The Powerful Links Between Meditation And Success
Numerous studies and surveys have confirmed the links between meditation and success.
Virtually all very successful people use some form of meditation, often daily.
Recent examples range from Steve Jobs to Oprah Winfrey. They are following in a long tradition. Thomas Edison, inventor of the lightbulb and Albert Einstein are among the great thinkers of the past known to have used meditation.
There are a whole host of physical and health benefits from meditation, mainly due to its powerful role in helping to manage stress. But that isn’t the only benefit. More than anything it helps you focus.
Virtually all meditation techniques help you learn to still your mind and focus on the present moment, the here and now, relax and re-centre yourself. You learn to focus.
This is why it is becoming so popular among entrepreneurs and business leaders – it’s one of the keys for improving performance and developing effective leadership skills. Google, Facebook and Ebay are among the successful companies which recognise the benefits and encourage their people to meditate.
Focusing on the present moment allows you to concentrate on what you can achieve now. It allows you to be more detached and helps you avoid being judgemental or reactive – so it leads to better decision-making.
Of course meditation is also widely used for personal and spiritual development , as well as business success. It will help your work/life balance and ultimately can be used to create and manifest whatever you desire.
Repeated studies have shown that it changes the activity in the brain and enhances learning and memory processes, emotional regulation, and perspective.
It can affect those around you, too. Fascinatingly, it has even been shown that group meditation reduces violence and crime in the surrounding area. The potential is huge.
How To Meditate
If you haven’t meditated before, it’s very simple to get started:
Step 1
Sit upright in a comfortable chair, somewhere quiet, where you won’t be interrupted. (Turn your mobile phone off).
Step 2
Relax your body. start by thinking about your head and face and just relax the muscles, then move your attention down your body, to your shoulders, arms, hands; onto your back and your chest, down to your stomach and pelvis – and then down your legs to your feet. Relax each muscle group – so your entire body is relaxed.
Just make sure you keep your posture upright as well as relaxed, so you can breathe easily.
Step 3
Close your eyes and simply focus on your breath. Observe your breathing, in and out. Just stay focussed on your breathing.
Step 4
If your mind strays (which it almost certainly will, especially at first), just take your attention back to your breathing. Don’t worry about it, simply notice it has happened and move your attention back.
Step 5
When you are ready to finish your meditation, open your eyes and just sit still for a few moments, before returning to your work. You can meditate for as long as you find works best for you. Many people find 20 minutes twice a day is ideal – but choose the right time for you. Even 5 minutes will bring huge benefits.
Step 6
Keep practising. You will find it becomes easier and easier to clear your mind and to focus.
Specific Health Benefits
Here are some of the specific health benefits you may not be aware of.
- Creates Physical Relaxation
One of the key benefits of meditation is that it relaxes you physically. During a meditation your muscles are relaxed, so tension is released, stresses and strains are relieved and even pain is reduced.Your body rejuvenates and recovers.
- Helps Your Breathing
During meditation you breathe more easily. The breath flows easily and quietly and you take in extra oxygen. Even if you feel your breathing seems shallow, rather than deep, your airways are relaxed and open. So, you are actually accessing more, not less, oxygen – one of the primary keys to health and wellbeing.
- Improves Your Circulation
While meditating, your blood and all your other body fluids flow more easily around your body. You can start to feel your body, or parts of it, tingling as you relax and your circulation speeds up. This helps to remove toxins from your system quicker, while essential nutrients reach their destination faster. Your skin glows.
- Reduces Stress Hormones.
Levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol, are significantly reduced when you meditate. Other hormones are affected too, so that the patterns of the hormones in your body are changed, to be similar to those of someone person younger than you. Often as much as 5-10 years younger.
This is one of the reasons why stress is so aging – these studies suggest that meditation is a key solution to slowing the aging process and staying fit and healthy.
- Improves Your Digestion
Improved circulation and reducing stress both help your digestive system, eliminating waste quicker as well as speeding up the delivery of nutrients. When you have high levels of stress, your body reacts by preparing you physically to escape or confront the stressful situation – to run or to fight. So all your body’s energy must be available for physical activities – it is focussed on your muscles and switched away from internal body activities such as digestion.
Reduce the stress and your body is free to digest foods efficiently.
- Supports Your Immune System
When your body is stressed, the next area affected is your immune system. So, when you are relaxed and the stress hormone levels are reduced, your white blood cell production is boosted, helping to strengthen your immune system.
- Reduces Blood pressure.
As your body relaxes cholesterol is reduced and the arteries and veins also relax. This makes the blood circulation flow faster and easier, so your heart does not have to work so hard to push it around your body. So your blood pressure is eased.
- Speeds Recovery From Illnesses.
When you are relaxed and unstressed, your body is able to focus its resources on recovery and healing, both by boosting your immune system and by helping muscles to recover.
There are many studies which show significant improvements in recovery times, after many different kinds of illnesses and even major surgery, for those who choose to meditate.
Personally I meditate virtually every day. It’s such a powerful, yet simple tool. When you know all this, you’d be mad not to!
To Your Success
Sophia James, Inspiring Communication For Success – Personal Online Brand and Business Marketing Expert
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