Getting the mind to fully concentrate can be very difficult, especially in this day and age where one is exposed to so much information. The minute you get on your phone, there are several apps that fight to catch your attention, from Instagram to Twitter or TikTok. You find that it is increasingly hard to keep your focus intact with all these distractions, so how can one improve concentration? This is where meditation comes to the rescue.
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Meditation, the ancient wellness practice
According to the Insider Health, meditation is an ancient wellness practice that focuses on training awareness, attention and compassion. Studies have shown that mediation helps in reducing stress and improving concentration levels, giving the person involved a heightened feeling of tranquillity and calmness.
This practice has its roots in Eastern wellness traditions like the Ayurvedic practices in India or the traditional medicine therapies in Japan and China. Over the years, the practice has spread to other parts of the world as it is commonly practised in the US and other western countries, with adherents increasing more than three times between 2012 and 2017.
According to the Global Wellness Summit’s report in 2019, mindfulness meditation is the most widely practised in the US. Verywellmind defines mindfulness meditation as a ‘mental training practice that teaches you to slow down racing thoughts, let go of negativity, and calm both your mind and body.’
It is a combination of meditation and mindfulness, a mental state that involves being fully focused on ‘the now’ in order to recognize and accept your thoughts, feelings, and sensations without judgment.
How to meditate
Practising mindfulness meditation requires patience, it is definitely not something to be done in a hurry, so the individual must not be anxious or worried about seeing results immediately.
Insider health shows us some ways in which mindfulness meditation can be carried out:
- Sit quietly: Ensure you are not having any disturbance or distractions, mute your phone or keep just keep it away from you.
- Sit comfortably: Use a prop to make sure you are comfortable. Your body should feel relaxed.
- Breathe slowly: Focus your attention on your breathing. Use this as a guide. You can have a mental count while you’re at it.
- Let go of distractions: Once you lose focus, acknowledge why you did, and try to let it go as fluidly as it came into your mind. Then, gently refocus on your breathing.
Do this for ten minutes daily, and you’re bound to see amazing results.
