This week, the Center for Natural and Integrative medicine shines the spotlight on meditation. You have the opportunity to learn the basic skills of meditation from Dr. Romy at 10:00 a.m. on March 21st. Not only will you learn how to meditate during this workshop, you will also take home new skills to help you in the practice of  meditation.

She has discounted this special session to 27.50, just for you. So we hope you are planning to join us.

In honor of her meditation workshop, we thought you would enjoy a description of the benefits of meditation and some some meditation tips.

Countless benefits come from this stress-reducing activity, and a little research brings us a host of tips and helpers in this art and science of mind-body knowledge. 

Give Meditation A Chance

According to the Mayo Clinic, “Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that benefits both your emotional well-being and your overall health.”

They also state that these benefits do not just exist for you while you are in the process of meditation. They explain, “Meditation can help carry you more calmly through your day and may improve certain medical conditions.”

What if some one told you there was a magic pill that could do the following things:

1.  Assist you in managing your stress,

2.  Increase your self-awareness,

3.  Help sharpen your focus of on the present moment,

We at the Center for Natural and Integrative Medicine cringe to think you just might be tempted to take that pill!

Aside from the fact that there is no such pill, these same three benefits can be attained through the natural and time honored practice of meditation. (No side effects!  No unnatural chemicals! No designer drugs!)

Meditation has many aspects that are easy and fun.

We hope the tips below will help you if the idea of meditation has intimidated you in the past.

1.  You do not have to start with 30 minutes. You can start as a beginner, with a quick 3-5 meditation exercise. If you do not have 3-5 minutes to spare in your hectic life, try an even shorter amount of time–how about 3 breaths?

Experts say you can begin by focusing on the short amount of time required to concentrate on the feeling of taking three deep breaths.

We know one meditating individual that does this while waiting for a red light to change!

2.   Meditation can help if you suffer from  stress, “anxiety, irritability, or overthinking.”

Psychologists tell us, “Meditation is a great way to increase your resilience to stress. If you have anxiety, it will help reduce your general tendency towards physiological over arousal and calm your nervous system.”

They add, “Meditation can help with irritability partly because it helps you learn how to recognize you’re having irritable thoughts before you’ve blurted them out…”  (What a wonderful skill! You can actually avoid picking a fight with your spouse!)

3.   Before You Fly, Walk!

The aim of meditation does not have to be a total focus without any distraction. Striving and straining for this kind of control is often a beginner’s mistake. A practical objective can be just to learn when your mind has drifted sooner than you currently do. Gradually you will also gain the ability to re-focus without self-criticism.

For more information and tips about meditation, please return to Part II, in next week’s blog from the Center for Natural and Integrative Meditation. Meanwhile, watch the calendar for dates of special workshops and meditative yoga with Dr. Romy.

Coming in next week’s blog :  How To Turn A Five Minute Walk Into A Meditation!  Learn more about how meditation can pave your path to wellness.