In recognition of Stress Awareness Month, we're featuring stories on the impact of stress on your wellbeing and healthy ways to manage stress.
Meditation has been around for thousands of years, but scientists have only recently begun to understand how it works. While meditation may not yet be mainstream, it is gaining ground as more research unveils its benefits.
A 2023 study showed meditation can affect health in many positive ways. Some phsyical benefits include better immune system function, slowed aging, and lowered blood pressure. Meditation also had an effect on mental health, with improved outcomes for:
- Social anxiety disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Depression and anxiety
While just how big of an impact meditation can make is still not fully understood, we know it is free, safe, and something anyone can try!
A personal perspective on meditation
Jennifer Rothrock-Dickinson, HR Recruiting Specialist at LifeWorks NW, regularly opens orientation sessions with a guided meditation. She shared with us some of her experience with meditation and her thoughts on starting and keeping meditation practice:
My meditation practice began about 15 years ago as I was trying to manage my grief from a traumatic loss. I wanted to find a way to organize my thoughts (they seemed to be all over the place). I wanted to find a sense of calm and peace, and to find some answers in the silence.
I have experienced significant benefits as I continue to expand my meditation practice. My mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health have all been supported through this practice.
Anyone can meditate! Folks often feel intimidated, thinking, “I can’t stay focused,” or “I can’t shut my mind off.”
Meditation isn’t about thinking of nothing or sitting completely still. It is about focusing our attention and becoming aware of our emotions, thoughts, and physical bodies. It is a way to quiet the mind and become aware of the present moment, not judging the meditation process itself. Meditation can be as individual as the person practicing it.
A simple way to start meditation practice – and it DOES take practice! - is through guided meditation. Guided visualization or imagery can help anchor your practice and can help those minds that tend to wander. It is amazing what 5-10 minutes of meditation can add to your life!
Get started with meditation
If you want to give meditation a try or expand your practice, there are lots of options. Harvard University offers free, guided meditations through their Center for Wellness and Health Promotion’s Relaxation Room. The Mayo Clinic has a guided meditation for stress management, with a video element available online. And, of course, there are many other videos, apps, and other ways to meditate that you can explore.
LEARN MORE
- Meditation and mindfulness: effectiveness and safety, National Center for Complimentary and Integrated Health
- Use of yoga and meditation becoming more popular in U.S., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Mindfulness and meditation, Center for Wellness and Health Promotion, Harvard University Health Services
