The Benefits of Meditation and How to Start Your Practice Today

self awarenesspersonal growthpsychology
Written By Justine Saavedra
 

The first experience I had with meditation was as a 14 year old in a yoga class with my grandmother. At the end, the instructor told us to close our eyes and to think of nothing for 5 minutes. On the way home I felt great, what a relief it was to have permission to shut my mind down. However, my Nana lamented to me, “Think of NOTHING for 5 minutes?!? How could that even be possible? What a silly idea, who has time for that?”

As an anxious adult, I totally understand where she was coming from. With so many people, events and responsibilities competing for our attention, shutting down our thoughts for even 5 minutes can seem like an impossible task. 


But if we don’t take the time to slow down and regroup, our thoughts and actions can take on a life of their own. Without even realizing it we may blow up or say something we don’t mean, just because our brains are in overdrive. 


Taking the time to meditate gives us the ability to insightfully respond to stressful situations instead of reacting emotionally. The skill of thoughtfully responding and NOT emotionally reacting will grant you the ability to navigate your life and relationships in a calm, measured, sustainable way. 

I started a regular meditation practice last year and when I began I could hardly do it for 5 minutes. My mind would instantly wander to my to-do list and it felt impossible to quiet my thoughts. With consistent practice, I can now meditate for 20 minutes without even realizing it. I try to meditate every day but it’s usually more like 4-5 days a week. The important thing is that I show up for myself. (If you have trouble showing up for yourself, check out my post here!)

I practice guided mindfulness meditation although there are many different types. (Read about the different types) Today we’ll talk about a couple of the proven benefits of mindfulness meditation and I’ll also share my favorite videos that helped get me started! 

Improved focus and thinking

Paying attention never used to be an issue for me; it’s a problem I developed after graduating college. (I believe it was due to the increase of my cell phone and social media usage after getting my first smartphone, but that’s a conversation for another day.)

I found my mind wandering in the middle of conversations. And I had trouble paying attention to anything for more than 5 minutes. My head felt like it was being pulled in 100 different directions and I couldn’t focus on any one of them, I could only focus on how chaotic it felt. I know many of us have felt this way in the past two years especially. 

Magnifying glass focusing on one daisy in a field of hundreds of flowers
 

Mindfulness meditation specifically teaches us to observe our thoughts without judgment and to bring awareness to our breath. If your mind wanders- which it inevitably will- you simply bring your mind back to your inhale and exhale. With practice, redirecting your attention from unwanted thoughts back to the breath, or whatever you want to pay attention to, becomes like second nature.

In fact, a large review of numerous studies looking at meditation found that the practice could actually improve attention and cognition. It does this by the following process:

Meditation increases attention> Better attention leads to better perception> Better perception leads to better memory

(Brown, Creswell, and Ryan, Handbook of Mindfulness.)

This skill can improve all aspects of your life from work to personal relationships and goals. Centering and calming yourself will help you focus on that big project at work or direct your effort at that business you’ve been wanting to start. There’s a reason most billionaires mention meditation as part of their morning routines- it’s a powerful tool and it gives you that extra edge.

Meditation gives us the ability to calm the noise and focus our energy on the task at hand. 


Improved coping skills

Mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) is the fancy psychological term for mindfulness meditation. A recent large-scale analysis of over 60 reports on MSBR found that “the consistent and relatively strong level of effect sizes across very different types of sample indicates that mindfulness training might enhance general features of coping with distress and disability in everyday life, as well as under more extraordinary conditions of serious disorder or stress.” (Grossman et al., “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Health Benefits.”)

In other words, this article found that meditation can help people with mental or other serious physical illnesses cope with their distress. Even if you don’t fall into one of these categories, life is constantly throwing us curve balls or difficult people to deal with. Learning to cope with difficulties before they arise means we can handle them from a measured, calm perspective instead of becoming reactive and doing or saying something we don’t mean. 

Practicing mindfulness meditation regularly means you get familiar with how to redirect your mind when unwanted thoughts pop up or your mind starts running. When you start feeling overwhelmed, you can take a few deep breaths and shift your mind to the task at hand instead of spiraling into a ball of uncertainty. When you are familiar with being in a centered, calm state, it is much easier to get back there when you need to. 

How do I start?

You literally just have to do it. I found following YouTube videos was the best way for me to get started. Decide what time of day you will meditate (I usually prefer mornings) and have your video ready.

If you fall off for a few days, weeks or months don’t criticize yourself for it- instead tell yourself “Thank you” for coming back to your meditation practice. 

woman meditating with various items like candle, incense and pink sea salt

Don’t get frustrated if meditation feels really hard to do. I was literally frustrated to tears more than once at how difficult it can be. But the payoff is more than worth the price. My ability to focus is finally coming back and I don’t feel so overwhelmed when dealing with the everyday tornado of life. 

Being able to bring ourselves back to a state of calm allows us to move through the world as happier, more productive people. Imagine if everyone around you could do the same thing; how much progress could be made if every person had the ability to center themselves? 

I hope this post has encouraged you to start a meditation practice! Please comment below what your experiences with mediation are!


References

Brown, Kirk Warren, J. David Creswell, and Richard M. Ryan. Handbook of Mindfulness: Theory, Research, and Practice. Guilford Publications, 2015.

Grossman, Paul, Ludger Niemann, Stefan Schmidt, and Harald Walach. “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Health Benefits: A Meta-Analysis.” Journal of Psychosomatic Research 57, no. 1 (July 1, 2004): 35–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3999(03)00573-7.

Justine Saavedra
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