Why is meditation so important : top 50 Benefits

what is Meditation?

Meditation is an ancient practice that helps to control our own mind and consequently our own life and discover ourselves.

Personally, it is a way to recharge my batteries and to calm my mind down.

Has it ever happened to you? Where your mind has taken over and, therefore, you are not able to take some thoughts out of your head and you feel without energy and even too tired to sleep?

Meditating helps us to control our mind and thoughts and turn off our mind when we do not need it anymore.

Meditation is essential to feel well and live a Happy Life.

But why?

Meditation can help us to eliminate negative thoughts, worries, anxiety, all factors that can prevent us feeling happy.

It has been proved that the practice of meditation, carried out on a regular basis, will mitigate the symptoms of stress and anxiety.

If we make a habit of meditating, we feel mentally fresh and we are able to deal with difficult situations more easily.

To meditate it’s not necessary to be a Buddhist, Hindu or practice any religion, in fact, meditation has nothing to do with religion.

We do not even need to spend hours and hours sitting in the lotus position.

Most of the time we need a reason to start doing something. For instance, when we don’t feel well, we become more open to try everything possible that can help us to feel better and that could be included even meditation.

Personally, I think we don’t need any particular reason to start meditating. Even if we are happy with our life, meditation could be very beneficial, it can help with the quality of our life and also I can see it as a prevention to a series of health issues.

We are used to a quick fix, everywhere advertisements offer us the choice of hundreds of different pills, tablets, gels for a lot of things with the promise that in a short time we will be ok, without having to do anything.

I am refering to a headache, sleeping disorders, anxiety and a lot of other health issues. Don’t get me wrong, we need medicine but a lot of these issues can be sorted out with meditation.

The benefits of meditation are many and have also been demonstrated scientifically.

 Read Also: How to Meditate for Beginners

 

Main Benefits of Meditation:

Physical benefits

1- It lowers oxygen consumption.

2- It decreases respiratory rate.
3- It increases blood flow and slows the heart rate.
4- Increases exercise tolerance.
5- Leads to a deeper level of physical relaxation.
6- Good for people with high blood pressure.
7- Reduces anxiety attacks by lowering the levels of blood lactate.
8- Decreases muscle tension
9- Helps in chronic diseases like allergies, arthritis etc.
10- Reduces Pre-menstrual Syndrome symptoms.
11- Helps in post-operative healing.
12- Enhances the immune system.
13- Reduces activity of viruses and emotional distress
14- Enhances energy, strength and vigour.
15- Helps with weight loss
16- Reduction of free radicals, less tissue damage
17- Higher skin resistance
18- Drop in cholesterol levels, lowers risk of cardiovascular disease.
19- Improved flow of air to the lungs resulting in easier breathing.
20- Decreases the aging process.

 

Psychological benefits:

21- Builds self-confidence.
22- Increases serotonin level, influences mood and behaviour.
23- Resolve phobias & fears
39- Helps control own thoughts
24- Helps with focus & concentration
41- Increase creativity
25- Increased brain wave coherence.
26- Improved learning ability and memory.
27- Increased feelings of vitality and rejuvenation.
28- Increased emotional stability.
29- improved relationships
30- Mind ages at slower rate
31- Easier to remove bad habits
32- Develops intuition
33- Increased Productivity
34- Improved relations at home & at work
35- Able to see the larger picture in a given situation
36- Helps ignore petty issues
37- Increased ability to solve complex problems
38- Purifies your character

 

Spiritual benefits:

39- Helps keep things in perspective
40- Provides peace of mind, happiness
42- Helps you discover your purpose
43- Increased self-actualization.
44- Increased compassion
46- Growing wisdom
47- Deeper understanding of yourself and others
48- Brings body, mind, spirit in harmony
49- Deeper Level of spiritual relaxation
50- Increased acceptance of oneself


Meditation is also completely FREE! It requires no special equipment, and is not complicated to learn. It can be practiced anywhere, at any given moment, and it is not time consuming (15-20 min. per day is good). Best of all, meditation has NO negative side effects. Bottom line, there is nothing but positive to be gained from it! With such a huge list of benefits, the question you should ask yourself is, “why am I not meditating yet?”

