Meditation for the soul

Meditation is an important aspect in Buddhism and Taoism used to improve our physical and psychological well being. However you do not have to have a specific belief system to use it in your daily life.  I have been using meditation a lot recently to help me become more focused and to help improve qualities about myself such as my willpower, motivation, self love, positivity, stress and anxiety. Meditation is about 'being' and being helps us raise awareness and mental calm. This can help us focus on revleaving worries and lifting moods.

Here are some of the benefits gained by meditation (taken from yinyanghouse.com)

Physiological Benefits of Meditation

• Deep rest-as measured by decreased metabolic rate, lower heart rate, and reduced work load of the heart
• Lowered levels of cortisol and lactate-two chemicals associated with stress
• Reduction of free radicals - unstable oxygen molecules that cause tissue damage
• Improved blood pressure
• Higher skin resistance. Low skin resistance is correlated with higher stress and anxiety levels
• Drop in cholesterol levels. High cholesterol is associated with cardiovascular disease
• Improved flow of air to the lungs resulting in easier breathing. This has been very helpful to asthma patient
• Slows the aging process.

Psychological Benefits of Meditation

• Increased brain wave coherence
• Greater creativity
• Decreased anxiety
• Decreased depression
• Decreased irritability and moodiness
• Improved learning ability and memory
• Increased self-actualization
• Increased feelings of vitality and rejuvenation
• Increased happiness
• Increased emotional stability.

Pretty good eh? Here are some of the meditations i enjoy doing and that have helped me with different things.

   

(All these videos are taken from youtube)

There are lots of meditations out there and i plan on purchasing a book pretty soon as i have only had look online so far. Please feel free to comment and suggest any meditations you enjoy and that work for you :) Also click HERE for a introduction to meditation.