A short article, highlighting again main benefits of meditation.
"I am a busy single mom. For the past year I
have been waking up before my son (and often before the sun), dragging myself
out of bed and finding my way to my cushion in front of my alter. I light a
candle and meditate for 30-45 minutes. It has made a tremendous difference in
my life and in my entire being. If I can do it, anyone can.
We all know that countless studies have
proven the benefits of meditation but here are some tangible and embodied reasons
that I have found through my own practice:
1.
Deeper connection to your body
This includes better digestion, improved
posture, and palpable awareness of heightened sensations through rooting down
into your sits bones and rising up on the cushion. Couple this with intentional
breath and there is the opportunity to feel a profound sense of embodiment.
2.
Improved coping skills for living
One gains greater opportunity to respond to
what life throws at you from an embodied and integrated place. With a regular
practice you cultivate the ability to come back to your breath and respond from
that place of ground and empowerment when life throws less-than-desirable
situations at you. My experience is that it simply becomes more natural to do
so, with less effort. You are
essentially re-patterning your entire way of being.
3.
Feel more confident and empowered
Stepping out of the space of allowing the mind
to dictate your life is very empowering. You start to see all of the many, many
choices available to you and are able to discern what is truth and ignore the
deception of the mind; or at least shift how you respond to what it is telling
you.
4.
It becomes a sanctuary from the chaos of life
When I first began it did feel like yet
another obligation that I had to endure, but now, I look forward to it and
crave it. The outer quiet and stillness
allows me to drop into myself in a unique way.
There is something very important about doing so first thing in the
morning rather than in the evening. The
sanctity of the time when the sun is just rising, our minds and bodies are
empty after a nights rest is conducive for a profound time of connection to
self. What my ego named as a chore all those months ago, has become my temple
and the stillness and quiet that I crave before jumping into the chaos of
motherhood and the varying tasks ahead.
5.
Calms the entire system
The technique that I use is that of
focusing on a single point. I use a candle and a simple mantra. I fluctuate
between several including: So Hum (I Am), Sat Nam (I Am Truth), I Am Worthy, I
Am Love, I Am (you fill in the blank as to what serves you). The single pointedness gives my busy eyes
something to focus on and the repetition of the mantra gives my overly active
mind something to grasp onto. It is a win-win."
www.soyoga.com.sg
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