Meditation won’t give you a cool gym pic for your Instagram, get you to only drink smoothies for a week, or even make you break a sweat, but its benefits are what make it worthy of our time. A new study in Biological Psychiatry, shows how meditation affects changes in the brain and how mindful meditation can improve both your physical and mental health, in particular, it can actually help reduce anxiety.
Mindfulness meditation focuses on nonjudgmental, honest awareness, and the key is being present — a concept that can be difficult to grasp in a world where it’s common for people to walk into inanimate objects after failing to look up from their phones.
“Practicing meditation has been a life-altering experience. I have slowed down, become less judgmental of myself and others, and have a harder time getting angry. I can tell the difference between a day where I meditated, and one I didn’t,” says Jennifer Green, an energy core coach and founder of Namasme.
There are several kinds of meditation, like Transcendental, Mantra-based, Vipassana, Zen, and more. Much like finding the perfect pair of jeans, finding the right type of meditation will depend on what makes you feel comfortable and what you want to achieve with it. You can’t be chasing the trends or what works for your friends, as it has to be a practice that goes with your specific needs.
How do you get started? Jeffrey Martin, PhD, a meditation expert and co-founder of the Finders Course and Transformative Technology Lab, explains that meditation is now reaching people where they already spend a great deal of time: on their smartphones.
“These types of apps, and the latest crop of gadgets, are helping to turn what was once a chore into a game. Tech-enabled meditation is increasing in popularity. In fact, meditation is becoming so popular among teens that a resurgence is going on for the earlier forms of it as well,” Martin says.
Between the sea of meditation apps that are making the rounds, some noticeable ones for beginners are: Headspace, My Smiling Mind, Stop, Breathe, Think, and Calm.
If you are looking for a tech-free approach, here are a few exercises and tips that Martin suggests can be easily done at home.
Mantra
Silently repeat love, peace, or another word or positive phrase for 20 minutes in the morning. This will psychologically prime you in the right direction for the day. When your mind drifts, just bring your attention back and say the word again. Drifts happen because of a core rhythm in the brain, they are nothing to get frustrated about. After a while, the brain will settle in.
Breath focus
Focus on either how the breath feels flowing into and out of your nostrils, or the rise and fall of chest or belly while you breathe. It may help initially to mentally note ‘in’ and ‘out’, but you can drop this after a while. The key is to try not to change the breath, just watch it as your body breathes in and out.
Post workout stretch
Your brain is primed for its own workout after you finish your physical one. Scheduling some time for meditation immediately after you exercise allows you to take maximum advantage of the effects it can provide.
Some people need a gym partner to help them get motivated, and meditation is no different. If you feel being part of a group gives you some accountability or helps you get started, you can always try meditation classes like the NYC-based group Path or use Meditation Finder to find the closest center group close to home.
After a little bit of practice, you’ll start living a more present, open, and accepting life.