THE BEST thing I've ever done for myself!

In the last one year, I've created a daily ritual for meditation and it is THE BEST thing I've ever done for myself. I use meditation to give my brain a workout and experience more focus, awareness and mindfulness as a result.

I started my meditation journey in November, 2021, possibly like many of us I had been watching a lot of content online about meditation and its benefits however I never had a guide or a guru to assist me in my journey, it took me almost a couple of months to get started, the only thing I knew about meditation at that time was that I just needed to sit on a floor with my back straight and just focus on my breath.

I started with performing meditation for about 10 minutes every day either during morning or at night before sleeping. Since I have not had a guide, I simply focused on basics like my typical routine & finding peace in that comfort. As time has passed, I've slowly increased the duration of my meditation from 10 minutes to 30 minutes today.

When I first started meditating, the strain on my back was tough to deal with and made it difficult to focus. But now, as my muscles are getting stronger, the strain doesn't bother me as much.

It can be hard to focus on meditation as your thoughts pull you in different directions, as a stream of jumbled thoughts comes up, bringing up memories from the past, present worries about the future and negative emotions like fear, regret and anger. While things didn’t change too much, my commitment to discipline I had created for myself really helped and as I moved on, one of my biggest problems when I'm meditating is that I can't let go and reject the thoughts that come in. When I accept these thoughts with an open mind, it helps my focus, alleviates anxiety, and gives me more peace. The surge of multiplying thoughts and feelings never stopped until this day, but little by little I started to get better control of my thoughts and emotions.

I love following a mindfulness practice, reading the book "Peak Mind " by Amishi Jha was really helpful for me. It reminds me that mindfulness meditation is an invaluable practice and that it is possible to change the way our brains work. The book explores how we can see bigger life-issues from a new perspective and embrace transformation openly. This book helped me understand the default patterns of the mind and provide techniques that will help enjoy life, have more presence, be more meaningful and poised, using techniques like Finding Your Flashlight, Body Scan and River of Thoughts that allow us to connect with others on a deeper level. This optimal mental functioning is what the author refers to as a “peak mind”.

Some of the benefits I have seen so far with practicing meditation are below, however these are still my early days and I am sure meditation will help me unlock more benefits in my professional, personal and family life.

• Reducing Stress
• Improved Concentration
• Reducing negative emotions
• Increasing imagination and creativity
• Increasing patience and tolerance
• Generates empathy and kindness
• Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations

Conclusion

Meditation has been around for millennia and the technique is used to achieve a relaxed state of mind, relieve stress, and increase focus. It can help with sleep quality too.

Meditation can be done in many ways, from sitting quietly to walking in nature. There are also different types of meditation that people can use to achieve different goals such as transcendental meditation for self-realization or mindfulness meditation for emotional well-being.

The benefits of meditation are well documented. It is an effective way to improve our mental and emotional health. Meditation doesn't require expensive tools or membership; all you need is a commitment to it. You'll have to open your mind and have strong discipline as well.?