Yoga Pose of the Week: Mindfulness Meditation

Meditation

Is the practice of turning your focus to a single point of reference; it can be focusing on your breath (which is what I'll be focusing on), a mantra, or a sensation. While in meditation you are turning your attention away from distracting thoughts and focus on being present in the moment. It is a time to focus on how the mind works.

In yoga class we have been working on doing more meditation at the end of class before we go into Shavasana. My teacher told the class that doing 15 minutes of yoga a day helps increase the size of the hippocampus over time. The hippocampus is the part of the brain that stores memories, forms new memories and connects memories and senses, storing, and organization.

This is the stance I usually do my meditation in, but it is usually in the dark with me sitting against a wall on my yoga blanket.

Benefits

I read an article on YogaJournal.com about 7 benefits of doing mindfulness meditation. It was very interesting and the benefits will shock you. I have listed them below:

Stay Focused
Manage Anxiety and Depression
Reduce Stress
Ease Pain
Boost Grey Matter
Fight Alzheimer's
Avoid Colds and Flu

This article was full of insightful information and I recommend you give it a read.

Notes

After doing meditation just a few times I noticed a difference in the way my brain functions. I have been having troubles with my short term memory lately and mediation has helped me work on this. It is a wonderful benefit to working your brain. So if you want a bigger brain work on meditation. *grin*

When doing research on mediation I found that there are many types of mediation. I focus mostly on mindfulness meditation and I recommend this style of meditation if you are a beginner. But once again meditation is for you.

Meditation can be done any time of day: morning, afternoon, and evening before bed. Make sure you are comfortable before going into meditation because you will be sitting for a longer amount of time. And once you go into mediation you will want to refrain from moving. I like to sit against a wall and sit on a folded mat or my yoga blanket, but a pillow or any comfortable item can be used. Meditation is for you and it is up to you how you go into it.

Now I know what some of you may be thinking I do not have time to sit still for 15 minutes. I am way too busy for that. 

Well meditation can be good for your health and sometimes your sanity; especially if you are one of those people, like me, who have 500 things going on in your mind all at once. So stop saying I don't have time and I don't know how. Find a comfortable spot in your house, put on some relaxing music and just focus on your breath for 15 minutes. If you need to set an alarm.

*Shine like Glitter*
I apologize for not getting a yoga pose up last week.
I had a lot going on that needed to get done.
A friend of mine was in town over the weekend.
Last weekend we packed up my car and on Monday we drove to Ohio.
If you are interested in Meditation and want to know more YogaJournal.com has a lot of articles on Mediation and different types of Mediation.
We decided to go on a hike today since the weather was beautiful. Since the scenery was gorgeous I decided to do my meditation pictures on our hike.
Thank you for your continued support.
Namasta.