Perrysburg Pulse Magazine Perrysburg Pulse November | Page 17

KEY BENEFITS OF
MEDITATION
MINDFULNESS
BY: ASHLEY TURNER
I
firmly believe that meditation is
the No. 1 thing you can do to
sustainably improve the quality
of your life. I recognize that there
is still an element of mystery or
misunderstanding about this practice,
so I am dedicated to empowering you
with knowledge about its benefits so we
can all work together to demystify this
fundamental practice for our clients,
family, and friends.
The nature of all your problems
originates in the mind. Your thoughts
shape your experience of the world.
Meditation is the best thing you can do
to harness the power of your thoughts,
shift your consciousness and live with a
sense of gratitude, self-confidence and
personal fulfillment.
WHY MEDITATE?
When you’re teaching this practice,
one of the keys to inspiring motivation
for yourself and your clients is focusing
on the “WHY”. Continually pointing
out the benefits will help you (and your
students/clients) stay motivated.
• Why should we meditate?
• What is the benefit?
Any time we take on a new skill,
we need something that keeps us
accountable and on track. When we
understand the vast benefits of the
practice, it helps maintain consistency.
This is what gets us on the cushion
every day even when it feels like the
last thing we want to do. It’s tedious.
There are days where it’s excruciating
to get up 20 or 30 minutes earlier and
make time.
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When you feel that resistance or
discouragement, the following are
some key focus points to remember:
FEEL THE PRESENT MOMENT
First and foremost, meditation helps us
soften the grip of our thinking mind
(doing) and drop into our feeling mind
(being). It’s a shift from the linear,
logical left-brain into our creative,
sensual right-brain. This opens up a
much more vast experience of life and
helps us connect to the awe of our
tangible, sensate experience of being
alive. Living in the present helps us
let go of difficult emotions of the past:
resentment, depression, grief or guilt.
It also loosens our anxiety, insecurity
and stress about the future.