During a pandemic, staying fit mentally is just as important as physical fitness.

Mindfulness and meditation are popular buzzwords, but for good reason! The idea of mentally living somewhere other than the present can fill your mind with anxiety, stress, and cause you to become unfocused.

Mindfulness through meditation helps combat intrusive and unproductive thoughts and the best part is, there is really no wrong way to do it.

Ever since I made meditation a habit, my brain has literally rewired itself for happiness, peace, and success. Heres a few of the benefits:

• I find happiness in the most unexpected places.
• I'm rarely angry.
• I form deeper relationships and make friends more easily.

Now more than ever, our mental health is a priority. The voice in our head seems to have an opinion about everything and that's why inner calm and focus can be an incredible resource in a noisy world.

“The habit of spending nearly every waking minute lost in thought leaves us at the mercy of whatever our thoughts happen to be” - Sam Harris

Why should you meditate?

1) Meditation improves relationships

Your mind drives your behavior and dictates how you interact with everyone and everything around you. Meditation has been proven to make you more empathetic to others and increases your emotional stability- making you less inclined to be impacted by negative people in your life.

2) Trains your mind to focus on where you want it to focus.

Research shows that meditation improves cognition and increases your ability to perform tasks requiring focus. As an added bonus it reduces stress, anxiety, and your inability to break habits. 

3) Physical benefits

Meditation helps to lower high blood pressure, blood lactate (reduces anxiety attacks) and tension-related pain. At the same time it increases your seratonin levels, improves the immune system and gives you a boost of energy that lasts throughout the day.

4) Reduces stress levels + builds better decision-making abilities

Mindfulness allows you to pause when you start to feel overwhelmed. You can learn to take control of decisions, without an impulsive reaction. Allow yourself to stop and think about whether your reaction will change anything or make the situation worse.

5) It allows you to be fully aware of the power of thoughts and to consciously live in the present.