“Meditation is not a way of escaping society but a way of returning to it with inner peace.”
– Nhat Hanh
Meditation is a simple and effective practice to free ourselves from the anxiety that often invades us in our daily lives.
👉 By taking 10 minutes every day to meditate, you can find calm, serenity and self-confidence. Meditation involves focusing on your breathing, bodily sensations or an object of your choice, letting thoughts pass without judging or holding them back.
Thus, you learn to detach yourself from your worries, your fears and your negative emotions. You also develop your attention, memory and creativity. Meditation is accessible to everyone, regardless of your age, religion or experience level.
✔ Simply find a quiet, comfortable place, sit or lie down, and let your breathing guide you. You will see that 10 minutes of meditation a day can change your life!
- How to meditate every day? 🙏
- 4 Surprising benefits of meditation on the brain, well-being and resilience
- 15 other benefits of regular meditation on health and morale:
- Testimonials on practicing meditation for 10 minutes a day:
- When to feel the benefits of regular meditation?
- 5 good books on meditation that I can recommend to you:
- Conclusion :
How to meditate every day? 🙏
Tips for learning meditation:
“Meditation is the art of concentrating the mind.”
– Baba Hari Dass
- Choose a time and place suitable for meditation. This could be in the morning when you wake up, in the evening before going to sleep, or during a break during the day. Find a quiet, comfortable, distraction-free place.
- Adopt a comfortable and relaxed posture. You can sit on a chair, cushion or yoga mat, or lie on your back. Be sure to keep your back straight and your shoulders relaxed. You can close your eyes or keep them slightly open.
- Breathe deeply and calmly. Become aware of your breathing, the movement of your stomach and your chest, the passage of air through your nostrils. Do not try to change your breathing, but observe it carefully.
- Let your thoughts pass without getting attached to them. It is normal for thoughts to arise during meditation. Don’t judge them, don’t follow them, don’t push them away. Simply welcome them like passing clouds in the sky, and return to your breathing.
- End your meditation gently. When the 10 minutes are up, do not get up suddenly. Take the time to feel your body, your sensations, your emotions. Thank yourself for taking this time for yourself. Open your eyes and stretch slowly.
You can repeat this practice every day, increasing the duration if you wish. You will see that meditation will bring you many benefits on a daily basis!
What to think about during meditation for beginners and more experienced practitioners
For beginners :
When starting to meditate, it is recommended to focus on breathing. Follow the inhalation and exhalation attentively but relaxed, without necessarily holding your breath. Breathing is an excellent anchor point for the mind which tends to flutter at first.
An external object like a candle can also help beginners focus their attention rather than letting their thoughts wander in all directions.
For more experienced practitioners:
With experience, we can allow ourselves to let our mind go more freely, without a specific anchor point. It is then a matter of observing the thoughts that arise with an attitude of full awareness, without judging or clinging to them.
Experts can also focus on subtle bodily sensations, emotions or even the emptiness of the mind to take their practice further.
Some use specific mantras or visualizations depending on their meditation tradition (Buddhist, Hindu, etc.)
Whatever your experience, the main thing is not to force it but to observe your thoughts and sensations with kindness and patience with yourself.
Also read:I can’t sleep, I think too much! Meditation is the solution!
4 Surprising benefits of meditation on the brain, well-being and resilience
“Sit peacefully every day and let your mind calm down. Fill it with the breath, let your attention be one with the movement. And just as rain floods dry fields, meditation will gradually fill your spirit with infinite truths.”
– Lar Short
Meditation reduces stress, anxiety and depression
Yes, mindfulness meditation helps reduce symptoms of stress. It improves, among other things, the secretion of cortisol, also called “stress hormone”, reduces the level of perceived stress and facilitates the use of stress adaptation strategies.
Used in therapy with people suffering from major depression, it also helps reduce the risk of relapse of depressive episodes, which can have significant repercussions on work and personal life and which increase the probability of suicide. It is also used with people suffering from anxiety.
Meditation can improve your concentration:
Starting a meditation practice can help you focus and clear your mind. Between focusing on your breathing, which calms the mind, and the stress relief we talked about above, you’ll find yourself better able to focus and concentrate throughout your day.
Meditation can increase your emotional resilience:
Brain imaging research has shown that it can strengthen your ability to regulate your emotions and therefore, better manage interactions within family, colleagues and in general social life. Result ? Less personal affect in professional exchanges and general appeasement.
Meditation can make you happier and promotes well-being
As bizarre as it may sound, those who practice mindfulness meditation are happier overall and have better relationships with others. They are better able to manage conflicts if necessary. You know why ? Quite simply because it helps you develop your emotional resilience. Which means you’ll be able to get over your bad mood much faster.
Also read: Toxic People: Signs-Test-Spot-Destabilize-Avoid
15 other benefits of regular meditation on health and morale:
“Meditation brings you enlightenment by dispelling the cloud of illusion.”
– Patanjali
- Meditation strengthens the immune system by decreasing inflammation and increasing antibody production.
- It regulates mood and emotions by balancing the levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine.
- It improves the quality of sleep by making it easier to fall asleep and reducing nighttime awakenings.
- It relieves chronic pain by modifying the perception of suffering and activating natural healing mechanisms.
- It prevents brain aging by preserving the density and connectivity of neurons.
