We are thrilled to announce the launch of our new four-week meditation course, starting this Friday 15th May 1 pm - 2 pm. The sessions include one hour of breathing, yoga Nidra and internal mantra, which will give you all the tools you need to meditate, trust and enlighten.
Meditation is a state of mind where you think about nothing. It is a wonderful experience to practice, with many benefits. Here we share a few of the most powerful benefits you could experience by practising regularly as part of your lifestyle routine…
It can help to calm a wandering mind
There are many very interesting studies which have found that mindfulness and meditation decrease activity in the default mode network (DMN). This is the part of the brain that is responsible for mind-wandering and self-referential thoughts, which we often call the ‘monkey mind.’ The DMN is switched on when our minds are just wandering from thought to thought, ruminating and worrying. Many of us need a little help to turn it off and meditation is a great way to do so. Even though our minds can still wander when we meditate, because of the new connections that form from our practice, we are better at deflecting them away again.
It can help to reduce stress and anxiety
Lowering stress levels is among the most favoured benefits of meditation. Meditation is proven to lower your cortisol levels (the stress hormone), according to research from the Shamatha Project at the University of California, Davis. Meditation can send us into a deep state of relaxation with a still mind. This stillness allows you to focus your attention and eliminate the stream of stressful thoughts that may be crowding your mind and making you feel down or overwhelmed.
People who received just three consecutive days of mindfulness training (25-minute sessions where they were taught to focus on breath and the present moment) felt calmer when faced with a stressful task in a study published in Psychoneuroendocrinology.
It can help you with your own self-awareness and concentration
One of the central benefits of meditation is that it helps to improve your attention span and concentration levels. A scientific study found that just a couple of weeks of meditation training helped people’s focus and memory significantly.
When it comes to our own emotions, behaviours, and thoughts, we all have very different views. Mindfulness and meditation can help us conquer non-serving thoughts by paying more attention to the here and now. Paying attention to the present moment and doing so in a non-judgmental way, can help you to overcome even the most stubborn roadblocks in self-awareness.
It can help you deal with illness (your own or others)
Dealing with chronic illness and unwanted diagnoses is tough and can cause significant amounts of phycological trauma. Practising meditation can help to combat the stress and fatigue that is associated with the illness’ symptoms and often the side effects of the treatments prescribed. A study in Stress and Health found that when women with breast cancer regularly practised mindfulness as well as art therapy, their stress and anxiety-related brain activity changed.
Similarly, if you are caring for a loved one who is ill, meditation can help give you the tools to unwind and clear your mind after the toughest of days.
It can help you increase your performance
When your mind is at peace, it can focus and expand. Therefore, by using tools such as meditation and yoga, your productivity levels, performance and idea formation could all benefit as a result.
The right side of your brain is responsible for creating new ideas, and it’s this side that works more actively when you meditation regularly. With regular meditation, you should start to find that problems don’t seem so difficult to figure out and that those new ideas come to you without too much overthought.
Our Go Yoga meditation course is just £32 for the four-weekly live sessions. Or simply drop in for £12 per session when it suits your schedule.
You can book on by clicking HERE.
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