Improving Your Health with Mindful Meditation
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In Kenneth H. Cooper, MD, MPH, Cooper Aerobics Founder and Chairman’s 8 Steps to Get Cooperized ™, managing stress is key to bettering one’s physical and emotional health. Stress can cause a multitude of health problems including high blood pressure and an elevated resting heart rate as well as lead to weight gain. With the fast pace of life, stress can build and implode on itself if not managed, which results in burnout. Dr. Cooper always says, “it’s not stress that kills, it’s the way you manage it.”
Mindful meditation is an effective technique for managing your stress. This type of meditation focuses on your present self and becoming aware of your experiences such as your current emotions and sensations you feel in your body. Mindfulness allows you to evaluate how you feel in the moment with the help of breathing techniques. Finding the best breathing technique can depend on the position you decide to meditate in. Professional Fitness Trainer Clay Fredrickson, DPT, PT, at Cooper Fitness Center, shares three breathing techniques you can try while meditating.
Benefits of mindful meditation:
- Reduces blood pressure
- Reduces inflammation
- Reduces cortisol
- Improves sleep
When practicing mindful meditation, it’s important to set intentions. Decide what is important to you and how you want to live your life. Calm.com says to ask yourself, “how do I want to live?” Your answer will help you determine what to think about while meditating.
Getting Started with Mindful Meditation
Meditation can be daunting, especially if you’re unsure of what to focus your mind on and don’t know how to begin. It’s important to remember:
- Find a place where you can be alone
- Loosen up parts of your body that are tense
- Breathe in through your nose and breathe out through your mouth
If it’s your first time trying meditation, guided audio meditations are available online. These audio guides are meant to help you focus and remember why you are meditating. If you plan to have a quick meditation session during your lunch break, an hour before bed or right when you wake up, guided meditation audio is available in both long and short forms.
A multitude of apps are available to download onto your smartphone, allowing you the opportunity to meditate no matter where you are. Some examples include:
- Headspace
- Calm
- Smiling Mind
- Waking Up
These apps can guide you on the type of mindful meditation you want to focus on such as bettering your sleep, creating connections with people and stress management.
Like any new habit, setting aside a time for your mindful meditation is key to having consistency. No matter if you’re on a walk, going to bed, waking up or taking a quick break from your busy day, guided meditation can better your meditation experience which can lead to you feeling better physically and mentally.
Don’t feel discouraged if you can’t meditate for a full 20 minutes. A minimum of two minutes is a great start and gradually increase over time.
If you haven’t seen your health care provider recently, now is a good time to make an appointment. For more information about Cooper Clinic or to schedule a comprehensive preventive exam, visit cooper-clinic.com or call 866.906.2667.
Article written by Riva L. Rahl, MD, Cooper Clinic Platinum Medical Director and Preventive Medicine Physician.