Meditation is one of those very beneficial activities that most people avoid doing because they ‘can’t do it’. It’s actually really easy, but I also struggled when I started. In this post I want to share with you the power of meditation for health and healing, because it was pivotal in my own path back to health.

I want to show you how, and why you should try it out, so you can reap the rewards sooner than later. 

We will start with the why, then I will share with you the how you can harness the power of meditation.

I’m going to assume that when you have tried to meditate, you had the following problems; 

• Negative thoughts popping into your head
• Mind wouldn’t stop telling you what you should be doing instead
• You felt anxious
• You were uncomfortable 

Why do I know this? It’s what everyone says!

Why it’s hard to Meditate

We live in a state of stress. 

This may seem counterintuitive, but if you are having trouble meditating, then you are the kind of person who will benefit most from it. The healing power of meditation is on the other side of your resistance.

Physiologically, our nervous system is made up of two branches;. 

• Brain and spinal chord
• The rest of your body.

As you know, your brain is responsible for thinking. As you may not know, the body does the rest and it’s completely unconscious (in fact, you do about 95% of your daily functions on auto-pilot). 

On the ‘other side’, with the body, we have a conscious part we control with our thoughts, and an unconscious part which is controlled automatically. This is the autonomic nervous system.  

Within that system, we have three states of existence that drive every aspect of our lives; 

1. Fight or flight (run!)
2. Shutdown (immobilisation)
3. Rest and digest (safety)

There are fancy terms and much more detail we could go into there, but this is all you need to know as far as the power of meditation is concerned. 

Know that when we are chronically stressed, there is no experience of rest and digest (safety), and in this space is rest, rejuvenation, and healing. What is also in this space is lasting fat loss, mental clarity, and healthy social engagement. 

If you can imagine trying to meditate when your nervous system is in a state of immobilisation or fight/flight, you can see why your body would try to snap you out of it, or resist it in some way. It thinks it is unsafe, like there is a lion coming, so sitting and going ‘within’ could be a really bad idea. 

Chances are, when you’re going to meditate, your life is not in danger. It’s highly likely you are safe, but your subconscious, or your body (which is where these nervous system states live) believe the opposite. 

So that’s why you find it hard to meditate. Let’s look at ‘why’ you should persist with it, so you can fully experience the power of meditation for health and healing for yourself.

Benefits of meditation

1. Teaches your body safety, from the bottom up
2. Supports the nervous system in maintaining equilibrium
3. Teaches the body to regulate itself

When your body is safe, you can connect better, work better, have more thought clarity, sleep better, gran muscle, lose fat, solve problems, and feel happier. That’s the power of meditation for you.

So that’s why you should meditate.

The whole thing of keeping your mind quiet is bullshit, and something that comes with years of regular practice. Your mind can only quiet when you feel safe, and you don’t feel safe when you begin to meditate. 

So now let’s get to the how!

How to meditate 

There are a few things that are crucial to a successful meditation practice;

• Eye cover – black is best
• Choose a comfortable position 
• Safety in surroundings 
• Headphones!
• Music or guided track
• Expect to fail 

Let’s go over each of these and why they are important 

• Eye cover – black is best

The darker it is in your mind (and i’m not talking about the terrifying kind of darkness that might come from your soul, but more-so the colour black), the easier it is to relax. Light tells your brain that it is daytime, and generally speaking, this will keep you more alert. 

• Choose a comfortable position 

You don’t need to sit a certain way, just do what is comfortable. I always laid down when I started, so then I wasn’t distracted by physical discomfort. So sit or lay somewhere comfortable and don’t worry about the specifics 

• Safety in surroundings 

If you are in a public space, your children are running around, or you know you will be interrupted, then you won’t succeed, not even close. THe body needs to feel like it has the space to create relaxation, which as you know may be hard considering the body is going to fight you all of the way. 

So, make things easier for yourself by making sure you have as much safety in your setup as possible, with as much quiet as possible. 

• Headphones!

Having the music go straight into your brain is essential, as the music is designed to slow down your brain waves. The less outside noise you hear, and the more of those beautiful theta waves that enter your mind-space, the more relaxed you will be able to become. 

• Music or guided track

This is a must for beginners. As I just mentioned you need music to help slow down your brain waves, you also may need guidance. You aren’t expected to just ‘blank your mind’, so get that expectation out of your head. Often a guided meditation can support you in staying focussed on the task at hand. 

• Expect to fail 

You won’t succeed early on, but there is no such thing as a ‘bad’ meditation. With every attempt you are reprogramming your body and nervous system for safety, whether you succeed or not. It’s something that slowly gets better, the more you practise. 

So that’s it. Find a track, grab your headphones, cover your eyes, get comfortable and remove any possible outside distractions. Then give it a try! 

Additionally to this; 

• Do any time length – even 5 minutes is OK
• Note that slow, deep belly breathing is another great way to slow down your nervous system and tell it that it is safe. A guided meditation is likely to include breathing in the recording, but if it doesn’t, then know that breathing slowly into your belly is best
• I like to pretend I am 99.9% empty space, and I imagine things moving through me
• If you think a lot, just observe what you’re thinking and imagine yourself ‘flicking it away’. 
• Keep trying different songs, recordings, and guided meditations. Once you find one that clicks, do that one until you’re over it. 

That’s how and why you should meditate! I love it. I can literally just close my eyes and blank out on command now, and this comes from someone who used to be so stressed I couldn’t even sit down for 1 minute without getting extreme anxiety.

So, it’s possible, and it’s totally worth persisting with it.  

Jen