Practicing Mindfulness Through Meditation

Although you do not have to meditate to be mindful, meditation is a great way to bring mindfulness into your life. Beginning a meditation practice may feel challenging at first, but it can become more comfortable over time.

Benefits of Meditation

Meditation has several benefits when practiced consistently. Although they may vary for different people, some of the benefits on well-being include:

• Increased calmness
• Ability to cope with distressing emotions 
• Lowered high blood pressure
• Cultivation of psychological balance
• Increased tolerance to — and reducing of — physical pain
• Decreased symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other gut-related conditions
• Easing symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions

Allowing Your Meditation Practice to Be What It Is

In beginning your mediation practice, you may feel uncomfortable and hesitant to sit in stillness and carve out time and space to be with yourself, your thoughts, and your energy. This may be especially true if you feel as if you are not doing mediation “correctly,” or you are discouraged when it seems as if nothing happens during mediation for you. You might even feel more anxious than when you started.

However, it is important to remember that mediation is not supposed to look or feel a certain way. The essence of the experience is about your unique relationship to the practice.

Changing the Way You Practice Meditation

You can meditate in several ways; your practice does not have to include you sitting cross-legged on the floor.

While many people do decide to meditate while sitting on the ground — which can feel grounding to the body — others may choose to meditate differently, including sitting on a couch or chair, lying down, or even walking.

Additionally, you could choose to meditate in silence or use guided meditations available on an app or YouTube. You could also meditate to music.

Beginning a mediation practice is about finding what works for you, sticking to it in a way that feels good for you, and changing it up as you desire based upon what you need for the day.

Meditation can be a powerful coping tool in your recovery journey. It helps you cultivate mindfulness concerning your feelings and thoughts as well as situations in your life that feel uncomfortable. At Avalon Malibu, we recognize how uncertain recovery can feel and honor that fear of uncertainty. Our treatment team will support you as you let go of old ways of existing that are not supportive of recovery. Our staff will guide you as you discover coping tools that align with your recovery. Call us at (844) 857-5992.