The Power of Meditation

During such unprecedented times, the lack of social interaction has created distance and barrier; causing many of us to feel a sense of unease and stress. What are some ways we could alleviate the daily stressors we encounter in our day to day lives?

Meditation has been recently gaining in popularity in recent years, and there are countless reasons why that is.

Meditation trains our brain to focus and redirect our thoughts. When meditating, we pay attention to our breath during the practice; we can notice when our mind wanders off to other thoughts. When we notice this, we focus our mind back onto the breath; practicing mindfulness.

What are the benefits of meditation? Well, the list goes on. Studies have demonstrated meditation's stress-relieving abilities; managing anxiety, improving memory and attention. Our brain is composed of grey matter, encompassing neuronal cell bodies, glial cells, synapses; consistent meditation and mindfulness practices have increased grey matter density in the hippocampus and frontal cortex.

Meditation has also been found to decrease our stress levels. When we encounter a threat or a stressor, our sympathetic nervous system kicks in. Secreting stress hormones (cortisol); activating our fight or flight response. When the threat has passed, our parasympathetic nervous system activates; allowing us to relax. By meditating, we deactivate our sympathetic nervous system and activate our parasympathetic nervous system. Studies have seen this when patients engage in meditation, their amygdala, which is responsible for stress and anxiety, decreases in brain cell volume.

It might be difficult to filter our constant thoughts, but the more we practice being in the present; the easier it gets. If you can only meditate for ten minutes a day, meditate for ten. If you can only do one minute, meditate for one minute! There is no right or wrong.

When in doubt, try meditating!