Oxfordshire Limited Edition – August 2019

August 2019 |OxfordshireLimitedEdition| 147

Classes,appsandonlinetutorials
areavailableinabundance,witharough
estimationplacingregularmediatorsat
between 200 and 500 millionpeopleglobally

• themostpopularformsofthepractice
  beingmindfulnessmeditation,spiritual
  meditation,transcendentalmeditationand
  mantrameditation.
  So,whatarethebenefitsoffindingfive
  ortenminutesaday(yes,that’sallyouneed
  ifyou’retimepoor)toaddsomemeditation
  practicetoyourlife?
  Thephysicalbenefitsaremanyand
  includereducingbloodpressureandheart
  rate,helpingimprovetheimmunesystemand
  evenslowingtheageingprocess(OK,sothis
  mightactuallybeamagiccure-all).However,
  whatwereallylovearethepsychological
  benefitswhichareproven.EventheNHS
  recommendsaspotofmeditationinits
  variousforms.
  Herearejustafewoftheprovenbenefits:

MEDITATIONREDUCESSTRESSRELATED

CONDITIONSSUCHASANXIETYAND

DEPRESSION

Whenwemeditate,thebrainandnervous
systemundergoradicalchangesthatcausethe
reductionandpreventionoftheseconditions.
Italsoreducestheproductionofcortisolin
yourbrain.

MEDITATIONINCREASESPOSITIVE

EMOTIONS

Thereareafewreasonswhythishappens.
Thesimplestreasonisthereductionofstress.
Whenwereducethestressinoursystem
wereturntoournaturalstateoffeeling
calm,connectedtoourselvesandconfident
inmeetingthechallengesoflife.Whenwe
experiencethisitfeelsgoodanditshows!

MEDITATIONINCREASESFOCUSAND

PRESENTMOMENTAWARENESS

Whenwemeditate,westimulatethepre-
frontalcortex.Thisisthefrontpartofthe
brainthatisresponsibleforconcentration,
focusandproblem-solving,amongmany
otherimportantfunctions.

MEDITATIONINCREASESYOURSENSEOF

PURPOSEANDMEANING

Themoreyoumeditatethemoreyoubecome
awareofwhatyoulikeanddon’tlike,what
youarepassionateaboutandwhatyou
aren’t.Regularmeditationgivesrisetoclarity
aboutwhatisimportantinlifeandasenseof
confidencetomakechoicesthatenlivenyour
passionsanddissolvedistractions.Lifetakes
ongreatermeaningandyoufeeladeeper
senseofpurposeandsatisfaction.

So,putyourpre-conceivedideasof
meditationtooneside.It’snotjustfor
cheeseclothwearingincenseburners–it’sfor
you–anditwilltransformyourworld.

BEAUTY WELLNESS

alustforlife.com

HOWTOGETSTARTED

Herearesomeappstostartyoupractising.

Allyouneedissomewheretosit–you

couldevendoitinyourcar!

InsightTimer:Witheightmillion

subscribers,InsightTimerwasvotedasthe

HappiestAppintheworld.Withalarge

libraryofguidedmediations( 20 , 000 in

total)thisappisfreetouse.

Headspace:Popularwithcelebrities,the

Headspaceappisaperfectfirststepfor

newbiemeditators.Focussingonthe

ancientpractice,aswellasthescience

behindmeditation,themessageofthis

appisthatmeditationisabouttrainingin

awarenessandgettingahealthysenseof

perspective.

10 %Happier:Wanttosleepbetter,be

moremindful,improveyourrelationships,

andbecomejustabouttenpercent

happier?Thisistheappforyou.The

guidedmeditations,videos,talks,and

sleepcontentwillhelpyoubuild(orboost)

yourmeditationpracticeandstickwithit.

GwynethPaltrow

LivTyler

OprahWinfrey

L