When I was introduced to meditation a few years back it became a regular practice that I really enjoyed adding to my life. Often our lives are so busy and full of other activities that it is easy to forget or overlook setting aside even 20-30 mins for our own nurturing.

Although I understand the benefits of incorporating meditation into my daily life at times I will skip a day or two and that can often turn into a week or more and after making various excuses as to why I haven’t been doing it I remind myself of how it benefits my life, a little like regularly including exercise in your life.

What benefits will meditation have on your life?

The positive effects that meditation can have on us physically include;

• Lowering heart rate, improving blood pressure, decreasing metabolic rate and reducing the work load of the heart.
• Lowering cortisol and lactate levels-two chemicals associated with stress.
• Improving skin resistance – Low skin resistance is correlated with higher stress and anxiety levels.
• Lower cholesterol levels.
• Easier breathing through improved flow of air to the lungs. Particularly helpful to asthma patients.
• Aging process is slowed down.

The psychologically benefits include;

• Increased brain wave coherence.
• Greater creativity.
• Reduced anxiety.
• Decreased moodiness and irritability.
• Improvements in learning ability and memory.
• Feelings of vitality and rejuvenation improved.
• Greater happiness and less depression.
• Improved emotional stability.

With continued practice of meditation there is greater likelihood a person’s goals will shift towards personal and spiritual growth. Many people who initially learn meditation for its self-regulatory aspects find that as their practice deepens they are drawn more and more into the realm of the “spiritual”. If like me, improving your physical, psychological and spiritual wellbeing is of importance to you then meditation is certainly a good place to start.

As there are a number of different styles of meditation you may need to give a number a go before finding the one that suits you the best. I myself enjoy guided meditations that walk me through a visualization process. There really is no right or wrong way of meditating, even lighting a candle and just staring at it for a time is a method of meditating. There are various meditation sites available on the internet some of which allow you to listen to the meditation tracks for free, so go exploring and see what you can find.

Jo Thomson is a HypnoBirthing Practitioner, Life Coach and Midwife. She is based on the NSW Central Coast where she conducts HypnoBirthing classes and specializes in pregnancy and parenting life coaching. For more information about any of her services she can be contacted via her website at www.destinybychoice.com.au