You will be amazed to know how meditation affects mind and body
Studies show that people who practiced meditation had amazing positive effects. Meditation affects mind and body in may ways. Plus it’s the foundation of EQ.
You will be amazed to know how meditation affects mind and body. It even helps develop emotional intelligence. Below is a small list of the effects meditation has.
How Meditation Affects The Brain
1. Reduces Brain Inflammation A study showed that people who practiced meditation had less stress related inflammation in the brain. The brain could easily perform more activities related to focus and calmness.
2. The Brain Grows Along with distressing our mind, it also increases the area of the brain associated with attention span. The gray matter or Pre-frontal cortex grows as you indulge in meditation. This helps in making more connections inside the brain. it further leads to increased functions.
3. Increased/ Better Memory As a person grows, the frontal cortex of the brain starts to shrink. This further leads to thw lapse in memory. However, it has been found out that meditators have more grey matter in this part of the brain. This increases memory and helps in decision making as well.
4. Increases Your Consciousness Meditation helps in becoming more conscious. A person who meditates become more connected to the surroundings and the people around. A person starts finding a connection and meaning in everything. With a continuous practice feelings like fear, anger, pride, desire stop ruling your mind. They are replaced by the feelings of Neutrality, willingness , courage and more.
5. Keeps Brain From Aging A study in the journal frontiers OF Psychology found that as the gray matter in the brain decreases in both the mediators and others. However, the decrease was much less in the mediators. As a person ages, diseases like Alzheimer’s, Dementia start ruling over. According to the same study, meditation helps in slowing this progression.
6. Has A Permanent Effect Many people may think that meditation makes your brain healthy for a short duration. However, this is completely false. Meditation changes the default way of how your brain functions. The Amygdala shrinks and the frontal cortex grows. This shifts our entire perception of living to a much higher level.
How Meditation Affects The Body
1. Alleviate Symptoms Caused By Sickness Many studies have found out that meditation enhances the effectiveness of usual medical treatment. I am not suggesting you to replace any treatment provided by the Doctor. But practicing meditation along with it will complement the conventional treatment.
2. Strengthens The Immune System Studies show that meditation improves the quality of you immune system response. A study showed that mediators who were given flu shots had the larger number of antibodies in their blood. The level was comparatively lower in non-meditators. It also increased positive emotions in the brain.
3. Reduces Fatigue If you find yourself tired and dizzy, you don’t need to jump on to a cup of coffee. Indulge yourself in a little session of Meditation. Meditation might have a more stimulating effect on your body than a cup of coffee.
4. A Decrease In Muscle Tension Meditation draws attention towards different areas of the body. Controlling the breathing and calming the mind help muscles in relaxing. A technique called-Progressive muscle relaxation can be used in the beginning of meditation. This creates tension between muscles and then relax them throughout the body.
5. Heart And Blood Pressure Too much physical or mental stress leads to constricted blood cells and high blood pressure. This may further lead to burnout, depression and more. Controlled breathing i.e. an important part of meditating, lets body produce nitric acid. This helps in opening up blood vessels and thus maintains your blood pressure.
I was fortunate enough to have started Tai Chi a moving meditation at a very early age. Practising Tai Chi for over 25 years has allowed me to build a solid foundation to support the most important aspect of EQ development, which is attention training.
If you are interested in supporting yourself or helping the teams you manage, the links below can help you learn more about EQ training.
- What is EQ?
- Emotional Intelligence Training Course
- Learn to meditate with the Just6 App
- Meditation and the Science
- 7 reasons that emotional intelligence is quickly becoming one of the top sought job skills
- The secret to a high salary Emotional intelligence
- How to bring mindfulness into your employee wellness program
- Google ’Search Inside Yourself’
