What Approach Should You Take Towards Meditating?

There is no doubt that meditation can be a great tool. In fact, research reveals that it can help people handle mental health issues, improve their memory, relieve stress, fight insomnia and also improve their sleep.

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Research reveals that meditation can help people handle mental health issues, improve their memory and relieve stress

However, so many people are yet to effectively find a way to incorporate meditation as a part of their daily lives. A national health survey revealed that in 2007, the percentage of those in America who did meditate or even tried to meditate was approximately 10% in 2007 and at the moment has increased to just 12%. The important question for determination at this point is why most people are not meditating.

The major thing to consider might actually be personalization or maybe the absence of it. The issue with meditation is that most of us still consider it to be a general practice, but it is interesting to note that it isn’t actually the case. There are several types and techniques of meditation and the important thing is to find the one that is perfect for you. That is actually the first step that would help you make meditation stick better.

There is no need to panic or be discouraged if your brain doesn’t adapt immediately. That usually happens to almost everyone when they first start out, regardless of the type of meditation they choose to adopt.

How do you choose the meditation that is right for you at the moment?

1. Are you having issues with thinking positively?

You are not alone if you constantly have negative emotions like sadness, self-doubt, jealousy, anxiety and anger reading up in your mind. We all know how great positive thinking can be, but for a lot of people it doesn’t come so easy, particularly when they are not in a good state.

However, it is absolutely possible to work with the negative emotions to an extent that you are able to control them and not letting them control you.

What would likely work for you in this instance is guided meditation. For instance, the Insight Timer application offers you guided meditation which is based on the things you are currently having issues with. Whether what you need is assistance with acceptance, handling pain, anger or depression, you will find at least one session that suits your need.

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Insight Timer application offers you guided meditation which is based on the things you are currently having issues with

All you need to do is ensure that your teacher’s voice is soothing to you. You can try out Sarah Blondin’s guided meditations which helps you control anger.

2. Are you trying to get better at exercising?

You might rightly be wondering how meditating for minutes would help you achieve your body goals. While exercise generally starts to make us feel present when we start, we soon realize that after a period of time, we end up experiencing different emotions that can in turn cause us to be dissatisfied when practicing. Worse still, it can lead to injuries. If you try switch off your brain as you exercise and even after exercise, preventing any of those unpleasant occurrences will be easy.

What will prove effective in this case is yoga and mindfulness meditation. Ashley Elgatian, who teaches yoga, recommends that one should combine mindfulness meditations (like the ones on Headspace App) and yoga practice. That will help those who have active minds and usually have issues switching off.

According to Elgatian, at times when the human mind remains busy, we are no longer in our bodies as we just get lost in our thoughts. That affects the physical body as it gets tense and tight making it harder to achieve a state of relaxation.

Easy mindfulness routines can be helpful because according to Elgatian, practicing mindfulness at least once each day can help in the creation of fresh neural pathways.

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Practicing mindfulness at least once each day can help in the creation of fresh neural pathways.

Elgatian is also of the belief that yoga is a good way to launch into meditation. During yoga, one is usually mindful of breathing pattern all through the course of practising and you always know whenever you get distracted. You do not particularly have a choice considering that your major task is focusing on your physical body.

3. Are You Trying To Sleep More?

There are different reasons why you are having issues with insomnia. However, one thing is constant and that is the fact that meditation can immensely help you. Studies have revealed that through mindfulness meditation, you can get a relaxation response which will eventually help you achieve a peaceful sleep. The Calm application has some sleep stories that can prove helpful.