Many people think that it takes a quiet room, special music, or certain rituals to meditate. In fact, you can do it at any time, for example while waiting for the bus to arrive, taking a break between work, or in the middle of a traffic jam.
Meditation is a form of exercise to focus and clear your mind, so you can feel more calm, comfortable, and productive. This practice is generally done by sitting quietly, closing your eyes, and breathing slowly and regularly, for at least 10–20 minutes.
Meditation can be practiced by anyone, anywhere and anytime. This activity does not require any special equipment or expenses and if practiced regularly, meditation can help support mental and physical health.
How Meditation Works
When under stress, the body releases stress hormones that can cause various effects on the body, such as an increased heart rate and increased blood pressure, causing anxiety and insomnia, and affecting libido and appetite.
After the stress is under control, the body condition will return to normal as usual. However, some people may find it difficult to control stress.
To calm your mind and reduce stress properly, you can try several ways, including meditation. When meditating, you will be trained to put aside negative thoughts that trigger stress, motivate yourself, and make your body feel calmer and more comfortable.
In addition, meditation also has an effective way of activating gamma waves in the brain, which play an important role in learning, concentration, memory, and awareness.
Various Benefits of Meditation for Health
Meditation is an activity that has been carried out for thousands of years in various countries, such as China and India. Various studies so far have also proven that meditation can provide many benefits to support daily productivity and mental and physical health, such as:
- Prevents and relieves stress, depression and anxiety
- Regulate emotions and train positive thoughts
- Reduce pain
- Prevent high blood pressure and keep blood pressure normal
- Makes sleep more restful and helps overcome insomnia
- Improve concentration, memory and prevent senile dementia
- Strengthen the body's resistance
Meditation can also be done as a way to help overcome addiction or addiction problems, such as addiction to nicotine, drugs, or alcohol, or certain medical conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome and sleep disturbances.
However, it is important to remember that the role of meditation cannot replace medical methods of treating certain ailments. Therefore, if you have certain illnesses and want to try meditation to relieve your symptoms, you should consult your doctor first.
Various Types and Processes of Meditation
There are many types and techniques of relaxation in meditation, such as yoga, transcendental meditation, Tai chi, and Qi gong. They all have the same goal, which is to achieve peace and serenity.
In general, there are 2 best known meditation techniques, namely:
- Focus or concentration meditation, which is meditation that is done by focusing attention or concentration on a particular object, such as a sound or sensation to achieve inner calm.
- Meditation mindfulness, which is a meditation technique that combines concentration practice with awareness or feeling introspective of the condition of the body and the surrounding environment
Although there are many meditation techniques, the essence of this activity consists of several main elements, including:
1. Focusing the mind
A focused and calm mind is the most important element of meditation, as it can help clear the mind of the many distractions that trigger stress, anxiety, and worry.
2. Breathe slowly
Breathing slowly and deeply can increase the oxygen that is inhaled into the lungs, so that the amount of oxygen in the blood and throughout the body also increases. This can make your body feel more comfortable while meditating. Sufficient oxygen can also make it easier for the brain to focus and concentrate.
3. Doing it in a quiet place
If you're not used to meditating yet, try to start doing it in a quiet place free from things that could potentially be distracting, such as the ringing of your cell phone, the sound of the TV, or the sound of a vehicle. Once you get used to doing it in a quiet place, you can get used to meditating in a crowded place.
4. Position the body comfortably
In order to maximize the benefits of meditation, it is important to do it in a comfortable position, be it while sitting, lying down, or even walking. This comfortable position is also very helpful in maintaining good posture during meditation.
Tips on How to Start Meditation Effectively
In order to be able to do meditation well, you can try to start with the following steps:
- Sit up straight and take a few deep breaths.
- Focus on your breath and how you feel.
- Focus your mind on different parts of your body in turn, while continuing to inhale slowly. Be aware of how you feel in those parts of your body. You can also intersperse meditation sessions for prayer, gratitude, or positive self talk.
- Once you get used to doing meditation sitting down, you can try walking meditation. Focus on the movement of the legs and avoid walking too fast. The walking location can be anywhere, for example on the home page.
Try to regulate your emotions and thoughts. Filter out negative emotions and maintain positive thoughts, so you can feel more calm and comfortable.
For maximum results, try to make meditation a part of your daily routine. However, remember. To maintain a healthy body, you also need to get enough rest, exercise regularly, and stay away from cigarettes and alcoholic beverages.
If you find it difficult to meditate comfortably, for example because your mind is too muddled, anxious, or because of certain health problems, try to consult a doctor or psychologist to find out what type of meditation is suitable for your condition.