Ease Your Mind

Through Meditation

Experts hypothesize that on average we each experience at least 50,000 thoughts per day swirling through our minds. Meditating for just five minutes can bring much-needed balance back into our hectic lives.

While practices, such as Transcendental Meditation, suggest we meditate for at least 20 minutes twice a day, even five minutes of focused calm can reduce anxiety and help us connect to our own inner source of healing.

What is meditation?
Meditation involves any methods that help us reach a heightened state of focused awareness. Relaxation techniques, such as meditation, increase our brains’ alpha waves, helping us feel calmer and more creative. By turning away from our usual goal-oriented minds and actions, allowing thoughts to simply wash over us without trying to control where they lead, we can achieve a deeper sense of calm.

Tap into wellbeing
We can find countless ways to tap into this wakeful, relaxed state of consciousness. There are even apps, such as Headspace and Calm, that use guiding imagery and music to help us meditate.

Or we can try our own meditation. It’s as easy as observing our breathing or learning a mantra to help focus our thoughts. For example, choose a comforting word and count down—three, two, one. Think of the word every so often as you relax with eyes shut and mind open. Never force anything, just let streams of ideas flow gently by. Practice this for at least five minutes a day or during particularly stressful moments to achieve positive results.

Five benefits in five minutes
Meditating five minutes once or twice a day can produce myriad benefits, such as increased immunity, deeper sleep, lower blood pressure, greater concentration, and better health. It’s a simple way to invest in ourselves and gain peace of mind over time.