Meditate Like a Monk…or at Least Pretend To

There are so many benefits to mediation. Meditation helps you grow mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Meditation helps relax your mind and your body. Meditation helps you set goals and intentions and can help inspire you to achieve goals and aspirations. However meditation is a skill and takes a lot of practice and intention.

Mediation is not easily learned because we get distracted by our own agendas, others agendas, our to-do lists, our thoughts, and our emotions. We let these things keep our mind busy and preoccupied with worrisome thoughts.

Meditation is helpful to help stay centered and grounded. When we meditate our brain has a chance to slow down and focus on the current moment, and in the moment we can realize we have a lot to be grateful for. I mentioned meditation is hard, right? Have you ever tried to mediate? It is challenging! You wonder where do I start? How do I do this?

You might calm the mind for a moment then start to wonder how much time has passed. It is really hard to sit still and let the mind be still. Try it! It is not easy. Buddhist monks have mastered meditation. A really cool research study found Buddhist Monks placed in MRI machines while meditating had increased attention, calmness, and happiness.

For more on the study click here.

Clearly it is worthwhile to improve your ability to meditate and relax. People can master meditation but to master meditation a lot of practice and dedication are required. Clearly becoming a master is not easy, but there are ways to help you focus and calm your mind.

In this video I review 2 ways to start to master meditation.

The first way to start to master meditation is a product designed to help us lay-people learn to meditate and relax, the Muse. The Muse can be purchased from Amazon.

The Muse is a headband you wear on your head and it scans your brain as you relax. Here is how the Muse works. You download the Muse app. The app and the headband guide you through relaxation and meditation exercises and as your brain wanders and thinks about different things the weather becomes stormy and loud.

As you relax your mind the weather calms and stills. It helps you improve your relaxation and meditation practice because the real time feedback allows you to learn how your brain calms or over-thinks about different things.

The second way to improve your meditation practice is to join my relaxation group starting January 12, at Texoma Specialty Counseling in Sherman, TX.

You will learn relaxation and meditation practices to improve your confidence, stress, and happiness. You will learn how to connect and calm and your mind and body, gain confidence, tackle your to-do list with more confidence and control, and how to stay in the moment to find gratitude and relaxation. Sign up today as spots are limited.

You may not be a master at relaxation and meditation after purchasing and using the Muse or joining Mindful Minute for Women, but you will find that you improve and practice these skills you will have more intention, energy, relaxation, and hope.