HERE'S AT LEAST 4 GOOD REASONS TO MEDITATE

I love that scene from the movie, Eat Pray Love, where Julia Roberts, on her first day in India, tries to meditate.  After a seemingly never-ending amount of time, she looks up and sees she's only been at it for a minute--and her response is "Kill me now."  BUT she keeps working her way up and, eventually, she's able to meditate for several minutes at a time.

That's your take-away.  If you're just starting, it's okay if it's only a few minutes because eventually you'll work up to longer times.  Deepak Chopra recently told Oprah Winfrey that he meditates for 2 hours every day.  Yikes!  But he hurridly said that 15 or 20 minutes twice a day is fine.

It's preferable to meditate first thing in the morning, so you'll be energized and ready for anything your day dishes out. Sometimes that just isn't possible, though, so anytime late morning or afternoon is okay.  Nighttime, however, may not work; as much as meditation can energize you, it can also make you sleepy--and you just may be too tired at the end of the day. It's also probably better to sit, because if you lie down, you may doze off.

Here are 4 reasons you want to do it.

1.  You're silencing the mind, increasing concentration, focus and self-awareness.  You're a lot calmer and those daily challenges just seem easier to handle.

2.  Less stress.  You're letting go of a lot of things so, in effect, you're wiping the slate clean and starting fresh.

3.  Soul Connection:  I always thought there was something I wanted in my professional life, but one day while meditating I opened my eyes wide and said, "Well, that's not what I want at all!  This is!"

Here's the point:  We have both an ego and soul.  The ego is what gives us those negative thoughts, like being critical and judgemental, and those feelings of "I should"--even if it's not at all what you want. The ego is overly analytical, somewhat defensive--and is usually wrong.  The soul, on the other hand, is authentic and heart-centered, the true you.

4.  It just feels good.  Meditation makes you happier and healthier. I know when I meditate, it always feels like I'm taking a mini-vacation for my brain.

 

Still need more convincing?  Check out this great video (from YouTube) where Deepak Chopra explains meditation to Oprah Winfrey's audience on her Cable Show, "Super Soul Sunday, on the OWN Network.

 

_____________________________________________________________________

 

About Irene:  Irene Ross is a certified integrative nutrition and holistic wellness coach who helps people alter unhealthy habits so they can balance their lives.

 

Author of the e-book, Sugar's Sour Story, and of the forthcoming book, 25 Ways to Fire Up Your Day:  Increase Energy, Get More Done in Less Time, Balance Your Life, her website is: www.irenefross.com.

WHAT DO POSITIVE THINKING, MINDFUL EATING AND AN ABUNDANT MINDSET HAVE IT COMMON? YOUR OVERALL HEALTH, THAT'S WHAT!

Sometimes it seems that life is just serving one big sh*t sandwich--your car won't start, you burned out your computer, you just got a notice from your bank that you're overdrawn, you missed a crucial deadline....and the list goes on and on.  No matter what, though, it's important to remain positive--those negative thoughts will just keep you stuck in more negativity, fixed in that downward spiral, and keep you from moving forward. You also want to keep your body vibrational frequency up; science backs this-the human body vibrates at about 98 Hz, but it can go up or down with certain physical and emotional events. Here are some things you can do to raise your vibration and stay positive: 1. Treat yourself to a small amount of food you love, whether it's a cookie, cupcake, slice of pizza, small piece of chocolate, etc. It might seem a little counter intuitive to what we've all learned, but when you constantly live in that place of "I should," such as "I should never have...." you're actually lowering your vibration. That, in turn, can lead to resentment, anger, fear, depression--and THAT leads to emotional eating, cravings and a lot of other wellness challenges. Keep the treat small and keep it occasional--and you won't burst into flames or explode or anything. 2. Take some time out to play. If you have kids or pets (or can "borrow" some), don't be afraid to play with them--and get silly. 3. Get in the abundance mindset: When you think about it, abundance is really all around us--flowers, plants, water and other nature. Go for a walk and pay attention to this (Urbanites, get out of the concrete jungle and go to the park). Circling back to meditation, Deepak Chopra also recommends repeating this phrase: "Today, I behold all the abundance that surrounds me." If you can, pick some flowers--they vibrate at 400 Hz. 4. Compliment someone. My friend and colleague, Mark Carlson, recently told a wonderful story. Mark is working on his own personal transformational challenge and one day, he wasn't feeling too great. His energy was low and he was even kind of hating the gym. But someone came up to him--a person whom he hardly spoke to in the past 2 years--and told him how great he was looking. It made Mark's day--and I'll bet the other person also had a great one, too, because that kind of thing costs nothing, but tends to pay the highest in dividends... 5. Practice Gratitude: Someone once gave me an interesting challenge. At year's end in 2011, she told me to come up with 100 things for which I was grateful. "Are you kidding me?" I thought; as we all know, 2011 was hardly a shining, shimmering year. I took her up on the challenge (probably to prove her wrong), but I breezed right through the first 75 or 80 and, while the last ones were tougher, I still got through them easily. So every night, make a list of 3-5 things for which you are grateful; even the worst day has positive moments. And keep it in perspective. For example, while you might be chagrined about burning out your computer, there are probably a lot of people who WISH they had a computer in the first place to burn out. 6. Eat mindfully: It's easy to wolf food down without thinking, but everyone has a few moments to relax, breathe and eat in a quiet atmosphere; if you're at work and just can't get out, close the office door, turn off the computer and let the phone go to voicemail. Eat slowly and savor every morsel and texture. You'll be nourished, your digestion will thank you and your brain and stomach will have a chance to register satiety. 7. Keep a "success journal." Wow, we can be our own worst critics, beating ourselves up for every little miss-step. Keep a diary and write down every one of your achievements and successes, no matter how insignificant YOU might think it is (Chances are, it's not at all insignificant as you think.) Read the journal periodically, especially when you have a particularly bad day, so you can be reminded of just how terrific you really are.