OM Yoga UK - May 2017

Yoga & mindfulness special

P

rogress in today’s world should

be as much about increasing our

capacity as humans for happiness

and wellbeing, as growing the

economy. Meditation has deeply

enriched my own life and shown me that

lasting contentment does not come from

looking for satiation and fixes outside

of ourselves – the constant grasping for

‘more’ – be it more money, more beautiful

things, more glamour, a better job. Lasting

contentment comes from finding peace and

calm within ourselves, and meditation is a

great tool for helping achieve that.

Alleviates stress

Bombarded with advertising and overwhelmed

by digital, many of us feel we’re stuck on

a materialistic treadmill. Unsatisfied in our

constant quest for ‘more’ and exhausted

from high pressure jobs and high octane lives,

meditation is a tool to help you calm your

busy mind, release anxious thoughts and relax.

As the saying goes, ‘you can’t stop the waves,

but you can learn to surf’.

Improves health

The many health benefits of meditation

include lowering blood pressure, boosting

Higher living

Boost your life with regular

meditation, by Pete Bartlett

the immune system, alleviating anxiety and

depression, improving heart health and

helping with IBS and skin conditions like

psoriasis. Meditation is used to combat

anxiety in schools, and by US marines

to help with Post Traumatic Stress

Disorder. Many doctors now recommend

patients find a meditation class before

prescribing medication.

Helps you feel grounded

By helping you step outside the habitual

waves of mental agitation that come and go

amid the emotional storms and challenges

of modern life, meditation helps to anchor

you in the present moment and feel more

grounded and connected to yourself.

Brings more peace

Meditation can help create more peace, both

within and outside yourself. Allowing more

detachment from troublesome thoughts and

emotions, you become less reactive and

irritable. The more inner peace we have as

individuals, the more peace we inspire in

our communities.

Improves sleep

By generating more inner peace and calm

and reducing mental chatter, meditation

helps you sleep much better: you can relax

and let go of stress and tension more easily.

Boosts performance

and productivity

Meditation has been scientifically proven

to thicken the brain’s cortex, increasing

intelligence and enhancing cognitive

thinking. Like a ‘mind gym’, meditation

improves our mental fitness; by clearing

our minds of busy thoughts, our thinking

becomes clearer and more focussed

which in turn helps to improve concentration

and memory.

Enjoy better relationships

By helping us become less reactive and

irritable and more accepting of day-to-

day problems life throws at us, we become

more tolerant and our relationships can

dramatically improve. Quality relationships

are an essential ingredient for a happy life.

Pete Bartlett is founder of Meditate Now,

a new website search engine for

meditation which aims to make

meditation more accessible and user-friendly

(meditatenow.com)