Five benefits of meditation

While medicine can help with a number of ailments, it's always best to pursue a natural route first. Many minor conditions and niggles can be solved with complementary therapy or simple meditation. When it comes to your health, it's best to explore all options.  Meditation is a free and easy way to promote a healthy mind and body.

Meditation is a tool that allows us to take control of our thoughts.  These moments of quiet and reflection help us to understand and recognise the patterns of our thinking, how we become stressed and what the triggers are.  This awareness helps us identify areas of anxiety that we may need to address or negative thoughts we need to let go of. Meditation brings you back to the present moment and reduces the temptation to play out old dramas in your mind.

Your skin reflects how you are feeling inside.  If you're stressed your skin can become dry and grey looking.  If you're anxious you may experience a breakout of adult acne.  What can be seen on the outside always comes from within?  Meditation can help you relax allowing your body to heal more quickly and process any stress or anxiety more efficiently.

Most people's sleep problems are due to an overactive mind.  We've all experienced that feeling the night before a big exam, job interview, or presentation.  The thoughts go round and round and as you become more conscious of the precious sleep hours slipping away, so the thoughts come thicker and faster.  Meditation is a way for us to take control, slow the thoughts, and achieve a relaxed state where sleep is far more likely.

It is proven that the body heals more quickly when it's in a state of rest.  Getting more sleep when you're ill will help, as will maintaining a sense of calm through regular meditation throughout your waking hours.

As soon as we try to reach for our goals, there's always the little voice of doubt there to keep us down.  Meditation helps us to become aware of that voice, it also improves blood flow is to the nervous system which triggers a state of calm and relaxation which promotes happy and more confident feelings.