Mindset Hacks: 3 Powerful Reasons To Starting Meditation

You may have heard about meditation and mindfulness yet very few people actually understand what it truly is and what it can do for you. The university of Oxford strongly suggests that this type of practise can not only reduce stress levels significantly but also reduce the effect of future stressful situations, leading to more happiness and balance.

Although it’s not main stream to use these techniques, it’s used by many people to have a better quality of life and achieve their goals.

Here are 3 awesome reasons to start using it as a daily practise.

1. Meditation can reduce stress levels significantly, allowing you to take control of your emotions. One of the main reasons people take up meditation is to experience stress reduction and it’s proven to work. Stress elevates the hormone cortisol which disrupts sleep, increases inflammation, promotes depression and anxiety, increases blood pressure and further fatigues in the body and mind. It’s also important to note that cortisol is a ‘fat-storing hormone’ so by reducing it, it can help you achieve your weight loss goals.

2. Meditation can really help as a powerful intervention with self sabotaging behaviours related to stress such as binge eating or emotional eating, a review of 14 studies at the US Library Of Medicine showed that this was the case. The reason for this is helping people to break dependencies through better emotional balance, self awareness and improved self control of impulsive behaviours. This truly empowers you to take back control of your life on so many levels and be in the driving seat when it comes to your results.

3. Meditation can literally save your life by reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke which is the most common cause of death in the world when it comes to diseases. According to the American Heart Association, 200 people who were at high risk were asked to either take a class on better eating or meditation practise, the meditation group reduced their risk of heart attack, stroke and death by an amazing 48%! This was due to lower blood pressure and stress related psychological factors.

So how can you start to implement this into your own life to reap the benefits? 

Taking the spiritual side out of it and looking at it from a perspective of a useful tool, it’s as simple as setting aside 5-10 minutes a day to simply focus on your breathing (deep into the belly) in a seated, relaxed position and clear the mind. It’s best to focus purely on that and do not engage with any thoughts (allow them to pass like clouds in the sky), the goal is to be fully present in one thing. You’ve got nothing to lose by giving it a go, so why not try it today and see how you feel afterwards?

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