Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Do you meditate?

About a year ago I took a several classes on yoga and meditation and absolutely loved them. They made me feel so connected to my body and much more focused and calm. After the classes, though, I never really kept up with the practice because it seemed like it had to be time-consuming to be really effective. But then today I stumbled on an article which found that certain types of meditation showed significant results in a short period of time: after only practicing 20 minutes a day for 5 days, the participants showed improvements in focus, depression levels, anxiety, and the ability to deal with stress. How cool is that?

Which got me thinking that maybe I should look into this whole meditation thing again. What do you guys think? Have you ever tried yoga/meditation?

If you're interested, you can read the article here. It goes into more detail about the exact type of meditation used and the results found.

Image via Yoga Journal- where you can find lots of cool yoga and meditation advice.

3 comments:

  1. Meditation is my favourite part of yoga. I love to just relax at the end and focus in on my breathing. I rarely get REALLY into it though and usually feel restless/bored after about 5 minutes of it. BUT those 5 minutes sure are relaxing!!

    I'm going to start doing more yoga I think, I like doing classes at the gym better because then I can't quit halfway through, which I've been known to do with workout DVD's!!

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  2. I like to meditate at the end of a workout session after stretching - I like it as a way to relax after a workout, but otherwise i'm not into it all that much as i find i get bored with it after about 5mins.
    I often use visualisation techniques as a coping strategy for stressful times or at night to help me go through the next day. I find it really helps me to stay focused and less stressed the next day.

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  3. I used to do yoga, but is was mostly just fancey-pantsy stretching moves. I did meditate once though, and it was really relaxing.
    -kaunis.wordpress.com

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