With the world just recovering from the ravages of the Coronavirus epidemic, there have been more than enough reasons to mess with your mind. Although prescription medications can be used to counteract anxiety, stress, or PTSD, it’s not always the best idea. On the contrary, going the holistic way can be a great option.
Though it’s not a replacement for medication, meditation is a great way of dealing with mental stress and anxiety. The good news is it doesn’t require much to get started with meditation. In this article, we’ll explain what going inward means in meditation.
What is Meditation?
Meditation is a holistic healing practice that has been in use for thousands of years and is believed to have its origins in India. However, it has also been proven by several scientific studies to have some health benefits.
Studies show that meditation offers benefits such as enhancing mood, attention, and memory and helps regulate your emotions, even in beginners. You’ll witness these benefits by meditating for a few minutes a day.
Meditation entails two essential practices, which are introspection and relaxed concentration. You simply train to help keep your mind calm by clearing it of all external distractions and looking inward for refuge.
Though it’s a simple practice that entails sitting in one place with your thoughts, it will help you attain great health benefits when practiced right. You will experience an increase in your productivity, happiness, and creativity, among other things.
Going Inward
Going inward has become a big part of treating mental problems in the last couple of decades. Unlike the more traditional methods of treatment that entail therapy and medication, modern treatments implement the use of meditation to help their patients.
Going inward is the practice of digging into and becoming more attuned to your inner mental and emotional workings. Listening to your physical sensations and paying attention to how your mind reacts will help you achieve this goal. It will help you understand the root of your mental health issues and help you get in the right mindset to address them. Looking inward helps deal with mental problems such as stress, anxiety, and trauma.
Steps of Practicing Meditation
Meditation is not a challenging practice, and you can easily learn it in the comfort of your home. There are a few steps that you should observe, and then let time and practice handle the rest. These include:
Comfortable Position
First, you must find the right, comfortable position before getting started. Since you will be blocking out any external distractions, you need to assume a comfortable position that won’t have you fidgeting a couple of minutes into your medication.
It doesn’t have to be the popular lotus position; you can sit upright comfortably or even lie down. Just make sure that you don’t fall asleep if you opt to lie down. You can use a cushion if you’re sitting on the ground or find a chair with a good back.
Breathing Exercise
Now that you’re comfortable close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Closing your eyes will help keep your mind from wandering around the room during meditation. It also enables you to focus on your breathing or any mantra you opt to use during meditation.
You need to get air flowing into your lungs with each inhale; therefore, take deep and slow breaths through your nose, and exhale slowly as you let your body relax. To get a good rhythm going, you should count to five as you inhale and then another five as you exhale. Once you get a nice rhythm going, you can drop the counting.
Scan Your Body and Mind
As you get deeper into your meditation, it’s time to pay the right attention to your mind and body. With all your senses alert, start scanning your whole body from head to toe. Start from your feet and work your way up. Look for any tension in any part of your body and send some healing through your breath if you find any.
Next, you need to give the same attention to your mind. There are always too many thoughts jumbled up in the head, and it’s easy to get lost up there. Taking this time to scan your thoughts and see what you need to pay more attention to and what to clear out is a great step in improving your mood and attention.
Focusing a Wandering Mind
As a beginner, you’re going to deal with a lot of distractions when meditating. It’s hard sitting in seclusion and trying to clear your mind. When you’re in the middle of your meditation and find your mind wandering, there are a couple of things you can do to get your focus.
The most important thing to do while meditating is to focus on your breathing or mantra. Your mantra can be anything from a single word to a phrase that helps you concentrate. In time you’ll internalize the mantra to the point where you don’t have to say it but can still feel its presence in your mind. Once your mind fixates on one thing, it will lose track of any external distractions.
Finish up your meditation session with more breathing exercises. Breathing will help you return to your normal breathing. As a beginner, you should try and start with about ten-minute sessions.
Can Going Inward in Meditation Help Improve the Practice of Meditation Overall?
Going inward in meditation often leads to a deeper connection with the self and the practice itself. By focusing internally, individuals can better understand their own thoughts, emotions, and reactions, therefore gaining insight into how to improve meditation and its practice. This deeper understanding and awareness can greatly enhance the overall meditation experience.
Pros and Cons of Meditation
Though several clinical studies show the benefits of meditation, it has been quite difficult for science to pinpoint the exact markers that help this happen. However, gurus and other practitioners of meditation swear by its benefits which include:
Pros
- Improves attention
- Reduces stress
- Helps control anxiety
- Decreases blood pressure
- Improves sleep
- Boost your emotional health
Cons
- No immediate results
- Reliving some memories can be traumatic
Conclusion
In conclusion, you now know what going inward means and how to attain such a level of focus during your meditating sessions. Meditation isn’t a magic bullet; it takes a while to see any significant improvement.
As you learn to control your breath and clear your mind, try to live in the moment and not worry about what will happen in the future. Focusing too much on the benefits you want will rob you of the peace of mind you need to achieve those benefits.