60 Style | wellbeing
Four reasons You Need To STarT MediTaTiNg Life and wellness coach Annabelle Matson breaks down the simplicity of meditation and shows us how this ancient practice can enhance our wellbeing.
at its essence, meditation is about stillness and connecting with your inner self. However, it’s often considered something that’s mysterious and difficult to achieve, when in fact, it’s one of the oldest and most simple processes there is. it is the nature of your mind to think, and there is a misconception that to meditate means to stop thinking, when really what it’s about is slowing down those racing thoughts and just observing them. The key is not to jump onboard with your thoughts and float away with them. if you don’t give them meaning or fuel them, they will just simply pass through. Here are four reasons you need to start meditating: 1.You’re aLwaYs exhausted, stressed and anxious Meditation helps you to slow down your thinking and allows your body and mind to relax. You’re never more relaxed than when you meditate and will come away feeling
refreshed and ready to face the day. 2.You struggLe to make decisions a lot of the answers you need don’t come from your thinking mind, so use meditation to tap into your intuition. We are all so busy running around; we forget to quieten down long enough to listen to our inner guide. Solutions may not come right away, but you will be surprised at the answers that come forward and the clarity you gain when you create the space to listen to your intuition. 3.You struggLe to staY present if you are always racing towards the next “thing”, unable to feel happy and enjoy the moment, meditation will help to train your brain to stay in the present, a place where you aren’t worried about what happened in the past, and you aren’t concerned about the future. it’s with this focus and awareness of the present moment that your fears, worries and doubts can be transformed and ultimately this has hugely positive impact on how we handle what life throws at us.
4.You have difficuLtY staYing focused our endless tasks and busy lives can create an overload for the brain; it doesn’t know what to process first, so it keeps recycling the same information. Meditation slows down your thinking and allows the information and emotions to pass through, and bit-by-bit we let go of what’s not important. as a result, your thinking is much clearer; you gain a sharp focus on what action to take, rather than getting bogged down by unnecessary detail or emotion. Next time you find yourself feeling a little tense or stressed or lacking clarity and focus – take the time to be quiet, focus on your breath for a few minutes and allow your stress to subside. This is in essence what mediation is. if you aren’t already meditating, why not give it a go? The best test is always seeing if it works for you. There are many mediation resources to help you get started, try searching for an app or visit Youtube.
To learn more about Annabelle’s work and get access to a library of free health and wellness goodies, visit: annabellematson.com
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