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Tag: meditation

  • Calm amidst the Madness

    Calm amidst the Madness

    Machines, computers, and artificial intelligence have increasingly handled more and more tasks once done by humans. Yet, paradoxically, we find ourselves with busier and bustling lives. The ability to conduct business faster has, for better or worse, led to faster business. Meditation is a highly effective way of coping with homework, part-time work, the loud noises and bright lights of the city, and more. It may seem like the act of doing nothing, but the act of meditating is the calming and silencing your mind, regardless of the activity and hustle of the world around you.

    There are different types of meditation, and people often personalize and customize the practice individually. Some meditators focus on one specific bodily sensation, such has breathing. Others will use an object as their focal point. Some will instead use open-monitoring, which involves noticing everything that is occurring in the area you are in while remaining calm and non-reactionary.

    This can all be done in your room after or before bedtime, during lunch, on the bus, or whenever you have at least 10 minutes to spare. Studies have shown that doing this daily can start making a difference for your mental and emotional well-being in as little as eight weeks. It can reduce stress and anxiety, as well as help you cope with injuries or other physical pain you may be enduring.

    In addition, you are likely to see boosts in your memory and creativity. Researchers at Leiden University found that open-monitoring meditation helped people generate new ideas. Further research has been done indicating that meditating helps you ignore distractions and recall facts quicker. This is especially beneficial for exams.

    From a scientific standpoint, meditation weakens the connections in the brain between scary or anxiety-causing sensations and your conscious awareness. Instead, more activity takes place in the parts of the brain devoted to logical reasoning, helping you to better assess that test you have to study for or the problems going on amongst friends.

    The solitary act of meditating also helps in your interactions with others. Studies indicate that habitual meditators have greater development in the regions of the brain associated with empathy and compassion. This makes you less prone to outbursts of anger or tension, and more likely to work out situations with friends in a calm manner.

    Beyond the mental effects, practicing meditation can also help you feel better physically. A study demonstrated that those who practiced regularly had a better immune response to the flu vaccine compared to others. This boost to your immune system can help you stay healthy for a better school attendance and engagement in extra-curricular activities.

    Another study showed that meditating can help protect the genes inside of you. Certain protein complexes called telomeres are strengthened via the act to help ward off diseases. This may not be of much value at the moment, but is especially important for your long-term health.

    Meditation has many positive benefits, but these can only be achieved for dedication and effort. I know from experience how easy it is to say you want to meditate and then never get around to it. You have to very consciously decide to put aside your phone and the hectic world around you for a little bit each day. In a world full of distractions, doing nothing is a challenging task.

    Sources:

    Cooper, Belle Beth. “What Happens to the Brain When You Meditate (And How it Benefits You).” Lifehacker. http://lifehacker.com/what-happens-to-the-brain-when-you-meditate-and-how-it-1202533314

    Loria, Kevin. “7 ways meditation changes your brain and body.” Business Insider. http://www.businessinsider.com/how-meditation-changes-your-brain-2015-

  • Why you deserve a break – how to handle when your world seems overwhelming

    Why you deserve a break – how to handle when your world seems overwhelming

    You deserve a break. At times, life can be engulfing and chaotic. When school, a job, relationships, family, sports or taking part in other things you enjoy come into play, it can be a little stressful to try to maintain an even balance.

    Sometimes, breaking down or stressing yourself out may seem like the best “solution” when your world is overwhelming. Although, the best you can possibly do is to take a break. You may be saying to yourself, “but I have no time to take a break” or “I don’t even know what to do if I take a break”, these are common things we say to ourselves when we are overwhelmed with the situation on hand. All you need is thirty minutes to yourself to feel more balanced and in control of your world.

    Whether you are super overwhelmed or just need an idea for a break, here are a few things to try:

    You are only one person: This isn’t much of something to try however a friendly reminder. Remember that your physical, mental and emotional health is far more important than what you are overwhelmed with. You are only one person and you can only accomplish so much. Take things on one at a time and do only as much as you can handle. You cannot focus all your time and energy into things that are giving you stress; you need to take time for yourself.

