If you’re already losing ground with your New Year’s Resolutions, you’re not alone. A staggeringly low number of people make their new habits stick … and most don’t even make it through the end of January. One major problem: people generally don’t put any supporting practices into place that help them through the process of becoming their new, better selves.
But here’s some good news you can use: Whether you seek weight loss or financial gain, many studies reveal simple, practical and proven mental exercises that can help you develop the focus and the habits you need to take your life to the next level.
Read on for some really easy meditation and focus tips to make your resolutions count in 2016…
The most important element of any meditation style is breathing. Breathe in slowly and deeply through your nose, hold it for just an instant at the pinnacle, then as slowly as possible release the breath out your mouth, compressing your stomach down to push the air out of your chest cavity.
Another key element is focus. Our minds only hold thoughts for a second or two and then move on, which means we can be easily distracted. Meditation is only effective when we can provide our own self-help and manage our mental fluttering. This is definitely a skill, and one that gets easier with practice! Don’t get discouraged if it takes a little while to get the hang of it. You can’t force it; learn to let it happen.
That said, give these meditation tips a try to see what works best for you.
THE STILLNESS: This popular technique involves focusing your vision on a single point until you get the infamous blank stare (or if your eyes are closed, a sort of internal space out). You might stare at a spot on a wall, a candle flame, or a religious or spiritual object. You can also focus on something auditory like chanting or a bell chime.
THE FLOW: This meditation technique is very much like the one listed above except that you will focus on an object in motion—such as a water fall, your own breathing, or something auditory like drumming.
THE CENTERING: This technique takes many different forms but ultimately aims to heighten your awareness of your place in the world. Centering meditation can be either outer (real) or inner (imagined) but the intent is to anchor your perspective in the center of a vivid image in which even the smallest detail is noted. With this technique, you will get into your meditation space then allow yourself to let in an outside noise or thought. This can be a great technique for beginners because of this (if you find it hard to quiet your mind and concentrate). By responding to “distractions” by absorbing yourself in them and therefore dismantling them, you take their power away.
THE VOID: This technique is sort of the antithesis of the three listed above. Like the name suggests, here you will think about nothing. You will have no focal point. You could think of focusing on “the blankness” or “the stillness,” but nevertheless the void meditation is about the complete absence of any internal or external focus. It can be quite challenging but very rewarding and relaxing.
Lastly, for even greater benefit, follow these general guidelines:
- Make it a routine. Set aside a certain time each day to meditate, like before or after reviewing your vision boards. Put it on your schedule if you have to.
- Have a quiet, comfortable place to sit. Remove any distractions from the area (such as silencing your cell phone and putting your dog in the backyard).
- Sometimes it’s nice to have a CD playing with relaxing music or nature sounds. This can also trigger to your brain that it’s time to get in meditation mode.
Still reading? Love Science? Here’s a little NeuroGym secret: we need to know stuff works before we talk about it or apply it. That’s who we are and what we stand for. That said, below is a super short, science mini-primer that reveals the kind of research we do to have confidence in what we do and say in our newsletter or anywhere else…
The science behind today’s article: More than 20 studies* show that “mindfulness” can enhance weight loss and lower symptoms related to binge eating, emotional eating and overeating. Mindfulness often involves meditation. And because of the physiological and neuropsychological effects meditation tends to instill within the brain, it is now often considered an alternative way to reduce stress and anxiety, stimulate positive feelings and maintain concentration.**
* Godfrey, K. M., Gallo, L. C., & Afari, N. (2014). Mindfulness-based interventions for binge eating: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of behavioral medicine, 115. O’Reilly, G. A., Cook, L., Spruijt‐Metz, D., & Black, D. S. (2014). Mindfulness‐based interventions for obesity‐related eating behaviours: a literature review. Obesity Reviews, 15(6), 453-461.
** Meditation has been shown to affect levels of neurotransmitters within the brain, specifically GABA (gamma-amminobutyric acid), norepinephrine, and serotonin [1]. Research studies have found a decrease in GABA in individuals with anxiety [1, 2, 3], decrease in serotonin in individuals with depression and an increase in norepinephrine in rats as they responded to fear inducing stimuli [4]; consequently, there are several studies that observed an increase in GABA [5, 6], an increase in serotonin [7] and a decrease in Norepinephrine in individuals who practice meditation [1].
- D., Hamblin M.R., Lakshmanan. (2015). Meditation and Yoga prove to Modulate Brain Mechanisms that affect Behavior and Anxiety- A Review from a Modern Science Perspective. Ancient Science, 2015, 2.1, 13-19.
- Bremner JD, Innis RB, White T, Fujita M, Silbersweig D, Goddard AW, Staib L, Stern E, Cappiello A, Woods S: SPECT [I-123] iomazenil measurement of the benzodiazepine receptor in panic disorder. Biological Psychiatry 2000, 47:96-106.
- Malizia AL, Cunningham VJ, Bell CJ, Liddle PF, Jones T, Nutt DJ: Decreased brain GABAA-benzodiazepine receptor binding in panic disorder: preliminary results from a quantitative PET study. Archives of General Psychiatry 1998, 55:715-720.
- Selden N, Robbins TW, Everitt B: Enhanced behavioral conditioning to context and impaired behavioral and neuroendocrine responses to conditioned stimuli following ceruleocortical noradrenergic lesions: support for an attentional hypothesis of central noradrenergic function. The Journal of Neuroscience 1990, 10:531-539
- Elias A, Guich S, Wilson A: Ketosis with enhanced GABAergic tone promotes physiological changes in transcendental meditation. Medical hypotheses 2000, 54:660662.
- Guglietti CL, Daskalakis ZJ, Radhu N, Fitzgerald PB, Ritvo P: Meditation-related increases in GABA B modulated cortical inhibition. Brain stimulation 2013, 6:397-402.
- Bujatti M, Biederer P: Serotonin, noradrenaline, dopamine metabolites in transcendental meditation technique. Journal of Neural Transmission 1976, 39:257-267.
VIEW COMMENTS (0)