[Spiritual]

Meditation can be a powerful tool to understand the world, ourselves and the problems that we can often allow to interfere with the way we live our everyday lives. Meditation can enhance feelings of relaxation and peace, as well as helping to give the mind the time it needs to process the thoughts and experiences that present themselves during each day.

Meditation can be extremely helpful when it comes to supporting the mind through the challenges that are common for all of us, but it can also be an effective way to deal with more serious problems, such as addiction.

What is an Addiction?

When we hear the word ‘addiction’ we most commonly connect this to things like alcohol and controlled substances, such as illegal drugs or pharmaceutical medications. However, an addiction can really be anything that has a certain degree of control over your life.

For example, if you can’t even begin to imagine starting your day without your cup of coffee then you could determine that you have a caffeine addiction. Smoking cigarettes is another common addiction and one that we have increasingly learnt over the years can cause a great deal of harm!

Many people may display addictive dietary behaviours, and this can lead them to continuously make unhealthy choices in regards to the food that they eat, as well as the amount of food that put on their plate!

There is much discussion and debate surrounding the reasons that addictions can develop. However, one thing that is generally agreed upon is that addiction can often be connected to one or more ongoing emotional problems.

How Meditation Can Help

When it comes to any addiction, whether it be food, drugs, sex, video games or anything else, the first step to overcoming this issue is to try to establish the root cause of the problem. This means that it is key to discover how and when this issue began to present Itself.

The addiction may have developed as a response to feelings of anxiety or fear about a completely unrelated issue. This can happen as we as people can often find it easier to develop coping mechanisms to our problems, as opposed to trying to actually dealing with the issue itself.

Meditation gives you the time you need to spend with yourself reflecting on the past, contemplating the present and focusing on building a better future. Meditation also encourages you to really consider the origin of that which you are struggling with, and to conceive productive and rational responses to these thoughts.

Meditation and Mindfulness

When you engage in a regular meditation practice you will begin to notice that you become more mindful in other areas of you life. Mindfulness can be incredibly helpful when dealing with addiction. This is because when you embrace mindfulness every day you will become more aware of the reasons for your behaviour and the driving force behind each of your choices.

A life lived in a mindful way is a life full of conscious actions and kind decisions. When you truly consider the reasons for your actions, you are much more likely to make positive choices.

The process of getting an addiction under control in order to overcome it can be a long and complicated journey. It is also of course unique to everyone and no two people will go through the exact same experience. However, meditation is a tool that can provide some benefit to everyone who takes the time to embrace, experiment and enjoy it! Click here to read more about meditation and how you can get started!

[Creative]

When it comes to art, many people believe that you need to have a natural artistic talent to be able to indulge in this creative pastime. However, the truth is that absolutely anyone can have fun with art and doing so can be incredibly soothing for the soul!

Taking some time out from your day to engage in an artistic activity, such as drawing, painting, or sculpting can quickly lead to countless benefits. These benefits range from the emotional to the spiritual, and even the physical as your stress levels lower and your body begins to enjoy this change!

The soothing benefits of art are so widely known, acknowledged and appreciated that the prevalence of art therapy has continued to spread.

What is Art Therapy?

This type of therapy is concerned with utilising different artistic activities with the intention of nurturing a person’s all-round wellbeing. This can take many forms and need not have any set structure.

Through artistic expression we can all stand to discover more about ourselves and express our creativity in untold ways. This can be especially useful for the process of dealing with a difficult event – either from the past or one that is being experienced in the present.

Art therapy usually involves the guidance of an art therapist and doing so regularly is an incredible way to lower stress, combat anxiety and enhance feelings of calm and happiness. If you wish to deal with a particularly traumatic event, and have found that conventional therapies do not work for you, then seeking the guidance of an art therapist could be a great way for you to move forwards with your healing process.

Getting into Art

Regardless of how you feel about your own artistic abilities, giving one or more creative activities a try could help you to instigate positive change in your life. It may feel natural to assume that you aren’t going to be good at your chosen pursuit, and therefore to be discouraged, but taking the time to have a go anyway could lead you to something great – you may even discover a hidden skill or a new passion!

Drawing is arguably one of the simpler art forms and requires minimal equipment. With a pencil and a piece of paper you can try your hand at drawing absolutely anything, and you can let your imagination go anywhere that it wants to. You can even sit down to draw with no clear intention in mind of what it is you are going to draw. The key is to have fun and give your creative side permission to do whatever it is that it wants to do!

Colouring for Mindfulness

Colouring books for adults have experienced a boom in popularity in recent years, with 14 million adult colouring books being sold last year in America alone*! You may initially think that this is an activity reserved solely for children, but the truth is that adults can not only enjoy colouring, but actually benefit from it mentally and emotionally too!

When you focus your attention on this simple but creative task, your mind can enter a meditative state in which your stress and anxiety levels are lowered. This activity is a fun and relaxing way to embrace mindfulness as your concentration is brought solely to the process of colouring in. It is something that you can do anywhere, anytime. It is also something that encourages you to disconnect from technology and spend some time with yourself and your thoughts.

All-Round Wellness

As we have explored in this article, art is a great way to soothe your soul and help to keep your mental and emotional wellbeing balanced. In order to achieve all-round wellness it is also important to pay close attention to your mental and physical health in other ways, such as through nutrition and exercise!

