Spring Clean Your Mind: The Benefits of Meditation

Winter is finally signing out. Next in line to check in is spring, which officially begins on 20th March. This season of nature's awakening is often associated with fresh starts and positive change. How about trying something new this spring? With dreary skies no longer hanging over our heads, let the season draw in a new light that fills you with renewed zeal and restored happiness. If you’ve never tried it before, discover the benefits of meditation and give your mind a spring clean!

Create Quiet Time for a Calmer You

Harvard Medical School found thatpersonal health and happiness has a lot to do with what goes on inside ourminds. However, amid the daily challenges of work, domestic responsibilities and financial worries, we often neglect our personal wellbeing. Taking a moment out of each day to spend time alone will push you to explore your internal inventory of thoughts and feelings. This will help you recognise what is important to you and some have even reported sensations of taming stress-induced conditions such as anxiety and depression.

We hear you asking: “I have a lot of things to do — where do I find time in my day to sit alone in stillness?” Our answer? It is precisely this that calls for meditation. Outlined by the Mental Health Foundation, stress is one of the biggest factors affecting our thoughts and feelings, with symptoms such as mood fluctuations, frustration and irrational behaviour. To cope with stress? People in high-intensity roles and those finding it hard to relax have begun turning to meditation as a tool to calm theirnerves. Taking time out of your day allows you to manage worries and concerns, freeing up headspace for planning positive change and new experiences.

The Power of Kindness

From late-night finishes at work to worries about job security and progression, the burnout epidemic is spreading fast and wild. Reported by the Mental Health Foundation, only 13% of people live with high levels of positive mental health. This suggests that a large proportion of us are succumbing to work-related stress and social pressures while neglecting our mental health and overall wellbeing.

Daily meditation can help us understand how to be kind to others and ourselves. By learning to be kind to ourselves, it will help us realise that time and health are precious commodities. While we are busy clustering the mind with thoughts of deadlines, unpaid bills and childcare arrangements, the importance of positive thoughts and feelings can be forgotten. For some, this holds an impact on the ability to experience small joys, prompting possible questions such as ‘what is the purpose of my life?’

Do you ever stop in your tracks rushing between destinations to hold the door open for somebody else? Can you remember the feeling of warmth spreading inside you as they smiled and thanked you? This is emotional exploration and along the way, you may even surprise yourself with new and unfamiliar feelings. 

Be Introspective 

Many of us struggle to say no and, consequently, we take on more responsibility than we can handle. This is emotional suppression, which is when we side-line our personal feelings about what is right or wrong or whether we’re realistically capable of doing something, especially in a social or career context — and that’s due to fear; fear of not being accepted, fear of not being liked or fear of how another person might perceive us. When we ignore these feelings, we disconnect from our emotional state and our true selves. 

When we are being true to ourselves, it means we are connected to what we enjoy and matters to us. Research at Berkley University has shown that meditation can improve a person’s sense of connection to their emotional status as well as encourage the behaviour of being fully present, engaging in daily situations. Spending time alone meditating in silence can unearth some unpleasant feelings and expose us to vulnerability, but some consider learning to be vulnerable an act of courage. By accepting and acknowledging both sides of the coin, you discover who you really are. When we focus all our energies on portraying ourselves in a certain light to our managers, friends and family, we lose a sense of self.

Feel Better, Sleep Better

Can you remember the last time you enjoyed a sound night’s sleep and woke up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the new day? Over a third of the UK population currently suffers from chronic insomnia. Researchers at Healthline and the Journal of Adolescent Health, believe that poor sleep is associated of numerous factors, including sporadic meal times, heavy use of electronic devices and, most notably, stress-fuelled anxiety however, more research is necessary to verify. Training the mind to become disciplined by doing a pre-bedtime meditation has helped some who practice meditation gain a better night of sleep, but for others, it has been reported to also helped them manage moodiness at work.

By training the mind to calm negative thoughts, theanecdotal evidence suggests itrelaxes the mind and body, hence allowing a better chance of a better sleep. Particular sleep-aiding meditations are taught in workshops on mindfulness and meditation retreats. These provide individuals with the knowledge and skills to rediscover the beauty of sleep.

Conclusion

Hoarding old objects that hold sentimental value is something we all do. Just like objects, we also develop and hold on to routines and behaviours that help us to cope with daily life — which means they can be fairly difficult to break. Creating time to devote entirely to yourself and make positive change is a challenge and takes a concerted effort, but the benefits of meditation are many and varied. Try something new and treat yourself to a spring clean of the mind, body and soul. Just ten minutes of meditation a day can set you on the right path to a healthier, happier and more positive you.