Make Meditation a way of life

 

We do lot of physical exercise for our body but often ignore exercise of our brain, which is the most important part of body and control full functioning of our body. Just like our body our brain also needs exercise which will keep it healthy and functional for long time.

The best exercise for brain is meditation, it is a process through which we try to calm our brain and increase the blood supply to brain through various techniques. Now the question arises WHY should be calm our brain? Just like our body or any other machinery our body also need some time to rest and rejuvenate itself. Remember our brain is working even when we are sleeping. So, it become all the more important for us to give little rest to it.

Let me narrate my story about meditation

I was under the assumption that meditation is for elderlies and youngsters should refrain from it, hence I always stayed away from it.

Due to some back issues (backpain), I was advised for bed rest for 15 days and during this time my sleep was erratic too, because of backpain. As my doctor was averse to the idea of heavy pain killers and sleeping pills unless it is absolutely necessary. I was put on mild doses of pain killers and bed rest was the only way forward for me.

During that time, I saw advertisement for yoga classes close to my house. Since I had ample time I decided to give it a try, my cousin also supported my decision as he had already done a course in meditation.

I called the yoga class organizer and informed them about my condition and checked if I can enroll for the class. They said, it’s a beginner’s course and we have chairs for people with such issue and they will ensure good support to me. And I enrolled for the class

With trembling feet, I entered the class on the first day and I had one more surprise waiting for me there. I was the only guy in that batch, rest were all ladies. But they all welcomed me warmly with a broad smile.

First time I closed my eyes during the class, I wasn’t able to close it for more than 1 min and I opened my eyes. Then our trainer said, it is normal but if we keep trying this practice we will be able to close our eyes for long duration and towards the end of the program I was able to close my eyes for 20 mins at a stretch without any hinderance.

Another benefit of the session was my pain subsided slowly and I was able to get good sleep all throughout the session days. Reason my body and mind were in sync.

Here I would like to narrate an incident from our class.

One day our trainer asked us a question “are you people seeing any change in your life”? We all looked at each other and suddenly one aunty said, “I want to say something”.

She said I am sleeping a lot these days, be it in the afternoon or even at night and the best part is I get good sleep. When I get up from sleep I am fresh and active. We all said yes, we also feel the same.  Our trainer smiled and said it is because of the transformation our body is undergoing now. 

It has been years now since my introduction to meditation and I still make it a point to meditate daily except when I am unwell or during unavoidable situations. After my basic class in meditation, I enrolled for another class in meditation to a higher level. I was really happy with its outcome too.

Few words of cautions,

• Learn meditation from a certified trainer only, as they will guide you in a proper way as well as answer your queries.
• Don’t meditate for 24 hrs after consuming alcohol
• Don’t meditate for 8 hrs after smoking

These are some set guidelines which people should follow while meditating. I practice them as I respect the power of meditation.

Give meditation a try before jumping into conclusions like me.

Stress Relief techniques to be practiced at home

Today I am going to talk about a problem that effect the life’s of people on a daily basis but people prefer to ignore it. The reason for it is not known to me yet.  I am talking about the problem of stress which people don’t want to address at the right time as a result of which they invite other life threating diseases to their life.

Some people feel they have mastered the technique to destress them and their
techniques are smoking and drinking.

People say that every puff of smoke coming out through nose or mouth, isn’t smoke but it’s the stress which has engulfed their mind. After smoking they feel good, little calm and relaxed too. There are people who smokes packs of cigarettes in a day, assuming it to be a stress buster to them. If that’s the case people would have stopped at one cigarette not smoked packets of it.

People also overlook the harm caused to their lungs by smoking so many cigarettes in a day. Smoking indiscriminately makes them prone to various forms of cancer and it is clearly mentioned in cigarette packs too but people don’t want to see it.

Then the second way to reduce stress is through alcohol, some people find solace in it. Over period of time drinking becomes their habit and they get addicted to drinks. Which cause them their job, family and in some case their life too.

Excess of alcohol can damage our lungs and can even invite lot of critical disease to one’s life. Various kinds of liver diseases are attributed to alcoholism including liver failure and cancer too. N

Now image the cost of life treatment for diseases like cancer or organ transplant with that of a pack of cigarette or a bottle of alcohol. 

Let me tell you want I do to destress myself.

Once I am back from work, first thing, I do is to change my clothes. Then grab a glass of water which I drink peacefully while sitting on a chair or sofa.  Then go to a room, make it dark completely but turn off the lights and covering the windows with curtains.

Then I lie down on bed and list to some therapeutic music, in my case, I listen to “OM” and try to concentrate to the OM chanting. I lie down in that position for 15- 20 mins. Then slowly get up and get involved in my work. I am opting for OM chanting, you can opt for any other therapeutic music which you are comfortable with.

While I am listening to OM chanting, I make it a point to keep my phone in airplane mode. This is to ensure that, I am not disturbed during these 15- 20 mins of my life. As they are only for mine and my well-being.

I have been practicing this technique to years and I am really happy with the outcome of it. This technique can be adopted by anyone at home and it doesn’t cause any harm to one’s body.

Try this technique at home and do share your experience in the comment sections.