[Physical]

Yoga is an all-round incredible practice that benefits your mind, your body and your soul. It can help you to discover peace within yourself, enhance your physical fitness, and improve your mental health and wellbeing.

Encouraging your children to give yoga a try at a young age is an amazing way to help them develop into happy, healthy young adults! Within reason, there is no age too young to get your child into yoga, and there are several very basic poses and stretches that you will be able to flow through with them.

If you are unable to take your child to a yoga class, then practicing at home is also a good way to introduce them to this spiritual activity. The following poses are perfect for getting started. It is a good idea if you do the pose first and then your child can follow suit!

Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

This is one of the most common poses for yoga practitioners regardless of their age. It is a great connecting pose between other more complex poses, but can also be held on its own.

To get into this pose you must start on your hands and knees on the mat. Tuck your toes in, lift your buttocks up, and create a triangle with your body. Push your chest forward and allow your head to hang down. You may bend your knees slightly if required. Ensure you keep your feet firmly on the ground as you hold the pose in this position.

Downward Facing Dog is great for getting the blood flowing around the body and will also help your child to develop their balance and stability.

Mountain Pose (Tadasana)

Tadasana is amongst the simplest of the yoga poses and requires more concentration than it does physical ability.

All you have to do is place your feet firmly on the mat with your shoulders relaxed, and feel the crown of your head reach up towards the ceiling. Make sure you balance your weight equally between both feet and hold your hands in prayer position in front of your heart.

Mountain Pose is great for lengthening and strengthening the body, and can help to increase awareness and posture. It is also a good pose to help children focus on their breathing, as they are not distracted by trying to hold themselves in position as they may be with other more complicated poses.

Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)

Begin by lying down with your chin on the mat, your belly down and your palms flat on the mat beneath your shoulders. Your legs should be together. Squeeze your thighs and buttocks and bring your head and chest up away from the floor without relying on your arms to do so. Keep your elbows tucked in to the sides of your body and push through your palms into the floor.

Cobra pose is great for stretching the muscles in the shoulders, chest and back. It improves flexibility and boosts the mood. Cobra pose can also help to reduce stiffness in the lower back.

Maintaining Healthy Habits

Yoga is an amazing way to enhance both your physical and mental health, and is therefore very beneficial to encourage your child to embrace. However, some yoga poses can be quite challenging and the key is to have fun and bond with your child. If they are struggling to hold a pose then you should always encourage them to exit the pose and try again.

As you continue to practice yoga together it will be exciting to see how you both progress, and how you feel the benefits in other areas of your life!

[Creative]

Yoga and meditation are two practices that go hand in hand. Even if you have only dipped your toe into the yoga pond for a single session, then the chances are this will have incorporated at least a short period of meditation. You will therefore already know how beneficial this is!

There are many benefits of meditation for the mind, and you certainly don’t have to be a yogi in order to meditate!

Whether you choose to meditate on your own, or to participate in a group meditation, the advantages of doing so in terms of your mental health are not to be overlooked. Even finding just five minutes each day to meditate can help you to slow down, process your day and alleviate any negative emotions and feelings that may be present.

Stress Relief

Giving yourself permission to focus only on the present moment by embracing a moment or more of meditation is an amazing way to combat stress.

Studies have shown that meditating can change the way that your brain and body respond to stress. This has an incredible knock-on effect on how prone to depression you are, as well as helping you to maintain a more positive disposition.

The science behind this potential for changing the response to stress is that meditation affects the parasympathetic nervous system. This is the system within the body which is responsible for releasing hormones and controlling the heart rate.

Mindfulness

Being able to train your mind to live in the present moment is beneficial for many reasons. First of all it can better enable you to know yourself, as you will become more aware of the things that you think and feel. You will turn auto-pilot off and act with intention.

 Secondly, it can help to turn the volume down on those thoughts and feelings that you didn’t invite in in the first place. This means you can pay attention to those things that will actually serve to enhance your happiness.

Additionally, mindfulness can increase your self-awareness and improve your attention span, helping to boost your productivity – whatever that means to you!

Alleviating Anxiety

Meditating has been shown to alleviate symptoms of anxiety, and can help to create a calmer and more peaceful mindset.

People who struggle with anxiety disorders often turn to medication in order to help them manage their condition. However, it is being increasingly shown that meditation could be a much more natural way to treat the issue. Meditation and anti-anxiety medication can also be used in conjunction in order to enhance the relief sought.

Ready to Meditate?

Whether you are freshly inspired to give meditation a try after reading this article, or you had already been thinking about it for a while, then there is no reason that today can’t be the day you get started.

You can click here to browse our range of activewear to find something comfortable to wear. Creating a comfortable and peaceful area where you can meditate uninterrupted is the second step. This will more than likely be in your home somewhere, but you can also choose to meditate outside if the weather is being kind to you!

Begin with simple five minute meditations where all you have to do is sit and focus on breathing deeply in and out. Keep your mind clear and try to keep your attention solely on your breathing. Once you have mastered the art of staying still and remaining present for short periods, you can begin to build your meditative practice. As you continue to do so, you will soon notice the benefits to your mind and other areas of your life!