Thrive each day with the power of mindfulness meditation

Picture this. You hurry through your lunch while keeping an eye on your computer screen. You brush your teeth while scrolling through emails on your phone. You take a walk in the park while attending a work call. Indeed, our lives have become no different than running a race with no finishing line. While rushing through day-to-day commitments and routines, you may often tend to lose your connection with the present moment. Just like a lost ship, you keep sailing through your life mindlessly, without really pausing to feel or live in the moment.

The movie character Ferris Bueller, from the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off rightly said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Life should be less about getting caught in the motions and more about savouring each moment; less about worrying about the past or future, and more about living in the present. Although this may sound unrealistic, living fully in the present can be achieved through mindfulness, which can be cultivated through the practice of mindfulness meditation.

Rooted in Buddhism, the practice of mindfulness meditation is fast gaining popularity due to the simple yet effective remedy it offers. It helps you sharpen your focus by training the wandering mind to keep coming back to the present. When you are mindful of your thoughts and actions, you are completely attuned to your senses. This is possible when you start paying undivided attention to every action, be it your job commitments or personal goals, or even mundane activities such as taking a shower, eating food or watering your plants. However, the practice of mindfulness meditation requires consistency because its positive effects can be better felt over time.

By incorporating mindfulness meditation in your daily life, you not only start living every moment but also become more attentive, focused and productive. Here are a few powerful benefits mindfulness meditation offers.

Reduces stress

We are all too familiar with how stress sneaks into our lives and interferes with our peace of mind. Sometimes, stress can even manifest in the form of serious ailments such as perpetual headaches, constant fatigue and a weak immune system. Meditation has been a useful method of countering stress for many decades. But of late, mindfulness meditation has proven to be an effective tool to manage stress and improve overall wellbeing. According to research, mindfulness meditation reduces stress, anxiety and several other mental health problems associated with depression, fatigue and chronic pain.

When you practice mindfulness meditation, your mind calms down and filters out the jumbled thoughts and worries that take space in your head and cause stress. Among all therapies aimed at keeping stress at bay, mindfulness meditation has become one of the most trusted methods around the world.

Improves immunity

Mindfulness meditation works wonderfully to promote mental health, but its myriad benefits extend to the body’s immune system too. According to a study, practicing this form of meditation can increase your body’s ability to fight diseases and illnesses. Mindfulness meditation acts as a mind-body medicine by impacting the brain’s communication with the immune system. When certain parts of the brain are stimulated through mindfulness techniques, the immune system functions more effectively. Therefore, when practiced over time, mindfulness meditation can boost your immune system’s defense against diseases and promote overall health.

Helps control pain

If you suffer from chronic pain that refuses to go away, you might want to give mindfulness meditation a try. Evidence suggests that in the long term, mindfulness meditation can impact the cortical thickness in some brain areas, making you less sensitive to pain. When suffering from chronic pain, you can easily fall prey to depressing thoughts that further add to your suffering. When you practice mindfulness meditation, you train your thoughts to be in the present and distance yourself from any feeling of discomfort.

Regulates your sleep

Given our hectic and stressful lifestyles, it is not uncommon to suffer from insomnia or have difficulty sleeping. Disturbances in sleep patterns often caused by stress and anxiety, when left untreated, can lead to serious health disorders. As an effective relaxation technique, mindfulness meditation helps in calming the mind and body, resulting in reduced stress levels. Also, by improving your body’s relaxation response, it enhances inner peace, leading to better sleep.

Makes you more focused

When you multitask, it’s natural that your concentration level diminishes and your focus flickers. Taking a few minutes out of your daily schedule to practice mindfulness meditation can keep you focused, without your attention being easily diverted. When you practice mindfulness meditation, you can bounce back from distractions faster and concentrate for longer periods by maintaining a steady focus.