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Meditation: Why It Is Necessary Today!

meditationMany of us are worried about the impact of the ongoing pandemic on our elderly and physically vulnerable relatives. To top it off, the economic impact it has had around the world, right down to individuals being unable to work and ineligible for sick pay is huge. All this coupled with shortages in shops, cancellation of planned holidays and events have all caused some level of anxiety and distress. As these mental and emotional issues pile up, there’s a good chance that one might go over the edge. To avoid that, something must be done. During these trying times, there is something you can do to improve your mental and emotional wellbeing. That something is meditation! 

How Does Meditation Help? 

Taking out time to meditate can also help in so many ways:

  1. Improves Mental Health: At a time when people may be self-isolating, worrying about finances, socially distancing from loved ones, and feeling concerned about contracting the virus, meditation can help improve emotional health and can help manage depression which is exacerbated by stress.
  2. Boost Immunity: COVID-19 is highly infectious and boosting your immunity will help you fight against this pandemic. Several research studies suggest that meditation helps in positively impacting the genes involved in the infectious cycle and increases the immunity. Using regular self-hypnosis as a relaxation technique has had positive effects on Lymphocytes—a type of white blood cell which helps produce antibodies and destroy cells which could cause damage.
  3. Reduce Anxiety: Meditation involves staying in the present moment without dwelling on the past or the future and accepting your feelings and emotions as perfectly valid. This will help in reducing stress levels and thus, potentially manage the increased level of anxiety which comes from being in the middle of a pandemic like coronavirus.

How Can You Start? 

  • Use GOQii’s guided meditation feature: Click on the “+” and go to meditation. A good way to kick start if you are new to this.
  • At first, it will take effort: Do regular, short bursts and gradually build up the amount of time you spend during any one meditation session. So start slow and short.
  • Set a regular time of day: Meditation is a habit and you’re much more likely to implement it if you set a specific time of day and incorporate it into your routine.
  • Get very comfortable: Maybe light a candle or some relaxing music.
  • Have patience: It is okay. Your mind will wander and you will have all types of thoughts at first but do not stop practicing this.
  • Do it regularly: Make a habit which will stay with you always!

We hope this article helps you! For more articles on meditation, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to our yoga and meditation experts on GOQii Play. To get these tips directly from your GOQii Coach, subscribe to personalized coaching now: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr 

Stay home, stay safe, meditate and #BeTheForce

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5 Powerful Ways Of Meditation

powerful ways of meditation

 We know that meditation is very very good for health, especially mental health. But sometimes, we get confused about what exactly to do. So here’s a guide to help you begin. Try these powerful ways of meditation to improve your health and wellbeing! 

Powerful Ways Of Meditation 

1. Concentrative Meditation
As the word suggests, you are supposed to concentrate on one point so you won’t think about other things. When thoughts are scattered, it creates no impact, but sharp attention is a powerful tool. One way to do it is to focus on your own breathing cycle. See how you inhale through the nose, how you feel inside the body and how you exhale. Another way is to focus on sounds like any word or phrase or the sound of a bell. You can also focus on a candle’s flame. Sit in front of the candle, look at the flame and close your  eyes. Behold the picture of the flame in front of your mind. When the picture fades, open your eyes and repeat the process.

2. Contemplative Meditation
Instead of trying to stop thinking, contemplative meditation includes focusing on a single thought. Instead of too many different thoughts, it’s thinking about one subject and one thought with complete awareness of the thought. For this, you can contemplate any sentence from a religious scripture or contemplate objects like a flower or a tree. Think about the shape of a particular flower.

Another way is asking a question to yourself, believing in your inner instinct and waiting for an answer to come up. The questions can be:

  • What am I looking for?
  • What is it I am resisting?
  • Knowing I will die, how should I live?
  • What is my greatest mission?
  • What do I love?
  • What do I have fear of?
  • Who am I?

3. Witness Meditation
Watch your thoughts as if it’s a movie. Let the thoughts come, simply observe them, but do not react or try to reject. Be neutral. This is called being the witness of your thoughts. What does it do? It reduces your attachment from your thoughts. You no longer feel pain with those repetitive thoughts. This is a great technique to let go of resentment from the past.

4. Chanting Mantra
Chanting mantras repeatedly is one way of meditation. Mantra is a sanskrit word. Man means mind and Tra means release. Mantra is supposed to be a set of words which releases your mind from all it’s anxieties. It has been said that chanting mantras provides spiritual growth. But make sure you are paying attention, because that is all what we want. You can chant OM or Gayatri Mantra.

5. Movement Meditation
If you think you can’t sit at one place and focus, practice meditation through body movements. Self defense practices like Tai chi and Qigong are used as a form of meditation for a very long time. Yoga is one excellent example of movement meditation. Yoga involves being fully aware of your breathing and understanding the basic nature of self. But not only this, we can also practice meditation through simply walking or dancing. Just be attentive, pay close attention to your steps, body movements and surroundings.

Next time, when you sit to meditate, you can try something new. Keep it mind, sometimes we might get a little restless but be patient. Don’t get frustrated. Slowly get back to your point of concentration.

We hope these 5 powerful ways of meditation help you! Do leave your thoughts and experiences in the comments below. For more on meditation and yoga, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to LIVE sessions by our yoga and meditation specialists on GOQii Play. 

#BeTheForce 

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