Talk to someone who meditates regularly, and they’ll likely tell you it’s the best thing they’ve ever done for themselves. But, if you’ve never tried it, you may be wondering if it’s something you can do, or if it requires a lot of time and special technique.
There’s good news – anyone can meditate, and it’s not hard to get started. You just need to follow a few simple tips to get into the habit, and you may find that you feel better than ever.
What is Meditation?
There are many different kinds of meditation, so there’s no single “right way” to do it. But one of the easiest forms of meditation to start with is focused attention, also known as mindful meditation. This involves focusing all your attention on one thing, such as your breathing, and bringing the mind back to that one thing when it wanders. Meditation can reduce stress and anxiety, and some research indicates it may help improve your memory, slow aging of the brain and even improve creativity and reasoning.
How to Meditate
Meditation sounds simple enough, but it can be challenging at first. Learning to quiet the mind’s tendency to wander can be difficult – which is why you can start with just a short amount of time and work your way up. Many experts believe meditation is a process that requires regular practice to master. Similar to training your muscles to build strength, you can train your mind to more effectively meditate with time and persistence.
Meditation experts often recommend starting with just two minutes and working your way up to longer meditation sessions as they get easier. You don’t need any special abilities, equipment, or training to start. You can start today!
Find a quiet place to sit – the floor, a chair, or anywhere you feel comfortable.
Start slowly breathing in and out, counting each breath.
If your mind wanders, notice the thought without emotion, and gently guide it back to your breathing.
After a week of success, increase your meditation time to four minutes, and so on up.
How Meditation Helps TMD
At MedCenter TMJ, we strongly believe in helping our patients find ways to reduce stress because it’s a known trigger for TMD symptoms. It causes you to grind more, can lead to tension headaches and reduces your ability to cope with pain. TMD is painful enough without aggravating it with stress!
Try this simple meditation technique for just a few weeks, and you’ll likely see a tremendous improvement in your ability to cope with stressful situations. You may even notice your TMD pain is reduced as well. It doesn’t cost anything to get started, so it’s worth a try!
If you need help with managing your TMD, we offer a comprehensive treatment plan to get to the root of your symptoms and help you lead a healthier life. Contact our team today so we can help you start feeling better than you ever thought possible!
Original Source: https://www.medcentertmj.com/stress-relief/meditation-for-beginners/