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Meditation is an amazing way to achieve so many wonderful things: reduce stress levels, get more in touch with yourself, learn to tune out negative thoughts, become more productive, and in general, gain a different perspective on life.
However, when life throws you a curveball, you might suddenly find it difficult to meditate. Or, if you’ve never tried it before, this will most likely not be the time you decide to invite meditation into your routine.
Let’s explore why meditating when the going gets tough is an excellent way to push through trying times and come out the other side stronger.
Meditation lowers your stress levels
During times of heightened stress and anxiety (no matter what is causing them), we often find it difficult to tune out, shut down, and reboot.
Even when going to bed, and telling ourselves we will not keep thinking about it, our mind reverts back to the same patterns, and our thoughts keep going in the same direction.
Meditation is a scientifically proven way to reduce the levels of stress in our lives. This alone will significantly help you get over the rough patch.
When we’re under stress, neither our bodies nor minds function normally: we are more tense, we find it hard to see things clearly, and often focus on one negative outcome. Meditation will tune down the stress dial, helping us view life from a rational perspective once again.
Meditation teaches you to accept your thoughts
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When first beginning to meditate, many people feel they can’t control their own thoughts, and quickly give up because they feel they are failing.
However, the point is not to stop our thoughts, or drive them a certain way – it is to observe them, notice where they are taking us, how we feel about them, and only then make an effort to consciously think differently.
When we’re going through something difficult and challenging, we rarely take the time to manage our minds, which are so busy with trying to process all that is going on.
But if we take the time to meditate, we will soothe these murky waters of thought, and accept what they are doing to us. And with acceptance comes relief, as you will soon learn.
Meditation helps you heal
When facing a physical medical issue, we tend to focus on fixing the body, and forget that the mind is an incredibly powerful tool that can help us heal.
It has been proven that patients who have a positive outlook on healing recover more fully and in less time than those who preoccupy themselves with the negative potential outcomes.
This is where meditation comes in and soothes the mind, allowing us to embrace any and all possibilities – including the worst ones. Those who have been meditating for years can testify to the clarity of vision and a sense of calm they have reached: they know life is a series of challenges, and are ready to embrace them as they come.
Paired with other healing techniques, meditation can significantly help you in not only coming to terms with an illness, but overcoming it as well.
Meditation provides time for yourself
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When going through a rough patch, it can be difficult to take some time out and focus on ourselves, how we feel, what we need, and what we would like to do.
Taking the time to meditate provides just that – a space and a time to explore all that’s happening in our inner being, which slowly but surely sets us on the path of finding healthy coping mechanisms.
Remember that meditating when you’re going through something will not be a smooth and easy ride, as your thoughts won’t be all bright and shiny. But getting in touch with them will provide all the clarity you need to move on in the physical world, and you will often see the solution to a problem after a half hour mediation session.
Meditation is a routine you can reach for
Finally, in times of unrest and the unexpected, slipping into a familiar routine can be a great way to assume some semblance of normal. As humans, we appreciate routine, and like to reach for it as a safety net.
What better routine to establish than one that will not only be familiar, but that is also an amazing friend to your mind, body, and soul?