 Read Also: Benefits of Yoga.

If you need a point to start from, you should try guided meditation courses. They are inexpensive and can provide you with a good foundation from which to begin meditating.


Make sure you meditate, there are quite simply too many positives to just ignore it.

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How to Meditate for Beginners

Meditation is a simple but life-transforming skill that can help you to relax, enhance understanding about yourself and develop your inherent potential.

The meditation posts I have written in the past focused mainly on the applications of different meditation techniques. But if you have little knowledge about meditation, you may find it challenging to apply them without first learning the basics of meditation.

So in this article, I have laid down some basic instructions on how to meditate for beginners as well as address the common concerns most beginners may have.

How to Meditate

How to Meditate for Beginners

    Choose a conducive environment. Find a nice, quiet place where you won’t be disturbed for fifteen minutes or longer. Sit down, relax and rest your hands on your lap. You can sit on the floor cross-legged with the support of a meditation cushion, or on any chair with your feet resting on the ground. It is not necessary to force yourself into a lotus position if you are not used to it.

    Regardless of how you sit, it is important to maintain the natural curve of your back. That means no slouching. People with chronic back problems who cannot sit for a prolonged period of time can explore other meditation positions.


    Breathe slowly and deeply. Close your eyes softly. Direct your soft, unfocused gaze downwards. Begin by taking a few slow and deep breaths — inhaling with your nose and exhaling from your mouth. Don’t force your breathing; let it come naturally. The first few intakes of air are likely to be shallow, but as you allow more air to fill your lungs each time, your breaths will gradually become deeper and fuller. Take as long as you need to breathe slowly and deeply.


    Be aware. When you are breathing deeply, you will begin to feel calmer and more relaxed. That is a good sign. Now, focus your attention on your breathing. Be aware of each breath that you take in through your nose. Be mindful of each breath that you exhale with your mouth. Continue focusing on your breaths for as long as you like.

    If you find your attention straying away from your breaths, just gently bring it back. It may happen many times. Don’t be disheartened. What’s important is to realize that you have wandered and bring your attention back to where it should be. As you develop greater focus power, you will find it easier to concentrate.

    Ending the session. When you are ready to end the session, open your eyes and stand up slowly. Stretch yourself and extend your increased awareness to your next activities. Well done! You have done it!

 Meditation Tips for Beginners

    Guided meditation MP3s or CDs as meditation tools. For beginners, audio guided meditations provide step-by-step instructions that help to introduce meditation in an easy and non-intimidating way.

    Experienced meditators may also benefit from guided meditation programs as they can reveal different perspectives and approaches that might have escaped one’s awareness.

    As there are many types of guided meditation available, it is important to be clear of what you are looking for. For instance, The Healing Waterfall series is great for deep relaxation, while Chill Out is useful for calming anxious nerves. No matter what your objectives are, you are likely to find a guided meditation that suits your needs.


Aim to have the length of your exhalations as long, if not longer, than your inhalations. By expelling more used air, you make more room for fresh air to fill your lungs. If your out-breaths are much shorter than the in-breaths, you can help to expel more air by gently contracting your abdominal muscles.


If the weather is chilly, keep yourself warm with a blanket or shawl during meditation.


Meditating with an empty or full stomach may be distracting or even uncomfortable. Make sure there is something in your tummy, but not so much that you feel distracted while sitting.



 Many people, including long-time meditators, have experienced occasions when they find their concentration is not as focused as they want it to be. So, it is important to be patient and compassionate with yourself, especially if you are a beginner.

Meditation requires your mind to be quiet. Therefore, anything that stimulates your mind just before your sitting is not going to be very helpful, such as a heated argument with your partner, an exciting computer game, a dramatic movie or a thought-provoking book. If you find yourself often having a hard time sitting still during meditation, try to avoid engaging in any of these activities prior to your session.

Some people also find a relaxation exercise or a gentle stretch before meditation helps them to get into a tranquil state faster.

Alternatively, you can try walking meditation if you face difficulty with the sitting version, or work on improving your concentration.

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