The mind-body connection is often overlooked, but is something that I think is extremely important. Think about it this way; do you ever feel like you are eating for no reason or that you can never seem to find the motivation to workout when you are in a bad mood? It’s because our mental state is closely connected to how we feel physically!
I have wanted to try out meditation for a while because I had read about the benefits of even just a few minutes of daily meditation from so many sources. It wasn’t until I read Annie Lawless’ (of Blawnde.com) blog post about meditation that I really sat down and literally just … meditated.
[Tweet “Why you (and everyone else) should start meditating today #honestlyfitness #meditate”]
As you may have heard me say before, being a graduate student with a part-time job and a blog (who is trying to live a healthy and active lifestyle) is not a stress-free gig. I have these phases where I tend to get extremely stressed out which causes everything else to go down the toilet; goodbye sleep, goodbye feeling motivated before workouts, goodbye self-control when approached with high-sugar goodies!!!
Meditation and why it is so Important
I have only been meditating daily for two weeks, but I feel as if I am already reaping the benefits. I feel much more calm and mindful, and I have been sleeping much better. I have been using a fantastic app called Headspace, which gives you 10 days worth of free guided meditation. I highly recommend it for anyone who is like “Um, what the heck am I supposed to be doing?”.
Just take a look at some of the benefits of meditation and how it can help you š
Benefits of Meditation
As always, I try and find out facts backed up by science so I have done my best to find out meditation benefits using academic journal searches. As with all research, it is constantly being updated š
Stress Relief
Meditation has been shown to help both ill and healthy people alike manage their stress levels, which can help avoid burnout and can be used to help avoid headaches (since stress can lead to headaches and migraines).
Weight-Loss
Research has suggested that meditation can aid in weight-loss and reduce binge eating by making you more mindful of your feelings and emotions so you are not eating mindlessly or for emotional reasons.
Disease
Meditation has been shown to help a range of illness including cancer (by improving mental health as more research is needed to see physical effects) and chronic pain disorders such as arthritis. It has also been said to help reduce blood pressure and improve mental health.
Happiness
Meditation has been said to help improve the quality of one’s life because it can help improve your sense of self-control and by decreasing depression symptoms. It can also improve happiness by encouraging open expression of emotions and an increased sense of compassion through mindfulness.
There is no harm in trying, right? It may seem all mystical and zen-like but in reality, all you are doing is sitting in a quiet place and focusing on your breath for however long you are comfortable. If you are feeling stressed out, depressed or are just in need of some ‘me’ time, then I highly recommend you give meditation a go, and I also highly recommend the Headspace app.
What are your thoughts on meditation and this post? Will you give it a go?
Honestly yours,
Alice
