Saturday, October 26, 2013

Healthier Inner Dialogue - Stop Talking

Sometimes, the best inner dialogue, is no dialogue at all. Silence, glorious silence, is a healthy alternative to your internal chatter. It is easy to do anywhere, totally free, and comes with a truckload of health benefits.
Meditation is the eating your greens and getting your exercise of the mental health world, plus so much more. Even mainstream medicine (e.g. Mayo Clinic) has recognized that meditation can have a multi-faceted effect on your health.

Have a peak at some of the emotional issues it can apparently help:

Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations
Building skills to manage your stress
Increasing self-awareness
Focusing on the present
Reducing negative emotions

,...and some of the physical issues:

Allergies
Anxiety disorders
Asthma
Binge eating
Cancer
Depression
Fatigue
Heart disease
High blood pressure
Pain
Sleep problems
Substance abuse

Serious stuff. Now I know that you might be intimidated by meditating. I know that I used to be, but it really is super easy. Breathe.  That's it, just breathe.

It doesn't even matter if your mind starts wandering into what you have to do today or something you said yesterday. No worries. Just gently bring yourself back to focusing on your breathe. Easy peasy.

Start with just a few minutes and then if that feels comfortable, increase the time. I find it helpful to softly chant or hum so that my mind isn't as likely to jump away. Whatever works for you.

Here are a few links that can help you get started:
Art of Living - 8 Tips to Get Started with Meditation (has a guided meditation you can use)

Have you ever tried meditating? How did it go for you?

2 comments:

Magic Love Crow said...

I meditate everyday with my candle and my stones ;o) It works! It's powerful! Many of times, I see things as well ;o)

Mindy said...

Ha, easier said than done. I don't think I could shut my head up if my life depended on it. I have times where I lie in bed and the lists and to-do's and replays and imaginary conversations, and to-write emails, and, and, and, are screaming at me. And I'm silently screaming back at them to shut up. And then I'm silently telling myself that I'm crazy for talking to myself in my head. It's insanity.