by Keri Ashkenazy, Holistic Health Coach
Just as we know our bodies need exercise to remain strong and fit, we must recognize that we also need exercises to help keep ourselves mentally and emotionally strong and fit.
So many of us get caught up thinking about the past with guilt or regret. We think that we wish we “could have, should have, would have” done something differently. And if we’re not thinking about the past, we're often worrying about the future and how certain things might play out. No wonder we are so stressed out and anxious! The truth is, we can’t change the past and we have no way to predict the future.
Mindfulness-based meditations help us train our mind to come back to the present moment, where we can take action now to become the person and create the life we want. A regular meditation practice has been scientifically proven to change the physical structure of the brain; and has been linked to the following benefits:
These benefits are compelling, but the caveat here is that you have to practice consistently in order to experience the benefits. If you have ever started a new exercise or healthy eating plan, you probably didn’t start seeing results until you were regularly practicing your new habits. It’s the same with meditation.
So how do we practice? For a basic mindfulness-based meditation practice, we can simply choose some type of anchor (point of focus) and keep returning our attention back to it. Each time we do this, it’s like we are doing a mental bicep curl and with each rep (of noticing we are thinking and then returning back to the breath), we are training our mind to focus.
Here are simple instructions for a beginner’s breath-awareness meditation practice:
Posture:
Practice:
If you have any questions or would like more information on how to practice, please contact me, Keri Ashkenazy, and/or check out these meditation apps.
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