Gym Routine Enhanced: 4 Reasons to Add Meditation
Stress Reduction
Allocating time for meditation can profoundly impact blood circulation and blood pressure, altering the body's biochemistry, including brain function and thought processes. Research reveals that just 4 minutes of meditation can significantly lower epinephrine, a stress hormone, with this reduction lasting up to 90 minutes.
This demonstrates a deep-level change.
Meditation interrupts cyclical thinking, which typically comprises up to 90% of our thoughts, many of which are either unproductive or negative. This cyclical thinking often exacerbates stress levels, especially when we encounter unpleasant situations. Meditation, however, not only diminishes this pattern of thought but also brings clarity and focus, as it guides the mind towards a specific direction.
While short meditation sessions seem brief, their positive impact on stress is surprisingly enduring, often accompanied by a noticeable mood improvement.
Improved Sleep Patterns
Our sleep quality is directly linked to our mental state. Studies have shown that all participants with sleep issues, including those with insomnia, reported improvements after just 4 minutes of daily meditation.
Remarkably, over 70% of these individuals reduced or eliminated their sleep medication. Meditation not only fosters sleep but also enhances its quality, leading to deep, restorative rest. This can result in the need for fewer hours of sleep, yet achieving greater efficiency.
Enhanced Endurance
While endurance exercises like aerobics improve physical fitness by enhancing oxygen delivery and energy levels, combining these with meditation can further boost physical performance, assisting in achieving fitness goals, reducing illnesses, and promoting healthy aging. Meditation, even practiced for a few minutes daily, increases willpower, focus, and emotional resilience, essential for sustained endurance performance. Additionally, consistent meditation practice has been shown to increase grey matter in brain areas responsible for emotion regulation, decision-making, and memory. The synergistic effect of combining meditation and exercise greatly enhances overall wellbeing.
Improved Sense of Identity & Self-Respect
Delving into meditation helps us distinguish between false self-perceptions and our true self. This exploration reveals an inherently beautiful, virtuous, and timeless self.
Recognising this inner fullness and self-respect enhances our wellbeing without feeding the ego.
This understanding not only improves our self-perception but also our interactions with others, as we recognise the inherent goodness in everyone. As we spend more time in meditation, we gradually replace the false notion of self with a true, positive identity, leading to long-term benefits.
Find out more about our in-person and online talks, meditations, courses & retreats. All our activities are free of charge.