Welcome to our Day 4, also New Years Eve, of our "10 days of self-care" & thank you for putting you first & joining us.
Today, we are going to have a go at something we mentioned in our "Listen" post yesterday: Meditation. Our focus is to find out what meditation is, why meditation can be beneficial and to also try a 1-minute mini-meditation, focused on relieving stress.
We are sending you the warmest New Year wishes for when the clock strikes midnight. Let's get our minds set up for 2023!
What is meditation?
Meditation is often described as something along the lines of a mind and body practice that largely focuses on interactions with our bodies between our brains, minds, bodies and behaviours. Practicing meditation often comes with four vital elements - a quiet location with minimal distractions, a comfortable posture (often seated), attention and an open attitude.
Headspace (credit for the image above also) describes meditation as:
"Meditation is the practice of intentionally spending time with our mind. We take time out of our busy days to sit, breathe, and try to remain focused on our breath. Doing this helps us become more aware of our thoughts, act more compassionately toward ourselves and others, and connect with the present moment.
People might associate meditation with sitting in silence and stopping all of our thoughts and feelings to become calm. But that’s not really how the mind works, and neither does meditation. Rather than trying to stop our thoughts, we practice letting thoughts come and go."
Headspace is a fantastic source for meditation (largely via web and in an app) and also contains a library, full of meditation education and resources.
Why do people meditate & what are the benefits?
There are various benefits of meditation and, more importantly, they are supported by science.
So why do people start meditating? We asked Comfizz' Amy's husband, Ben, why he started meditating and he told us:
"I felt like I couldn't switch my thoughts off and felt that meditation is what I needed. I then learned soon into meditation, that actually, meditation isn't about turning your thoughts off but more about being an observer."
Amy has also done meditation and says she found it useful in helping with her state of mind and day to day life, but that she found the consistency hard to keep and wants to pick it up again soon as she feels it isn't much to ask to set even 10 minutes aside for yourself to practice meditation.
Many people look to reduce stress, anxiety and to find and learn to maintain peace of minds. More widely, a lot of people look to meditation for overall impact on their physical, mental and emotional health. Mentally, science has proven many things about meditation such as improved focus, easing symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression and also physical pain. The benefits are wide and more can be read on these.
Try a mini-meditation with us
Headspace post many YouTube videos on meditations and have actually just released some in time for Christmas, which you can try here.
Today, we are going to give a mini-meditation a go on letting go of stress. This minute is just over a minute, but you may want to give others a go on Headspace's channel and give yourself at least 10-15 minutes of "me time".
The following Headspace is designed to help you find your sense of calm.
Meditation also nicely links in to and supports every day of our 10 days of self care. Another meditation we've found links in nicely to what we focused on on Day 1: Breathe.
Do you meditate regularly or have you tried it for the first time with us? We'd love to hear from you in the comments below!
We look forward to you joining us for Day 5 of 10 days of self-care tomorrow!
Enjoy the rest of your day and be proud of the fact that you have managed to put some time aside for you!
Disclaimer: As always, this post is from our Social Media & Marketing Specialist, Amy's, experience of living with a permanent ileostomy, Crohn's Disease and from what she has researched. Nothing in our blog posts should be taken as medical advice. It's always best to consult a medical professional if you have queries or concerns.
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