How to successfully negotiate your benefits at work

Meditation. What’s all the fuss about?

These were basically my thoughts on the subject when I started a regular Yoga practice and noticed all these people talking about it. As I began to take a closer look at the people around me who had regular meditation practices, I started to notice some commonalities – they were generally calmer people, they were less reactive, seemed more comfortable in their own skin and laughed more easily and often. I also realized that I wanted to have that. I mean, come on, who wouldn’t?

So I started to do some research. I wanted to know the science behind it. Why and how did it work? A preliminary Google search rendered a plethora of articles on the subject. Here is a sampling of the scientifically proven benefits of meditation I found online:

 Improved stress management skills

 Enhanced ability to focus

 Reduced levels of anxiety

 Improvement of personal relationships

 Possible decrease in depression

 Improved pain management

I could go on and on!

So, how does it work? How can “sitting in stillness” deliver such life changing benefits? Well, it turns out a regular meditation practice literally changes the brain. Yes, it physically alters the tissues in your brain! Many studies are coming out to reflect this phenomenon but the one I will focus on here was done by Harvard in 2011. A group of 16 participants engaged in a two week “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program at the University of Massachusetts Center for Mindfulness”. Magnetic resonance image (MRI) scans were taken of their brains before and after the program. A control group, who was not participating in meditation, was also studied for comparison. After two weeks, those who participated in the meditation practice showed an increase in the gray matter density of the hippocampus (the part of the brain associated with self-awareness and compassion) and a decrease in the gray matter density in the amygdala (the part of the brain that plays a roll in stress andthe “fight or flight” response). There were no changes found in the control group.

Wow. It doesn’t get much clearer than that. The biggest takeaways I got from this study were that it doesn’t take very long to incur benefits (as little as two weeks!) and that it’s got to be consistent. These participants were meditating every day. Now, if that sounds intimidating to you, I’d like to point out that it doesn’t have to be for very long. As little as 10 minutes a day will make a difference. You just have to stick with it.

Now, you might be thinking, “That’s great, Jenn! But how do I do it? Where do I start?” My next article will be all about that – the types of meditation and how to get started. In the meantime, I encourage you to keep practicing Yoga (which is a form of a mindfulness practice). You can also check out Poser Yoga’s Sunday Sangha gatherings which meet every Sunday from 11:30am to 1PM. They’re totally free and we explore meditation in a few different forms. It’s also a great space to ask questions and share your experiences with others.

If you’ve been curious about meditation or on the fence about giving it a try, I hope this article has helped. Please know that you are welcome and encouraged to reach out to me if you have any questions. Meditation has greatly improved my life and I am passionate about helping others discover their own practice.

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