For a very long time now, meditation has been considered a very useful technique to work with the mind which brings in relaxation, calmness and better health. Much before the discovery of modern science and medicine, there were dedicated meditators who had found this technique and the significant benefits that come with it. Even though there is a school of thought that connects meditation with spirituality, the needs of the modern world with its stressful lifestyle have encouraged people to engage with meditation more deeply. A growing corpus of research studies links meditation and physical and mental health while some other studies focus on understanding the tenets of meditation and why it has a positive influence over our brain. For a number of years now, new studies have been coming up that show new benefits of meditation. From the looks of all these studies and researches, meditation appears to have tremendous variety of neurological benefits. In simpler terms, meditation is a powerful practice that involves focused concentration to find the peace and clarity that already exists within us, but sometimes are hard to find.
Your job as a direct selling entrepreneur involves the continuous process of improvement. Whether you are focusing on driving sales, expanding your operation or managing your downlines – you need to have the sense of calm and patience to see all of them through. A healthy mind can do wonders. Meditation lets you live a holistic and fulfilling life even under the haze of unavoidable stress.
Why meditate? Let’s find out –
-
Meditation contributes to preservation of ageing brain
An UCLA study confirms that people who have been meditating for a long time had better-preserved brains than those who do not as they grew older. Even though older meditators experienced some volume loss compared to younger meditators, long-time meditators who have been meditating for an average of 20 years had more grey matter volume throughout the brain than non-meditators. Study author Florian Kurth observed that, “We expected rather small and distinct effects located in some of the regions that had previously been associated with meditating. Instead, what we actually observed was a widespread effect of meditation that encompassed regions throughout the entire brain.”
-
Meditation reduces activity in the brain’s “Me Center”
A most interesting study by Yale University showed that mindful meditation caused decreased activity in the default mode network (DMN), the part of the brain that is responsible for mind-wandering and self-referential thoughts, also known as the ‘monkey mind’. Mind-wandering is usually associated with being less happy, brooding and worrying about things of the past and future – a state of mind that most people would want less of. Via several studies it has been revealed that meditation has that power to ‘quieten’ the DMN. Even if the mind starts to wander, meditators find it easy to snap back out of it owing to the new connections that have been formed.
-
Meditation improves concentration and attention
It is not only kids who suffer from lack of concentration – millions of adults face it too. Meditation has been proven to be especially useful in matters of attention and concentration. According to a recent study, only a couple of weeks into meditation helped with people’s focus and memory during the verbal section of the GRE. There was an amazing 16 percentile points increase. Strong focus of attention is one of the pillars of meditation and it is not surprising that meditation helps with cognitive skills as well.
-
Meditation reduces anxiety
There are loads of great evidence to support the fact that meditation reduces stress. There is an entire sub-genre of meditation called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts’ Center for Mindfulness, which is aimed at reducing a person’s stress level, both physically and mentally. Even an initial 8-week course was shown to have effects of reduced anxiety. According to research, mindfulness mediation, compared to attending to breath only, can reduce anxiety. Mindfulness meditation has also been found to help people with social anxiety disorder – a Stanford University team found that MBSR brought about changes in brain regions that are involved in attention, as well as relief from social anxiety symptoms.
Today’s fast-paced society has got us completely entangled with the trivialities of daily life and often we forget to deal with the negative patterns we surround ourselves with to deal with stress. Once we realize this cycle and try to live a healthier life, meditation is a wellness approach that really works. An ancient practice, meditation has been used through centuries by various communities, traditions and cultures in the world. Embrace it and feel the difference.
