What is Meditation?
It involves focusing and clearing your mind, using a combination of mental and physical techniques.
Meditation is something anyone at any age can partake in, with many benefits for your mind, body, and soul. It can help with mental alertness, improve your memory, and create positive emotions. It also can reduce anxiety, depression, loneliness, and memory loss.
If you are a beginner at meditating, here are some simple steps to get started.
Find yourself a quiet and calm space, it should be comfortable, it could be sitting on a chair or a cushion on the floor. Try to stay as still as possible. It may help you to relax if you close your eyes.
Try to focus on your breathing. Listen to yourself breathing in and then letting it out. When your mind starts to wander, refocus on your breathing.
You can start off with a couple minutes a day and work up from there. Many people like to meditate first thing in the morning or right before bed, making it part of their daily routine.
If you have trouble focusing on your breathing, there are breathing techniques you can try.
You might try the 4-4-4 breathing meditation. Breathe in, counting to four seconds. Hold the air in your lungs for four seconds, and then let out the air slowly, also counting to four seconds. Repeat.
Start off doing a couple minutes a day, gradually adding more time. A new routine takes about 3 weeks to become an ingrained habit. Give yourself 21 days to be consistent in your meditation and see how much you enjoy it
Whitevalley Resource Center would like to thank our sponsors, The United Way, and Interior Health.
