They say if you do something for 21 days it becomes habitual and part of your regular routine. That is where I had found myself creating a new daily habit for myself to better myself in some way. That is what this journey, and this blog, has been about for me. Bettering myself and my life. This past year has been more about the physical aspects of myself and changing them, so I decided to take it up a notch and work on the emotional/mental aspects of myself. Which are just as important if not more in a life of anxiety/fear/panic/depression. Most of that stems from overthinking, and a mind that will not shut up with its “what ifs.” So that is where meditation comes in to help silence the monkey brain, as they call it, and help one focus.
The artofliving.org lists some of the benefits of meditation to be:
Mental Benefits of Meditation
Meditation brings the brainwave pattern into an relaxed state that promotes healing. The mind becomes fresh, delicate and beautiful. With regular practice of meditation:
- Anxiety decreases
- Emotional stability improves
- Happiness increases
- Gain clarity and peace of mind
- Problems become smaller
- Meditation sharpens the mind by increasing focus and expands through relaxation
As can be seen, these are very helpful in a healing and soothing an anxious mind. Now I know it can be easy to just dismiss meditation as some form of devil worshiping hippie crazy, but meditation is not that. One of the things I have learned during my journey of going out was being mindful of the present moment. Staying present and not worrying about what could be, and allow myself to just do. That has been crucial in this journey. Being in the present moment and just doing instead of worrying about it. If I did all of that, I would never have gone out that door that first day. Meditation can and does help us stay present and stay in this moment. Something very important to us all. Meditation also helps to calm us down during stressful anxious moments as we slow our thinking down, and slow our breathing down. Improper breathing has been attributed to help create panic attacks, as we breathe shallow and rapidly. Full deep breaths can be very help to help soothe and stop a panic/anxiety attack from taking us over.
I am not saying go sit in a cave for thirty years and chant and meditate, but if you want to, no one is stopping you. Five to ten minutes is a great start to bettering your life and that is what this journey/blog has been all about for me. Bettering my life.
Now you don’t have to start off meditating that is not what this post is all about. Meditation was just an example of the wonderful things you can do for yourself, and is what I am currently doing for myself. This post is about changing your life, one day, and step at a time. And making it part of your daily routine so it becomes habitual. It can be something like getting more exercise, which I did as well, I started running over a year ago. It can be about eating healthier, not eating junk food. Something else I did, and that has been huge in changing my life around. So do something good for yourself, and take those first steps to changing your life around. Make changes. Do something good. And make it part of your daily routine and see where it takes you. Literally and figuratively.