Benefits of Meditation: Inspiration to Wellness

What comes to mind when you think of meditation?  Is it sitting in a lotus position…” if I could only manage it with my tight hips!” Perhaps, it’s closing your eyes tightly until you feel some peacefulness overcome you…“That’s not going to happen,” you shriek! Or maybe it’s reciting Om 108 times, but you keep losing count! Grrrr…

Meditation can be all of the above and none of the above.  I’ll explain.  Meditation, in it’s truest form, is simply spending a few moments to a few hours in a quiet space, focusing on the moment, and not beyond it, in either direction.  It can include reciting a prayer or simply repeating words like Om in a rhythm that keeps you present. Meditation can be putting paint to canvas, pen to paper, crochet hook to yarn, bead to string or foot to pavement.  Any practice that allows you to focus on the moment at hand is a form of meditation.

Consider the following:

• When the times you live in are troubled, stepping out of the quagmire to listen to nothingness can yield an instant sense of peace. Haven’t you ever stepped away from an argument just to take a deep breath and think of your next words or actions? That is what being in the moment is like.
• Oxygen is not only life-sustaining but a tool that can easily relax you after just a few deep breaths. When you follow your inhales and exhales, something quite amazing begins to happen. Your body becomes more oxygenated, and all your systems begin to work more efficiently while allowing you to enter a deep and relaxed state.
• Breathing into your pain is not a concept most will understand.  When trying to break the cycle of pain, using breath work by visualizing the regenerative and cleansing oxygen entering your sore spots can easily release tension in the area. Practicing this daily can increase your pain tolerance as well as reduce the stress to allow healing to begin.
• Now, how to stay “there”?  In the beginning, you may have many thoughts coming up interrupting that peace you’ve achieved. When this happens, acknowledge the thought but don’t engage with it, just let it flow by like a soapy bubble and come back to following your breath.
• Did you know that spending 10 minutes in this meditative state in nature is equal to a 30-minute indoor practice? So whenever possible, go outdoors.

• Getting “in touch” with your inner voice, not only raises your sense of peacefulness within, but certain revelations come up as well. Your “inner voice” or “true self” are terms that we call that essence we all carry deep inside, that truth that only we understand, and hard to explain to others. When you make that connection, there is nothing like it. You will have moments of clarity through claircognizance, or hear words through your clairaudience or get those goose-bump sensations through your clairsentience. We all have these capabilities, and they are not just reserved for mediums.  I truly believe that we are souls having a human experience and as such, we are constantly learning lessons, guided to seek books, people, things that will hold meaning, and have feelings that guide us in a different direction from where we started. When we learn to pay attention to these moments along our journey, we can tap into the deeper meaning of who we are and why we are here. The more time we spend in a meditative state, the clearer our intuition becomes.

I love to sit quietly for just a few moments daily and most especially when I can’t focus on what I’m doing or feel I need to find an answer to some question. I take about three deep belly breaths – these are breaths that push your belly outward while expanding your lower back at the same time. Holding each breath for a count of 4 with eyes closed before exhaling brings my physical body into a relaxed state – and that’s simply from breathing. You can also try following the gentle flow of your inhale and exhale without stopping.  Once I feel relaxed and my body slightly limp, I ask my questions silently and simply wait for an answer. Usually, a word or two will come to mind, or I will feel a flutter in my chest or a buzz in my ears. It’s very different for everyone, but trust me, with a little practice, the question-answer quiet session is very real as it is revealing.

If you prefer a guided meditation where you listen to simple instructions to bring you into a deep state of relaxation, you can choose from a large number of YouTube videos or find guided meditation circles in your community.  I am always excited to welcome beginners, to my Healing Song Guided Meditation which is a unique experience of a guided journey and channeled vocal humming, vocalizing and at times, melodic and lyrical singing with messages from Spirit.  For more information, please follow the link to my unique Meditation and visit the Testimonials page to read how impactful this practice can be.

Many blessings,
Lucy