Meditation as a Happiness Tool (Day 22 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge)
Stress is like the arch enemy of happiness and nothing is as quick as making you feel down as feeling stresses out.
It stops you sleeping, being productive and therefore adversely affects your mood.
So it makes sense to have in place some strategies that will reduce stress levels, in order to make room for happiness.
One of the best ways to reduce stress and increase happiness is meditation.
Not only does it reduce stress and increase happiness, but its also good for your health, self-awareness and it strengthens your resolve and concentration.
Meditation is an ancient technique of clearing the mind where we reach a state of awareness with no thoughts running through our heads. This state of mind takes some practice to achieve but becomes effortless.
On this journey, meditation helps us contemplate, concentrate and gives his more control over our thoughts and mind.
There are many different ways of practising meditation - some focus on breathing, others different areas of your body and it can be done in silence, or with a background white noise, soft music or a guided meditation.
A good starting point when you are new is a simple guided meditation as there are plenty of recordings online, like on YouTube or different apps. Whilst YouTube is free, other options could require you to pay. Listen to a few until you find a guided meditation that ‘feels right’ for you and that you are comfortable with.
If you don’t want to trawl through guided meditations, but want to give this a go, here is a basic meditation exercise you can use…
Lie down comfortably on your back with your hand down by your sides and relax.
Close your eyes and allow yourself to breathe naturally and think about your breathing.
Notice how each breath moves your body and try to focus entirely on each inhalation and each exhalation.
If your mind wanders, bring it back to focusing on your breath.
Aim to do this for a few minutes first and don’t feel too bad if you catching yourself falling asleep, as meditation can be very relaxing and a great way to send you off to sleep
When you practice, you will be able to practice meditation for longer periods of time.
Why not experiment with some different techniques and lengths to find your own unique blend that helps you the most. It really can be a life changing habit that reduces stress and increases happiness and something you can get into to the end of your days.
Meditate for happiness.
Previous Days
Day 2 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: Make Happiness Your Best Friend
Day 3 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: Start Your Day With Gratefulness
Day 4 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: Start Your Day With Gratefulness
Day 5 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: Time to Get Busy...
Day 6 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: Know Your Onions About Dealing With Stress
Day 7 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: The Connection Between Happiness and Exercise
Day 8a of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: The Human Connection
Day 8b of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: The Human Connection 2
Day 9 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff. Savour It Instead
Day 10 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: Surfing the Sea of Sadness
Day 11 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: The Good Fight Against Our Brain’s Bias To Negativity
Day 12 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: Form Happiness Support Groups
Day 13 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: Why Getting Enough Sleep May Be The Key To Happiness
Day 14 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: Little Confidence Boosters
Day 15 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: Make it a Goal to Make Someone Else’s Day
Day 16 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: Not Happy? Fake It!
Day 17 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: How a Journal Can Help With Happiness
Day 18 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: How to Deal With Negative Thoughts and Emotions
Day 19 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: Be Here In the Moment
Day 20 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: Thinking & Communicating In Positive Ways
Day 21 of 30 of the Happiness Challenge: The Importance of Giving Back
Damn this series is hardcore. I’ll need to check the previous post. Meditation is something I’ve never done but should do.
Meditation is something I do every morning and is always in my morning routine integrated, because it helps me to relax, but also to focus on the work that follows.
I can just recommend it to everyone to try it out