Everyone knows the feeling of a week stretching on, and the Friday seems nowhere in sight. There are times during the month when you just don’t have the mental drive to be productive or get some very important work done. In times like those, does your mind feel tired and overworked?
Looking after oneself has never been a bigger priority, with lifestyle diseases steadily on the rise. People are now choosing health sanctuaries for holidays to refuel, de-stress and return revitalized. That’s what healing holidays are all about—getaways to cure and recover mindfully. And even if as students, we can’t afford or have the time for getaways in Bali, Philippines or Spain, there are a few ways to infuse some energy into your being in some very steps!
Yoga spa in Bali
One foolproof way to rekindle some energy into your system is meditation. So first, what is the practice of meditation? Meditation means awareness. Watching your breath, listening to the birds or stretching even, is meditation. If these activities are free from any other distraction to the mind, it is effective meditation. Meditation is not a technique but a way of life. Meditation means ‘a cessation of the thought process’. It describes a state of consciousness, when the mind is free of scattered thoughts and various patterns. The observer tries to slowly realize that all the activity of the mind is reduced to one.
In addition to relaxing our mind and soul, meditation rewires our brains and how we respond to symptoms. Here’s a few ways in which it does so:
IMMUNE SYSTEM: In addition to reducing stress and lowering blood pressure, meditation improves the function of our immune cells. Patients who practiced mindfulness suffered from fewer and less severe colds than those who didn’t meditate, said a 2012 University of Wisconsin study.
HEART: Heart disease is aggravated by stress, which is triggered by the body’s sympathetic nervous system (for example, the fight-or-flight response). Meditation acts as an antidote. It can promote relaxation, which decreases stress on the heart.
LUNGS: Meditation won’t cure lung disease, but it can ease the symptoms associated with it, such as shortness of breath and anxiety. In a study of some patients, it was found that practicing mindfulness led those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to describe their symptoms as less severe.
Now that I have outlined the numerous benefits of meditation, you might want to get it a try! But if you are new to the practice, there are many apps like that will help you ease into and train your mind to become ready for a fulfilling experience.
Have a relaxing experience!
