How meditation can help alleviate stress

Did you know stress experienced in our mind alters the way we feel, think and behave? Our brain can only process so much, and we experience stress when demands exceed our capabilities or means.

Mindfulness and meditation can help calm a stressed mind and teach us to become more focused, clearing mental clutter allowing us to be more productive and thus more efficient and even more creative.

Studies have shown stress can wreak havoc on our health and well-being, it can even contribute to changes in our DNA and be responsible for a faster aging process. So how can meditation help combat these negative effects? In a nutshell as little as a 10-30 minutes regular daily practice of meditation has shown to alter our brain slowing down shrinking of grey matter in parts of the brain that are responsible for learning, emotional control, memory, focus and other. Meditation teaches us to see things for what they really are, and as we condition our brain through regular practice we learn to be ok with what is, look at the matter at hand with calm and focus allowing us to respond in a non-reactive, clear and rational way taking the craziness and challenge out of our day.

Meditation can lower cortisol (stress hormone) and increase dopamine (happy hormone) levels making us feel happier, less pain receptive, allowing our body to relax easier and in general making us feel more alive and in control of our life.

Angie Hadjicosta, Registered Yoga & Meditation Teacher

 

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