“Meditation is a practice of calming the mind by focusing our attention, often on our breath,” says Mel Mah, instructor at meditation app Calm. “It gives us a chance to check in with ourselves and pause in our busy, overstimulated lives. In those few minutes, you’re allowing your nervous system to settle and reset.”
If your workspace doesn’t already have a dedicated chill-out area to decompress and reset, it’s probably only a matter of time. This ancient practice is firmly taking root in our modern lives, with both celebrities and top business executives making meditation an important part of their daily routine. For example, Oprah advocates the power of Transcendental Meditation to ground and find your “silent voice of awareness,” while Jeff Weiner, executive chairman of LinkedIn, recommends mindfulness meditation to his team to increase productivity and focus.
Although there are no fast and hard rules for meditation, we asked experts for advice on how to get started on the path to pure Zen — or at least feel a little relaxed for a few moments every day. Don’t forget to check out the rest of our wellness resources on recovery mode, including the best workout apps and the best red light therapy masks.
What can you expect from meditation?
You can meditate anywhere—whether you’re in an empty boardroom or in bed at home—and it’s free.
“Learning to meditate is a powerful tool because it can help you sleep better and reduce stress in the body,” says Michael James Wong, meditation teacher and founder of Just Breathe. For example, studies show up to a 30 percent reduction in cortisol levels after consistent meditation practice. It may also strengthen the brain’s attention networks, and research using fMRI has shown that just eight weeks of mindfulness training increases activity and density in the prefrontal cortex, the area responsible for focus and decision making.
There are many different types of meditation you can try, including movement-based meditation, or sessions guided by sound or mantra. Several techniques can be used in each exercise. You may have heard of body scanning, visualization, or loving kindness.
“With our meditation and breath work training methods, we look at practices in three different categories,” says Wong. These include focused mindfulness meditation, present moment and here-and-now practices, and mantra-based practices to help expand consciousness.
where to start
Courtesy of CALM App
There is no one right way to meditate! While there are many types of meditation, a breath-based practice is simple. Guided sessions using apps like Just Breathe or Calm that take you through meditation can be helpful but are not necessary. Many traditional forms of meditation are done in silence, but if you feel particularly restless or anxious, light instrumental music may help.
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