- It increases creativity and innovation by stimulating the right hemisphere of the brain, responsible for intuition and imagination.
- It reduces blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular disease by lowering the heart rate and relaxing blood vessels.
- It improves digestion and metabolism by regulating the autonomic nervous system, which controls the body’s involuntary functions.
- It strengthens social and emotional relationships by developing empathy, listening and non-verbal communication.
- Meditation promotes personal and spiritual development by allowing you to connect to your deep essence and your life mission.
- It stimulates the endocrine and hormonal system by balancing glands such as the thyroid, adrenals or pituitary gland.
- It helps free oneself from addictions and compulsive behaviors by increasing self-control and reducing the need for immediate gratification.
- It improves posture and breathing by strengthening the muscles of the back, neck and diaphragm.
- It increases the level of energy and vitality by optimizing the use of oxygen by cells.
- Meditation harmonizes the chakras and the energy field by eliminating blockages and disturbances that affect the vital flow.
Testimonials on practicing meditation for 10 minutes a day:
“Half an hour each day devoted to meditation will bring you closer to the truth than a lifetime spent studying the writings of philosophers.”
– Deng Ming-Dao
“It’s amazing what 10 short minutes can do!”
Sophie:
“Before I started meditating for 10 minutes a day, my mind was often restless, I was constantly dwelling on my worries, and I had difficulty concentrating on the tasks of the present moment. Since I took these 10 minutes every morning to focus on my breathing, I have noticed a drastic change. I feel calmer, more focused and less stressed throughout the day. It’s amazing what 10 little minutes can do! I highly recommend to everyone to try, it’s a minimal investment for maximum benefits.”
“Meditating 10 minutes a day changed my life”
Noureddine:
“Meditating 10 minutes a day has changed my life. Before, I was constantly overwhelmed by an endless stream of thoughts and emotions. But since I started this ritual, I have noticed that my mind is much more peaceful. During These 10 minutes, I refocus on the present moment instead of dwelling on the past or anticipating the future. This full awareness that I acquire then helps me approach the rest of my day with more serenity and perspective . It has become a sacred moment, just for me, which allows me to reconnect with my inner calm.”
When to feel the benefits of regular meditation?
First of all, you should know that meditation is not a one-off activity, but a regular training of the mind. You must therefore be patient and perseverant to reap the benefits.
According to some studies, you should meditate at least 10 minutes a day for 8 weeks to observe significant changes in the brain, such as reduced stress, improved attention or increased compassion.
Next, you need to pay attention to the subtle signs that meditation produces on your state of mind and your behavior. For example, you may notice that you are calmer, more relaxed, more focused, or happier. You may also notice that you manage your emotions better, that you are more tolerant of yourself and others, or that you have more perspective in the face of difficult situations.
When you practice meditation correctly and regularly for 10 minutes a day, you can feel the first benefits within a few weeks (two weeks in general, in my experience).
It brings about an inner transformation and develops concentration and attention skills. People who practice meditation regularly are more receptive, creative, and cannot be easily disrupted by negative thoughts.
It is important to remember that meditation is not a goal in itself, but a means of connecting to yourself and the present moment. The most important thing is not to experience dramatic effects quickly, but to cultivate an attitude of curiosity, openness and kindness towards your experience. This way, you will be able to fully benefit from the benefits of meditation, whatever they may be and whenever they arise.
Also read: The 12 keys to financial success and happiness! (+Quotes)
5 good books on meditation that I can recommend to you:
- “Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World” by Mark Williams and Danny Penman. This book provides a straightforward program for learning mindfulness meditation techniques, with a secular approach.
- “The Mind Illuminated” by John Yates (Culadasa). Written by a former monk, this comprehensive guide covers a wide range of meditation practices and stages.
- “Why Can’t I Meditate?” by Nigel Wellings. This book directly addresses common obstacles and frustrations faced by Westerners when starting a meditation practice.
- “Wherever You Go, There You Are” by Jon Kabat-Zinn. A classic book by one of the pioneers of bringing mindfulness into mainstream Western culture. Easy to read with practical advice.
- “The Miracle of Mindfulness” by Thich Nhat Hanh. While written by a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, this book presents mindfulness practices in very accessible terms for anyone.
These books generally take a modern, secular approach to ancient meditation techniques, which may appeal to people from Anglo-Saxon cultural backgrounds. They aim to make meditation easy to understand and integrate into a Western lifestyle.
Conclusion :
Meditation is increasingly recognized as one of the most effective ways to improve our daily well-being. Although distraction apps can be helpful, they are often not enough to achieve true mental relaxation.
This is where meditation comes in, offering us a practice that can transform our mindset and improve our lives in significant ways.
By meditating regularly for 10 to 20 minutes a day, we can begin to feel the benefits of this practice. The effects of meditation may vary from person to person, but it is generally accepted that it can help reduce stress, improve focus and mental clarity, as well as boost our emotional well-being.
The secret to fully benefiting from these benefits is to maintain a regular meditation practice. It’s important to commit to meditating every day, even if that means only meditating for a few minutes at first. By being consistent in our practice, we can see more significant results over time.
By practicing regularly, we can achieve greater inner peace, better mental health and a greater ability to cope with the challenges of daily life.
If you are looking to improve your well-being, meditation is definitely a practice to consider. Namasté 🙏🙂
