Meditation has been used by people in all walks of life to relieve stress, increase self-awareness and even boost physical health. Regular meditation can lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease. Mindful meditation can also be used to help you with weight loss.
Getting Centered
When you clear time in the day or night to do some relaxing or self reflecting meditation, you may recognize certain patterns, cravings and behaviors that have been keeping you from achieving your weight loss goals.
Search your innermost self as you meditate to identify reasons why you may have trouble managing what you eat or making yourself work out too much to combat the eating. Through meditation, you may just discover things about yourself that can help you more firmly commit to making healthier choices.
How to Meditate
There are many different ways to meditate; what works for someone else may not work for you. Explore different types of meditation and various methods to find a way that fits you best. Set aside some time every day to spend in a quiet place. Turn everything off and don’t allow interruptions during this quiet time.
Sit in a comfortable position and focus on your breathing. Concentrate on making your breaths deep and steady. You can choose to stare at a fixed object in your mind or one that is physically in front of your eyes. You may also choose to softly chant a mantra. Deeply and slowing saying OHM creates relaxing vibrations in your body. Keep focusing on your breaths until you can get to a quiet, calm headspace.
If you have trouble meditating, check out “When Meditation Just Doesn’t Work For You”, try using a guided meditation app or play soothing sounds on your smartphone. There are many apps to choose from that are designed to help you meditate. You can also find guided meditation sessions on YouTube.
Emotional Eating
Many people eat when they are feeling stressed out. “Comfort food” is about the soothing feeling of eating and feeling full, and how it can help you feel better mentally in the short run. When you’re feeling stressed out, it sometimes feels natural to reach for food to make yourself feel better. Regular meditation can help to reduce your stress and teach you techniques for managing stress. Deep breathing and relaxation associated with meditation helps stress fall away, which can reduce your desire to stress eat.
Meditation also increases mindfulness. It sharpens the mind and improves focus. This can make you more aware of your actions in general, and that can help reduce binge eating or choosing unhealthy foods. When you’re more mindful of yourself and what you’re eating, it can be easier to maintain a healthy diet.
Losing Weight With Meditation
Use meditation to focus on your weight loss goals, conquer food cravings and be more mindful of what you’re eating on a daily basis. Learning how to relax through meditation is a great tool that can improve emotional and physical health, and make you stronger mentally. Try taking some time to meditate, and see how well it works to help you achieve your personal goals.