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As you may or may not know, May is National Mental Health Month.
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And theres no better time to pick upmeditationthan right now.
Here at SELF, we are big fans ofmeditation.
Mostly because we’ve found it helps us relax and unwind (much-needed after a busy workday!
The research isn’t fully conclusive, but it’s promising in any case.
It may ease symptoms of anxiety and depression, and may help people with insomnia."
That being said, the authors also noted that meditation had no adverse side effects.
But it’s certainly interesting, and will hopefully lead to more research.
The British voice behind the app definitely helps.
So we reached out to Headspace to get tips from whoever voiced the soothing guided meditations.
Here are his top 10 tips to get you started.
Want to sleep better?
Want to feel less stressed or anxious?
Want to improve your focus at work or on a sport?
In physical pain?"
We all know that the early bird gets the worm, but does that help with meditation, too?
It also means youre more likely to be mindful throughout the day.
Just be sure to set aside time for your meditation at some point.
Schedule it the same way you would any other meeting.
Youre making an appointment for your mental well-being.
What could be more important?
In reality, youre not going to meditate once and immediately feel calmer or more Zen.
But just like anything, it often takes practice and patience.
Your mind isnt going to stop whirring just because youve started to meditate.
Take it session by session, day by day, moment by moment," Puddicombe says.
While it may seem counterintuitive, you dont have to try really hard to meditate.
Just setting aside the time to do it and completing a session is worthy of a high five.
The biggest obstacle for most people when learning to meditate is trying too hard.
All you gotta do is sit there and see what happens.
Make no effort to change it, simply observe the rising and falling sensation in the body.
It can be helpful to give a shot to count your breaths.
And then start again at one.
The breath is what anchors us to the moment whenever distracting thoughts or emotions arise.
Were teaching it to be still.
Its why we practice.
Watching where your mind goes when you sit still is a learning experience.
There is no good or bad meditationthere is only awareness or non-awareness.
Wherever your brain goes, just redirect your thoughts back to your breath each time.
Such obstacles are extremely common, and many Headspacers sit through them and happily come through the other side.
The Headspace app knows that, which is why they created the buddy feature.
You dont have to meditate together, or at the same time.
The idea is to carry this awareness with us.
This ismeditationin action, otherwise known as mindfulness, Puddicombe says.
