Mindfulness meditation is good for your physical, emotional and mental well-being. Not long ago, I attended a four-day mindfulness conference given by Harvard University, and learned even more about the benefits of Mindfulness meditation on our overall health.
I’ve been meditating regularly ever since, and I recommend that you try it too. It has an immediate calming effect; it helps you to put things in perspective; it improves your mood and makes you more easy-going and open-hearted. Also, it gives you more energy and improves your sleep.
Here are a few mindfulness meditation exercises that you could try, right now. If you’re interested, the Benson-Henry Institute out of Harvard University sells CDs of Mindfulness meditations that you can use at home.
Counting breaths:
This is very simple. On the inhalation, count “one” in your mind, then exhale, then count “two,” and exhale, all the way up to “ten,” and then repeat. If your mind wanders or you lose track, just start again at “one.” You can do this for 5-20 minutes, once or twice a day.
The square:
In this exercise, you inhale to a count of four, imagining in your mind’s eye a line going up in a vertical direction. Then you exhale to a count of four, imagining this line going across and to the right. Then you inhale to a count of four, imagining the line going downwards, parallel to the first line, and then you exhale to a count of four, imagining the line going across and to the left, joining all four sides of the square. You then repeat the breathing to the count of four and construct a new square. If you lose track of where you are, or your mind wanders, just start again at the first line, going up. Practice this exercise for 5-20 minutes, once or twice a day.
Calming words:
In this exercise, you inhale slowly into your abdomen, saying to yourself in your mind, “I am,” and then as you exhale, say to yourself, “At peace.” So, each full breath, in and out, results in you saying to yourself, “I am at peace.” You can repeat this phrase over 5-20 minutes, once or twice a day, or you can change the words.
You can inhale to “Peace,” and exhale to “Release,” thinking of breathing in peace and then releasing any stress you have within you. Or, if you have a particular word or phrase that corresponds to your religion or spiritual tradition, you can inhale saying that word or phrase, and exhale silently. You can use the same words or phrases, or change them up; whatever works for you.
Mindfulness meditation can be done by anyone, anywhere. You just need a quiet place to sit, undisturbed, for a short period of time, once or twice a day. I highly recommend it.
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