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Meditation is the Medication

I began meditating a little over a year ago and while I do not do it as often as I would like, I have noticed a difference in myself and my perspective on the world  when I meditate. There are so many benefits to taking these few minutes to quiet you mind that I truly believe meditation can help anyone.

1. Meditation has been proven to reduce stress and increase relaxation. As American's we are conditioned to work hard and be responsible. We put a lot of pressure and stress on ourselves through work, school and just living life. People from other countries say that we do not know to relax. Meditation is a simple technique that can help change your mood within a matter of minutes.
2.Meditation increases happiness. Studies have show that meditation helps fight many psychological symptoms including depression, anxiety, obsessions, and anger.
2. Meditation causes your brain to expand. Our minds are the most amazing thing on this planet. If we do not give it a rest, like any other machine it will eventually burn out. Research shows that meditations improves plasticity in the brain, which affects our thinking, memory, attention and processing. It is shown individuals who meditated  have larger amounts of gray matter in their prefontal cortex, which improves brain health and abilities as well as fights aging and mental decline.  Our mind controls every aspect of our body.
3. Meditation improves overall health. There are many physical improvements that occur when you meditation. It helps by increasing our restful sleep, decreasing high blood pressure and fostering cell grow. It has been shown to decrease aliments, pain, and aches. Meditation increases our overall immunity.
4. Meditation makes use more self aware. During meditation, you are taking moments to actively stop your mind from racing. You pay attention to your breathing which normally we don't even notice we do. In the moments of meditation, you might become away of pain you are experiencing throughout your body. You focus on relaxing your muscles. Taking the time to notice these things for a few minutes a day, increases you ability to become aware of them when you are on the go. Additionally, you become more away of your thoughts especially negative thoughts. Once you notice you think negatively you can change your perspective to increase you mood. People who meditate have more self acceptance and increased self esteem.
5.Meditation helps your relationships. People who meditate are more tuned in to their self, their thoughts, and their actions. Instead of reacting, they have to ability to take a step back and come up with the most beneficial next . In can problem solve more easily because they do not have excessive thoughts clouding their mind. They are more about to handle stressful situations. Studies show those who meditate are more aware of other's emotional cues and have more empathy.

They say if you do not have twenty minutes to meditate that you should take an hour. However if you are new to the process, I would suggest taking just five minutes to breath deeply in a quiet space until you are more practiced.  Some people like to use mantras (repeated sound, word or phrase) or look at an image to help them focus. There are also guided meditations available online that you could follow, that is how I started.

Hope you enjoyed the read,

Future Therapist

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