[ #GentleNudge ] 4Mar2015 ~ 37 Science Based Reasons to Meditate Today [ Infographic, Video ]
Here’s Your Weekly Wednesday #GentleNudge To Get You Over The Hump…
and into the weekend!
[ Meditation… Part 1 of 3 ]
Have you ever wondered this about meditation?
I’ve been reading a lot about it and
feel the benefits from it but what exactly does meditation do for the body?
I know it activates certain parts of the brain but I’m not clear on what exactly that means.
One of my clients asked me this in my inbox and I thought it would be a great series to dive into with you.
Sure, I’ve written about my personal experiences with meditation, like the time I I did a 10-day yoga challenge (starting at day 95). But you probably were wondering, “what does meditation do for the body?”
[ Meditation Does A Body Good! ]
According to SoundsTrue.Com, meditation on the body can help you:
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Channel revitalizing energy throughout your body and
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Uncover your body’s untapped powers of perception, intuition, and wisdom.
We live in an overly stimulated world, so when you can channel energy to make yourself feel good, your body can literally carry you longer and work more optimally!
Meditation can structurally change your brain… “thickening some areas, and making others less dense”…
( Click here to Read the full Huffington Post Healthy Living Article by Meredith Melnick )
Similarly, we are mammals, and meditation allows you to attune to the silent messages your body tells you to signal happiness, balance, and yes, even illness. Body Scanning Meditation awakens you to what your body needs and wants to tell you:
Meditation Coach Mp3 Download. Enjoy a 10 minute mindful meditation as Greg de Vries, the Meditation Coach, gently guides you to meditate with this guided body scan meditation. Download your free mp3 meditation audio at the link above.
[ Meditation: Good for Any Body! ]
Meditation is great for your heart and can “significantly help high blood pressure over the long-term”.
Plus, it is an excellent immune booster (illnesses and infectious bye-bye!), and meditation can help women reduce PMS, infertility and breastfeeding problems:
[ The Mighty Powers of Meditation, Pt 1 ]
Science has shown that mindfulness meditation can affect gene expression, which means that not only your body changes, but your potential for illness such as diabetes, heart-attack and dementia are lessened, too!
Curious to learn more? Just check what Meditation can do for the Body, Mind and Spirit (courtesy of The Huffington Post):
[ The Mighty Powers of Meditation, Pt 2 ]
Emma Seppala, PhD also blogs about the 20 benefits of Meditation.
She even goes over some Myths about Meditation and helps you breakthrough the “I can’t meditate” mentality:
[ Still Need More Motivation To Meditate? ]
Alright, so you’ve come to a place where you’re saying, “Geez, I guess meditation couldn’t hurt!” Great! Let’s get started!
Try out the Headspace App program ( Free for the first 10 days ):
Or maybe you’re still on the fence?
Here are 10 Science-Based Reasons to Start Meditating Today!
The Takeaway
Meditation can change your life in so many ways. And you don’t need to sit for hours, wearing a white robe.
You can be yourself!
…A woman
…An elder
…And You can even be a punk rocker, tatooed meditation advocate:
As a youth, Levine was incarcerated several times. His first book, Dharma Punx, details teenage years filled with drugs, violence, and multiple suicide attempts—choices fuelled by disillusionment with American mainstream culture. His substance abuse started early in life—at age six he began smoking marijuana—and finally ended in a padded detoxification cell in juvenile prison 11 years later. It was in this cell where he hit “an emotional rock bottom” and began his vipassana practice “out of a place of extreme drug addiction and violence” While incarcerated, he saw for the first time how the practice his father taught him gave him the tools to relieve the fear and uncertainty that pervaded his life.
One notable aspect of Buddhist Dharma is the path of our choices, the actions past and present and the intention for future action (Buddhist Law of Karma). Levine’s past—addiction, incarceration, violence, initial rejection of Buddhism and meditation—are all defining characteristics of his writings and teachings. “We all sort of have a different doorway to dharma or spiritual practice. Suffering is a doorway. For me it was the suffering of addiction, violence and crime which opened me at a young age, 17 years old. I was incarcerated, looking at the rest of my life in prison and thought, ‘Maybe I will try dad’s hippie meditation bullshit.’ Suffering opened me to the possibility of trying meditation.”
He currently leads Dharma and vipassana meditation retreats and workshops across the United States and teaches weekly meditation classes in Los Angeles. A member of the Prison Dharma Network, Levine works with juvenile and adult prison inmates, combining meditation techniques with psychotherapy. He “explores how they can have a deeper understanding of what has happened and what they need to do in order to be free, on many levels—free from prison, free from the trauma of the past.”
He has helped found several groups and projects including the Mind Body Awareness Project, a non-profit organization that serves incarcerated youths. Introducing them to the Buddha’s teachings. He lists the 14th Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, Ram Dass, Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, Norman Fischer, and Sylvia Boorstein as his teachers.
Noah Levine – http://www.dharmapunx.com/
Are you ready to change your body, mind and soul? 🙂
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PS: Stay tuned next week for part 2 of my series of meditation. We’ll dive into the types of meditation…
Till then, be kind to your SELF!
To your Success,
Tera Greene
The Life REmix Expert
…inspiring success in life and business!
Download F.ree Report Reveals… The 5 (Super Cheap) Tools I Use To Stay Inspired For Success (Hint: The Best One Is Free)”