Your health is certainly improved when you focus on you and a healthy smile. Taking care of your bite and orthodontics is a great way to begin. Your oral hygiene contributes to your overall health, and most of us try to exercise and eat well to keep our bodies strong.
However, more and more people are starting to embrace meditation as an overall way to improve health. Meditation can improve not only your health, but ultimately your life.
The advantages of meditation are more beneficial than one could imagine. People who meditate on a daily basis have lower heart rates, and actually get sick less often. These results indicate that meditation is not only emotionally rewarding but physically as well.
For thousands of years, people have used meditation as a means of relaxation, a way to relieve stress, and to find inner peace. Meditation can leave one feeling inspired and renewed.
Many people find it extremely hard to keep their mind focused during a meditation session, which is completely normal. The more you practice, the easier it will get for you to focus during your session.
Focusing on your breathing is extremely important. Researchers from Harvard and other institutions have explored the effects of meditation on everything from high blood pressure to peak states of consciousness. Their research has shown not only the profound effects that meditation can have on the brains of advanced meditators, but also how practicing meditation for only a few minutes a day can create a dramatic increase in the parts of the brain associated with happiness and wellbeing.
Meditation has also been shown to boost the body’s immune system, to improve the brain’s capacity to concentrate for extended periods of time, and to be an effective treatment for many psychological disorders, like depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.
Meditation increases memory and helps you think more clearly, as it trains you to remove all of the unnecessary things clogging your brain. Did you know that numerous world-class athletes practice some form of meditation and/or visualization? It helps them to concentrate on achieving their goals and it helps keep them in peak physical condition. People who practice this technique regularly have shown the ability to empathize and care about the emotions of others, and are able to bond with people more easily.
There is some really good news for those of us wanting to turn back the clock. Studies have shown that the regular practice of meditation can actually slow down the aging process. The biological age of long-term meditators is generally less than those of people who have never meditated!
Want to get started with mediation? There are numerous programs available, many easily downloaded for no charge on YouTube. If you prefer an app on your phone that gets you started with 10 minutes a day, you can try Headspace. Meditation should be added to the top of your list as part of your overall health improvement strategy (right after brushing and flossing each day)!