    Remember this is only temporary: Being in an overwhelming part of your life or situation, can seem like it is going to last forever. This is not true. Although you have a lot on your plate right now, try to remember that this is only temporary and will be over sooner than you know it. This too shall pass.

    Breathe: Find a quiet, empty room to go into. Sit or lay down on the ground and take deep breaths. Focus on your breathing by breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. This helps you to calm down and to be truly present. You are able to focus on your current state and allow the stress out. Turning the lights off, lighting a candle or turning on a lamp, listening to some soft music or being in still silence may contribute to relaxation as well.

    Spend time with a friend: Friends are great to turn to when you need to take a break or relax. Spending time with them can help you forget about everything that is going on at the moment. Even if it is just for a couple of hours, friends are a great way to cheer yourself up and to take time away from your stressors.

    Dance: What song makes you want to break out into dance and sing your heart out? Put that song on and do just that. Taking a dance break can certainly make you happier and take some of the stress out.

    Do something you enjoy: Pick up something you haven’t done in a while whether it’s working out, writing, reading, watching a movie, swimming, going for a walk, or even simply watching a funny YouTube video. It’s hard to take time for yourself when your life seems overwhelming. Taking thirty minutes to an hour out of your day to dedicate it to doing something you enjoy, can make your day a little less stressful and hectic.

    Go outside: It may be daunting to go outside on a cold, wintery day or during the hot summer, however, going outside may just be your best bet. If you have been held up inside for a while, it can definitely be a good thing to go outside for a little while. It gives you the feeling of freedom and gives you a breath of fresh air, literally. Even going for a walk around the block to give yourself a break, can bring you back feeling energized and better than before.

    Your world might seem overwhelming at the moment but take thirty minutes to yourself. However, what way you choose to take a break,that is up to you.

     Written By Leah Butler

  • The Importance of Finding Peace Within

    The Importance of Finding Peace Within

    Finding peace within is sometimes a mysterious topic. One may often wonder what it even means within the hustle and bustle of daily life; is it possible? Can it ever be achieved? We are overloaded with a seemingly endless to do list and people to please. Being aware of not feeling at peace can be a motivation to find it again, and to overcome the challenges that are presented to us.

    The first question for overcoming the feeling of being ill at ease is to identify why you feel ill at ease. Perhaps your to do list has not been worked on and is becoming quite frightening, or perhaps the problem is with the to do list itself. Maybe the thought of everything on that list gives you no satisfaction at all. If the problem is that you have not done any work on your to do list in a long time, the solution may be very simple; break the list down into smaller steps. For example: If you have a presentation due on the topic of women’s rights in Canada, you might want to break the project down into doing an introduction on day 1, the body of the presentation on day 2, and the conclusion of the presentation on day 3. Doing this with the various items on your to do list will help to make things less scary, and more approachable.

    On the other hand, if your to do list is filled with things that are not rewarding, then you may need to conduct an evaluation of your goals and desired end results for your various pursuits. Sometimes we avoid doing work because we do not truly care anymore about the results. For example, if I want to get a high school diploma, I will go to class and do the homework and act generally respectful of those around me in order to facilitate my success. If you do not want a high school diploma anymore, you may consider dropping some of the items off your to do list. In this case, I would recommend speaking with a guidance counselor who may be able to re-light the motivation to complete the diploma. If you are knocking off things on your to do list, you are closer to achieving the goals you originally set out for yourself. The question is how you can regain a sense of inner peace amid seemingly random, negative emotions?

    There are many strategies for regaining peace within:

    • Take some time to reflect upon all of the things that you are grateful for.
    • Do some meditation or conduct concentrated moments of silence.
    • Talk with a friend about positive things in your life.
    • Get a little exercise to increase your brain’s natural feel good chemicals.
    • Do some yoga, or engage in an activity that makes you feel good.

    Finding peace within is something that is always in your control. You are always able to regain it; it just takes some investigating to find solutions that will work for you. Good luck!