let’s get real about meditation

Mediation is beneficial; this is known and obvious through thousands of years of scientific study as well as even more compelling anecdotal and empirical evidence.We know it's good for us.It's also FREE - it costs nothing.Then why don't we do it?***The vast majority of people who find this post, will not be meditating daily, or even regularly.I am not here to shame anyone about that.I'm not even here to convince anyone that they *should* meditate.That's kind of beside the point, for me.But I want to offer a few thoughts, and share some of my experience.First: meditation is not (usually) an instant gratification activity.In other words meditation rarely gives us a high. In contrast, we get an immediate boost from a cup of coffee or an impulsive shoe purchase (two delights I experienced this week) - that kind of thing.Now - some people DO experience bliss in meditation -However, that is rather rare.And I've not met a regular practitioner who experiences bliss *EVERY time they meditate*.(and yet they keep at it!)So for me, this means we might decide to meditate - and commit to practice - knowing we likely won't receive immediate benefits.And despite the fact we engage in all kinds of "good habits" just because we know they're good for us  -(for instance very few people absolutely LOVE brushing their teeth but most of us do it regularly as the alternative is much worse) -for some reason people don't want to invest five minutes a day in something that could improve their BRAIN.(I don't know about you, but my brain needs all the help it can get!)***I want to point out that for many years, I was no exception. I crumpled up "meditation" on a list of things I "should" do, good habits I "should" employ - like saving 10% of my paycheck, or staying hydrated -and I just let those "shoulds" beat me up.Rather than doing anything about it!So here is my second point:Almost all forms of meditation are training the mind.We KNOW that brains can be trained. We train our brains every day - either on purpose or,  for the most part, fairly unconsciously through the things we choose to put into our brains.In fact we put in a LOT of brain-training time.It follows that:Any wholesome training of the mind, will result in improvements in our life.In fact, that should be obvious.In other words: we don't have to know HOW our minds and our lives will improve -we just get to TRUST that they will, and look forward to observing the change.Actually, it's a pretty cool process.***Personally, I don't think we're being lazy about any of this.If you think about how hard life can be, our behavior makes sense.For most of us our minds work well enough that we don't give them much focused attention.Our minds work pretty well or IF THEY DON'T, we've found a way to get through our day, to survive.Well I don't know about you, but I want more than survival.I've been in survival…

five impressive yoga statistics

55% of yoga practitioners report improved sleep [Yoga Alliance Survey, 2019] 90% report improved overall well-being [Yoga Alliance Survey, 2019] 81% of practitioners report that yoga reduces stress [Yoga Alliance Survey, 2019] Yoga was associated with significant reductions in markers of chronic brain inflammation, including CRP and interleukin-6 (IL-6) [Brain Plasticity Journal, 2019] Yoga is associated with significant improvements in brain-age cognition - attention, memory, and executive function [Brain Plasticity Journal, 2019] Why don't we take stress seriously? We know stress literally kills. We KNOW it takes a toll. And yet we keep magically hoping for a fix - or maybe, a pill. Stress statistics: 83% of U.S. workers suffer from work-related stress [Zippia, 2023] Stress-related illnesses cost U.S. businesses up to $300 billion annually [The World Health Organization via Inc., 2018] Chronic stress is linked to the six leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide [American Psychological Association, 2020] 48% of adults who report high stress levels also report lying awake at night due to stress [American Psychological Association, 2020] 44% of adults who report high stress levels say that their stress affects their personal relationships [American Psychological Association, 2020] 46% of people who report high levels of stress say they feel irritable or aggressive [Mental Health Foundation, 2020] Instead of allowing ourselves to be the victim of these forces - maybe it's time we did something about it. We are not helpless! I'll see you on the mat!

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