The Purpose of Meditation and How it Transforms People.

Meditating not only benefits your health by lowering your anxiety and reducing stress. It also calms your mind and helps you focus on the things that matter most.

It starts with a simple enough idea: Sit quietly, close your eyes, pay attention to your breathing, and clear your mind. But as simple as it might sound, it's a deeply effective practice that has spanned millennia and religions. In fact, some historians believe it dates as far back as 3000 BCE.

Although ancient in its origins, meditation remains a practice that has shown some startling results in helping the mind and body to heal. This article will explore the reasons why there are many experts—ranging from physicians to psychiatrists to spiritual teachers—who suggest incorporating meditation into your daily routine to be happier and healthier.

Setting a goal

The most important thing to remember is that the goal of meditation is to simply enjoy the process. Meditation is an act of self-love—of listening to yourself and focusing on your breathing to open up a greater sense of awareness. The reason you meditate is to take some time out for you to tune into your body and block out the outside world long enough to accept what your mind and body are telling you.

You can also set goals for each meditation session, such as "I want to make the right choice between A and B" or "I want to become more aware of my body's signals." It's really up to you how much you gain from the process and the possibilities are limitless.

Meditation reduces stress

Studies have also shown that meditation can reduce stress, particularly meditation that focuses on mindfulness and being fully present in the moment. They revealed that meditating daily for as little as 8 weeks can significantly decrease levels of cortisol, otherwise known as the stress hormone, and lower inflammation in the body.

Stress plays a role in contributing to many common problems that show up in our lives that can throw us off mentally and physically. Many people turn to alcohol or drugs to relieve this stress, only to find addiction and unhealthy coping mechanisms in the process. This is one of the reasons why meditation —something you can do anytime, anywhere — is such a great alternative to drinking the stress away.

Additionally, stress can really take a toll on your body. For example, stress has been shown to cause:

• Insomnia

• Irritable bowel syndrome

• Depression

• Anxiety

• High blood pressure

• Fibromyalgia

By using meditation as a practice with the intention of reducing stress and its effects, you'll be able to improve your functioning and find stillness in the process.

Meditation brings greater self-awareness

There are a lot of distractions in the world that seek to pull our attention away from ourselves and our thoughts. Instead of working through our traumas, acknowledging our triggers, and finding a path toward healing, we drown it all with social media, Netflix, video games, and mindless scrolling. We seek anything to distract us from the important work of paying attention to our thoughts and patterns of behavior.

True meditation requires sitting in an environment without distractions, so there is nothing to drown out the thoughts that arise. Because of this, it promotes a greater self-awareness and understanding of the thoughts and patterns that may be holding you back from achieving your higher purpose in life.

Meditation improves your attention span

Several studies have looked at how meditation works to improve human focus and concentration, with results showing improvements in both areas. One study even found that participants who meditated for just 13 minutes daily enhanced their attention, memory, mood and emotional regulation.

Learning to focus opens up opportunities for you to shine, from your relationships to your career. Improved attention and focus means that your family, loved ones, partner, and co-workers will have access to you at your best. This means that you'll be better able to take care of those around you while also practicing a daily type of self care and well-being through meditation.

Meditation promotes mental health

Not only has meditation been proven to reduce symptoms of depression, one study found that it provides marked relief of symptoms during an acute major depressive episode. This is why meditation is used often in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and other modalities of treatment available for people who suffer from depression.

One reason why researchers believe meditation is so effective in improving mental health is that way it promotes being present with your thoughts. When you are able to still your mind long enough to listen to your body and focus on your breathing, you'll begin to feel a deep and overwhelming sense of happiness that very few practices can provide.