do it?” may pop up in your mind. Experts suggest that people should not give up and continue the meditation process as it brings benefits in the long run.
Health Benefits of Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation not only reduces stress and anxiety but also has some additional health benefits.
- It lowers blood pressure and heart rate
- Reduces chronic muscle pain in the body
- Eliminates gastrointestinal difficulties
- Eliminates sleeplessness
- Helps you to perform multiple activities
- Prevents early aging
- Controls obesity
- Reduces anger
- Help to reduce eating disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, alcoholism, drug abuse, etc.
Precautionary measures to follow
While mindfulness meditation does marvels to alleviate stress and anxiety, there are some precautions you should keep in your mind before practicing it.
- Do not overeat
Overeating before mediation may adversely affect the meditation process. However, meditating with an empty stomach can also result in hypoglycemia. Experts suggest eating a light meal before meditation.
- Do not stand up immediately after meditation
As you already know that meditating reduces blood pressure, you should not stand up immediately after completing the process. After your meditation is complete, open your eyes, take a deep breath, and relax your muscles before standing up.
- Allow the flow of Emotion
Often meditation leads to an altered state of consciousness. You may encounter new emotions that are most likely unfamiliar to you. Do not panic and startle up. These emotions are normal so let them flow freely in your mind.
- Minimize the distractions
Choose a comfortable spot to meditate that is free from noises. Do not carry your phone along with you. Studies also suggest wearing comfortable clothes and remove all heavy jewelry and shoes.
- Do not force your body for meditation
The last but most vital precaution is ‘do not force yourself’. Do not haste and maintain composure. You may encounter people in your daily life that boast about their duration of meditating and suggest you follow a fixed posture. Always choose what is best for you.
Early Researches on Mindfulness Meditation
Roth & Robbins in the year 2004 studied whether an 8-week MBSR program could improve health in a low-income Latino and Anglo inner-city community. Health and quality of life improvements among participants, suggesting that MBSR may have beneficial health effects as well as coping benefits.
Another research of neuroscience studied that mindfulness involves the prefrontal cortical regions of the brain. This regulates affect and downregulate activity within the limbic areas associated with anxiety and other negative emotions (Creswell, Way, Eisenberger, & Lieberman, 2007).
Mindfulness Meditation is a very efficient stress relaxation technique with no side effects. Not only stress and anxiety, but it also helps persons having high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, etc. You can also practice meditation as a means for a better standard of living.
Nice concept and well written
Amazing Article
One of my favourite habits. I like the way you have presented it.
I really enjoyed reading this.
Well Written!
Well written!
Amazing
Well conceptualized and well presented. Important concept in today’s times.
You’re article was very informative . I liked it very much
Appreciable work!
You have given really nice tips whi are really helpful in this pandemic era.
As people are getting more and more stressed nowadays.
Thank you!
Well presented and researched
Got to learn a lot Thankyou
Very informative. Good work.
Nicely written. Even my own doubts were cleared and i will definitely use the information given here while meditating. There’s another therapy Mindfulness based Cognitive therapy (MBCT). You should look into that too.
Crisp along with the details. Loved reading it. I hope I can imbibe these healthier habits.
This was surely an amazing concept to write upon and I totally loved reading this.
Been meaning to start meditating, reading all this surely helped me to gain more insights.
Thank you! Sending power your way :’)
very informative
Thank you for reconfirming the things that were already within me.
Very informative and motivating .
Truly very informative and well scripted. Keep it up!
Very nicely done. Like how it’s simple and to the point. Really likes the do’s and don’ts about the meditation. Makes it very easy to practice in daily life. I think you can also check out art therapy which also includes mindfulness.
Mindfulness is really important and helpful. Everyone need to know about it and should know how to practice it. Well written.
I really like the way you have presented it. I completely agree with every word of this article as I have applied it in my real life. I am huge fan of meditation. May be you could also write about the same topic with special reference to pregnant women.
Beautifully written article on mindfulness…
Mindfullness is a lost art that is fortunately making a comeback..
you have also given the various health benefits that mindfullness has on our health..
keep up the good work…
I have my exams coming up so I will look into these techniques to help reduce my stress. Thank you
A great topic from one of the most incredible subfields of Psychology- positive psychology!
I thoroughly enjoyed the way you wrote your article in the form of practical steps that the readers can follow. It is incredible to see that the simple practice of mindfulness can lead to so many positive physiological changes.
I also loved how you added a research to further prove you’re point, and maintained the balance between encouraging the reader and yet not pushing them to the breaking point.
Thank you for writing on this wonderful topic. A great read
amazing and informative one !! liked it very much
I really like how you’ve taken the content step-by-step which makes it easier to follow and grasp. It’s an important topic that people need to be aware about because a lot of people misunderstand or do not completely understand the benefits of it. Great work!
Such a good work and good effort. The topic wish you have chosen The Benefits of Mindfulness Meditation in Reducing Stress is a very informative for me . Hope to see more of your write-ups.
Well written.!
Hey Aaheli! This article is very well written and I loved how the headings are clear and concise.
Thank You so much for writing this amazing piece of work! Kudos to your hardwork and research <3
This is a nice concept!
this is good!
Keep Writing 🙂
Hi Aaheli,
Very detailed and research backed article.
Meditation is a must for well-being, whether troubled by anxiety or not.
Good work!
A very informative article!
Looking forward to more of your work!!
Amazing content
Well written.
Nice, well written. Kindly mention your references, so if needed the viewers can refer to that. thankyou!
I definitely liked this article a lot! It’s a must read! Keep it up!
It is a very beautiful topic that you have chosen as the way you have presented it has made the content look more beautiful. keep it up.
Well written
In an age like today, where people are growing more impatient and short-tempered each day, this article very beautifully highlights the importance of mindfulness. It emphasizes on the fact that meditation shouldn’t induce more stress in any way or form, but rather should be tranquil and relaxing. It beautifully highlights not only the precautionary measure which people can take to help them meditate better but also justifies the pros and cons for the same. Very crisp, well-researched and well-written article.
Hey Aheli,
U have chosen a very soothing and important topic. The article was very crisp, clear and informative. People often face problems and stress out themselves to a greater extent. Stressing out yourself can cause severe damage to an individuals health. I hope that after reading this article many people will learn to calm themselves through mindfulness meditation as it is very effective and helpful.
Nice content
In recent decades, public interest in mindfulness meditation has soared making this article the perfect read. Great job!
The article was much influencing in acquiring knowledge about mindful meditation to the beginners. but to those readers who already have clear insight on this topic may expect for more theories and recent research on this. though the content was well explored by the author. adding conclusion to the article may appear more effective.
Hey! This is a lovely article and very well put! It is also easy to follow! Mindfulness is an important aspect that we should inculcate in our daily lives! Although I would urge you to also mention that MBSR cannot be or rather should not be practiced without undergoing the 8 weeks course, just sharing this bit of extra information that our teacher had asked us to remember.
Cheers! 🙂
Nicely presented and yeah Meditation the only thing that helps to reduce stress.
well written and very informative. you could have added the bibliography as well for the readers
i really appreciate the way you present it. very detail explanations.. if possible try to add reference . thanks for sharing