You already know there are many physical and mental health benefits of a regular meditation practice. That’s because regular meditation actually rewires the neural pathways in your brain so you can think differently.
And the ability to think differently can have a profoundly soothing effect on your mental health and well-being. You can learn to boost your emotions with meditation.
You can learn to boost your emotions with meditation.Click To TweetIn this post, I’ll cover how meditation influences emotions and share some tips on how to harness the power of meditation to improve your mental and emotional state.
How Meditation Influences Emotions
The self-regulation techniques you practice in meditation have benefits that go beyond the meditation session itself. The changes in your conscious thinking, behavior, and environment cause the neural networks and pathways in your brain to alter and reconnect in new ways. Those new neural pathways are supported with regular practice, and will kick in during times of crisis, stress, or emotional intensity so you can direct your thoughts and attention in more positive, helpful ways. Your new ways of thinking will help you cope with the stress and challenges that life inevitably throws your way.
This is important because most of your emotions arise from deep within your subconscious, where they are diffucult if not impossible to control. What you can learn to control, though, is how you think about and interact with your thoughts and emotions. And by helping you think differently, that’s precisely what meditation helps you do. By helping you develop internal awareness, the ability to focus, and a mechanism for processing your emotions differently, meditation can put you on a path toward improved emotional health.
By helping you develop internal awareness and the ability to focus, and a mechanism for processing your emotions differently, meditation can put you on a path toward improved emotional health.Click To Tweet4 Tips for Boosting Your Emotions With Meditation
If you’re looking to boost your emotions with meditaion, here are 4 helpful tips: Be patient; be consistent; know your preferences; and own your practice.
1. Be patient.
Learning to meditate takes time. And over time, your practice will change. When you’re first learning to meditate, you may notice only the smallest of changes, and they can be easy to overlook. But be patient. Your awareness will grow with each session, and soon, you will start to notice more significant differences. When you start to notice yourself engaging in meditative thoughts during stressful or diffucult moments in your life… that’s when you’ll begin to appreciate the benefits of regular practice.
Small changes will eventually turn into larger ones, then you’ll be able to enjoy longer stretches where you’re able to think consciously about your emotions. Embrace being patient. And embrace your changing practice. Accept that meditation is a learning process, and you will make progress.
Accept that meditation is a learning process, and you will make progress.Click To Tweet2. Be consistent.
Your meditation practice is, in essence, a routine. The best meditation practice for you is the one you do regularly, so make sure you set up your routine in a way that encourages you to actually do it. The value comes from being consistent.
When you’re consistent, results come faster. Like exercising or dieting, meditating it isn’t about being perfect as much as it is about showing up and taking action every day. It’s better to make an attempt to meditate than to not meditate at all.
Carve out the 15 to 30 minutes a day, or whatever you need to meditate, and work hard at staying committed to that time.
Your meditation practice is a routine. Carve out the time you need to meditate each day and stay committed to it.Click To Tweet3. Identify your preferences.
Do you prefer to sit still, lie down, stand up, or move around while meditating? Upright postures are often recommended for beginners since attempting to meditate while lying down may become a little too relaxing. If you’re too relaxed, it’s easy to lose focus or fall asleep. Some people find that sitting still in a specific posture works best, while others prefer a more active approach that may include walking or standing.
And you’ll definitely want to make sure your preferences are compatible: If you prefer to close your eyes during meditation, a seated posture may be safer for you than walking.
The key is to identify your preferences and put your personal practice together based on them.
Do you prefer to sit still, lie down, stand up, or move around while meditating? Identify your preferences and put your personal meditation practice together based on them.Click To Tweet4. Own your practice.
This tip goes hand-in-hand with #3 above. There are many meditation styles, techniques, tools, and approaches. Try the ones that interest you, and stick with the ones that work the best. There’s no “right” or “wrong” way to practice meditation, so you don’t need to worry about accuracy or how others are doing it.
Customize your meditation practice by carefully selecting your favorite techniques along with the environment you prefer to be in. Feel free to combine multiple techniques to achieve the results you’re looking for, mesh with your lifestyle, and reach your personal goals. You may wish to choose several different go-to options so you can always fit your meditation in on busy days or while traveling.
This is what I call “owning” your practice. And when you OWN your meditation practice, you’re able to optimize your health and wellness in profoundly meaningful ways.
When you OWN your meditation practice, you're able to optimize your health and wellness in profoundly meaningful ways. Click To TweetMeditation is an effective way to boost your emotional health because it helps you rewire your brain and think differently. Once you learn the basics, the “rules” of meditation are always yours to make and break, which is why it works well for so many people.
While learning meditation does take patience, consistency, the willingness to try new things, and the commitment to own what works best for you, the effort is worth it. When you’ve successfully inegrated a regular meditation practice into your life, you’re in control… able to boost your emotions whenever you feel the need.
What’s the most helpful advice you ever received about learning to meditate? Please leave your comments below.
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