Relaxation is good for body and mind. Through yoga and meditation, we can all live a healthier life, says Sveta Abela.
Whether we realise it or not we use our mind all the time. Our most precious asset never stops working. Even when we are asleep, our mind is busy restoring our organs, taking care of our bodily functions and weaving dreams. To top it all off, thanks to our busy lifestyle, our mind has to deal with never-ending lists of things to do and high levels of stress – no wonder that our poor mind gets overloaded.
By practising calm acceptance during meditation, your mind will become more resilient to stress
Just like when our home is so cluttered that we cannot find the thing we’re looking for, the same happens with a mind that has too many thoughts playing on a loop.
A cluttered mind is a huge liability as it becomes dulled, inefficient and unable to cope. Not only does cerebral clutter affect our mental well-being but increased levels of stress and anxiety greatly increase our susceptibility to a whole range of physical illnesses. There is scientific proof of this – in fact, a comprehensive scientific study recently published by Harvard Medical School shows that deep relaxation changes our bodies. What the study discovered is that, in long-term practitioners of relaxation methods such as yoga and meditation, far more “disease-fighting genes” were active when compared to those who practised no form of relaxation.
When stressed, our bodies switch to survival mode. Our heart rate rises, blood pressure shoots up and muscles contract and tighten to prepare for danger.
Relaxation, on the other hand, is a state of rest, enjoyment and physical renewal. Free of danger, muscles can relax and food can be digested. The heart rate slows down and blood circulation flows freely to the body’s tissues, feeding it with nutrients and oxygen.
So to reap the rewards of an uncluttered mind, do we all need to lock ourselves away in a Himalayan mountain monastery for months on end to achieve a higher state of consciousness?
Luckily for us, relaxation is a lot more simple and achievable. We can start with something we all know how to do – breathe. It’s a piece of advice yogis have been giving for thousands of years – take a deep breath and relax. Watch the tension melt from your muscles and all your niggling worries vanish.
Over the past decade, researchers have found that if you practise focusing attention on your breathing, the brain will restructure itself to make concentration easier. Also, by practising calm acceptance during meditation, your mind will become more resilient to stress.
This brings us to meditation, a form of mind training which operates on the fundamental premise that the mind determines the quality of your life. Meditation is about making friends with yourself, learning to see what is just as it is, and freeing yourself from reactive conditioning.
Yoga is centred around breathing and meditation – nothing makes you more aware of your breathing than a yoga practice based on movement. Whether you prefer an intense and demanding Power Yoga practice, a gentle but deliberate Viniyoga practice, or something in between, all forms of yoga provide a contented afterglow for the same reason – you harmonise your movement with your breathing. When you do this, your mind stops its obsessive churning and begins to slow down. Your attention turns from your endless to-do list towards the rhythm of your breathing and you feel more peaceful than you did before.
The air you breathe
Sveta Abela’s quick three-stage meditation.
The practice of mindfulness meditation uses breathing as a reference point for resting in the present moment. When you notice that you are caught up in a thought, simply recognise it and gently return your attention to the movement of your breathing. Mindfulness meditation is not about getting rid of your thoughts – rather, it’s about noticing them, acknowledging their impermanent nature, letting them go, and coming home to your breathing.
Follow the meditation with a short Pranayama (breathing control) practice consisting of a basic breathing awareness exploration. Find a comfortable seated position and start noticing the path of your breath. Without changing it, simply notice where your breathing is moving with ease and where it feels stuck. Start to gradually deepen your inhalation and extend your exhalation. Go slowly, breath by breath, each one slightly deeper than the one before. Notice how your body changes as your breathing changes. What does that feel like in your chest, side ribs, the back of your neck, armpits, and jaw?
At this point, you can add a simple Pranayama practice such as Sama Vritti (equal breathing). This means inhaling and exhaling for an equal length. Find a comfortable seated position on a pillow, blanket, or bolster to make sure that your hips are higher than your knees. This will reduce strain on your lower back and support the free movement of your breathing. Exhale completely. Inhale through the nose for five counts and exhale through the nose for five counts. Continue this breathing pattern for as long as you like.
Finding five minutes a day to meditate will make a world of difference to your mental and physical well-being.