Meditation is the habitual process of training your mind to focus and redirect your thoughts. The practice appears to have an amazing variety of neurological benefits – from changes in grey matter volume to reduced activity in the “me” centres of the brain to enhanced connectivity between brain regions. In this blog, we wanted to highlight some of the main benefits of meditation for healthy ageing.
What is meditation, and how do you practice it?
The simplicity and universal appeal of meditation are its greatest virtues. Many individuals believe that it frequently entails monk-like concentration in dimly-lit spaces. When, in fact, the opposite is true! All you need to do to meditate is set aside some time for yourself to focus and concentrate on things like your breath, a thought you keep repeating, or a certain bodily sensation. The goal is to train your brain to maintain a chosen state of awareness for extended periods of time, even as distractions arise. This practice has been linked to an increase in grey matter volume in regions of the brain responsible for memory, sense of self and emotions.
Meditation is something that everyone can do, it just takes practice to master it. Here are the basic steps to follow:
- Take a seat or lay down somewhere
- Set a time limit
- Close your eyes and notice your body
- Feel your breath coming in and out
- Notice when your mind has wandered
- Be kind to your wandering mind
- Finish the session with kindness
And that’s it! You focus your attention, your mind wanders, you bring it back, and you try to do it as kindly as possible (as many times as you need to).
Benefits of meditation
1) Reduces stress and anxiety
Meditation is a form of self-awareness training. You pay attention to the thoughts that come and go in your head so you can gain a better understanding of your own mental processes. This is a really potent technique since it teaches you how to regulate your negative thoughts. In fact, studies have revealed that regular meditation rewires neural connections in the brain, assisting us in controlling emotions like tension and anxiety.
2) Better concentration and focus
You can’t do anything if you aren’t focused. Meditation teaches you how to develop single-pointed attention so you can perceive things clearly and not be confused by external distractions. The result is a heightened sense of concentration, an ability to block out distractions, and an overall feeling of calmness and clarity that makes it easier for you to perform everyday tasks or activities.
3) Better self-awareness
Mindfulness meditation encourages you to slow down, allows for deeper self-reflection, and can help you discover positive attributes about yourself. Mindfulness helps increase self-awareness by increasing the ability to examine one’s thoughts and feelings without judgment, which ends up improving self-esteem
Meditation and healthy ageing go hand-in-hand in many ways, and meditation can have profound effects on one’s health, from reducing stress to enhancing self-awareness and improving concentration.
