Tag Archives: Mindfulness Meditation

Wellness Wednesday: Meditation

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Meditation is the habitual process of training your mind to focus and redirect your thoughts. It can wipe away the day’s stress and bring inner peace. It can also be used as a practice to develop other beneficial habits and feelings, such as a positive mood and outlook, self-discipline, healthy sleep patterns, and even increased pain tolerance.

There are many types of mediation, including:

  • Guided meditation
  • Mantra meditation
  • Mindfulness meditation
  • Qigong
  • Tai chi
  • Yoga

Each type of meditation includes certain features to help you meditate. The most common features include:

  • Focused attention- focusing your attention is one of the most important elements of meditation. It helps free your mind from the many things that cause stress and worry.
  • Relaxed breathing- this meditation technique involves deep, even-paced breathing using the diaphragm to expand your lungs. The purpose is to slow your breathing, take in more oxygen, and reduce the use of shoulder, neck, and upper chest muscles while breathing so that you breathe better.
  • A quiet setting- if you’re a beginner, meditation may be easier to do if you’re in a quiet spot to have fewer distractions. As you get more skilled at meditation, you may be able to do it anywhere, including high-stress places.
  • A comfortable position- you can practice meditation whether sitting, lying down, walking, or in other positions or activities. Ensure you are comfortable to get the most out of your meditation. Aim to keep a good posture during meditation.
  • An open attitude- let thoughts pass through your mind without judging them.

Here are some emotional and physical benefits of meditation:

  • It helps reduce stress
  • It helps to control anxiety
  • It supports emotional health
  • It enhances self-awareness
  • It increases your attention span
  • It may reduce age-related memory loss
  • It can help generate kindness
  • It may help with addiction
  • It helps to improve sleep
  • It helps control pain
  • It can help decrease blood pressure
  • It is accessible anywhere
  • It enables you to be more patient

Meditation is something everyone can do to improve their mental and emotional health without special equipment or costly memberships. Trying a style of meditation suited to your goals is a great way to improve your quality of life, even if you only have a few minutes a day.

If you want to learn more about Jamaica Hospital Medical Center’s integrative health services, events, or classes or would like to schedule an appointment, please call us at (718) 206-5675.

 

All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page. You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter. PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.

Mindfulness Meditation

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Mindfulness meditationEveryday life can be full of worries. So much so that we forget how to enjoy the present moment and struggle to cope with a barrage of stress.

Escalated stress levels can serve as a threat to our overall health. Chronic stress increases the risk of depression, anxiety, high blood pressure, heart problems, obesity, sexual dysfunction, skin and hair problems as well as gastrointestinal problems. Stress can also disrupt creativity, problem-solving, and memory. This is because stress affects the prefrontal cortex, the most evolved part of the brain that is responsible for regulating our thoughts, actions, and emotions.

Due to the effects that stress can have on our health, it is important that we apply stress-reducing techniques to our daily routines. Practicing mindfulness meditation is one way to re-train our brains to be less preoccupied with worry and reduce stress. It allows us to focus our minds on a present moment, acknowledge negative thoughts without judging them, and then let them go. The goal is not to suppress thoughts, but to let them pass out of our minds, and then return to the task at hand. This can typically be achieved by practicing mindful exercises such as:

1. Mindful breathing – Start by breathing slowly in through your nose and out your mouth. Let go of your thoughts and maintain awareness for distractions. If your mind begins to wander, gently bring your attention back to your breathing.
2. Mindful eating – Purposefully slow down your pace while eating. Smell your food, notice how it feels in your mouth and savor its taste.
3. Mindful walking – Walk and use all your senses to acknowledge the world around you.

In addition to reducing stress, there are other benefits we can gain from mindfulness meditation. It improves brain efficiency in attention and impulse control and may reduce anxiety, depression, and pain in some cases. One study found that listening to brief mindfulness meditations, delivered by a smartphone app as a reminder multiple times a week for eight weeks, improved overall well-being.

If the effects of stress are taking a toll on your health, speak with your doctor about stress-reducing techniques you can add to your routine.  To schedule an appointment with a Family Medicine doctor at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, please call 718- 206-6942.

Tasmia Ahmed M.D.

All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page. You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter. PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.