Meditation for Women

Meditation Has Many Benefits

Improved Brain Function as We Age

Research has shown that as we get older, we lose brain substance.  This is known as age-related cortical decline.  Through neuroimaging, this was noticeable in the pre-frontal cortex and the insula cortex. These areas are associated with planning, decision-making, and moderating social behavior as well as empathy, compassion, and self-awareness. 

However, people that spent just 8 weeks meditating for less than 30 minutes per day improved their brain structure. Through meditation alone, these individuals were building neural connections. They also showed improved decision-making, flexible thinking, were able to synthesize information more easily, and were more creative.  There were also huge changes in the brain structures linked to self-awareness and compassion.  These functions make us better, more compassionate humans and help with our ability to be better family members and leaders.

Reduced Physical Pain

A study published in 2019 of more than 6,400 participants across 60 trials found that meditation could reduce pain in those who suffered from post-surgical, acute, or chronic pain, thereby mitigating the need for the opioid treatments that were typically used.  The mind and emotions play an important role in our experience of pain.  

I’m sure we can all think of times that we were in pain where having some sort of stressor made it 100 times worse – childbirth for instance.  What this research showed was that while meditation could not cure the pain entirely, it helped reduce the pain experience, and reduced patients’ dependencies on opioid treatments.  In other words, while patients still recognized the presence of pain, they weren’t ensnared by it in the same way.  Meditation can therefore be enormously helpful in treating patients with chronic pain, and even help to remove some of the exaggerated pain responses in patients with acute injuries. 

Lowered Anxiety and Depression

Another study showed how mindfulness and meditation can improve emotional wellbeing.  2,500 people across the world participated in the study.  A few times a day they were sent a message on their cellphones, which asked them what they were doing right then, whether or not their mind was on it, and how they felt. 

If the person’s mind was on what they were doing at the moment, they reported more happiness than if their mind was wandering and thinking about all sorts of unrelated things.  This was true even if they were doing something that they didn’t like. What this shows is that staying in the present moment creates more happiness.  It shows that it helps with anxiety and depression, or just being a human being in the 21st century. Meditation helps us train our brains to be fully present.

Almost always, stress and anxiety are about living in the past or the future rather than living in the present and being focused on what’s happening right now. What may be causing your stress at this moment is what you’re thinking about.  Anticipating something that might happen in the future or dwelling on what happened in the past is the dominant cause of stress and anxiety; it feels like it’s happening now.  Our brains cannot distinguish between a real event or an imaginary event, and it causes the same stress chemicals to be released. 

Most of the time we are not focusing on the present moment.  We are often in the past or the future – whether it’s about replaying and ruminating on things that have already occurred or worrying about the future and what is going to happen.  The “what ifs”…  This is what stress is about.  For most of our lives, we are going through the motions and missing what is happening right in front of us. 

You can feel the chair under you and you can see words on the page.  Surely that in itself is not stressful?   

Increased Happiness

Mindfulness is paying attention to the present moment with openness and curiosity and a willingness to let things be as they are.  Meditation is a tool to help you become more mindful. Meditation and mindfulness will make you happier, more compassionate, and improve your emotional intelligence.

In truth, happiness is a state of being rather than a mindset. Happiness is found in fully embracing the present moment and what it’s offering you. It’s found in laughing with your friends, playing with your kids, watching the sunset, or dancing to your favorite song.

Happiness arises when your mind is quiet and you are simply being in the moment, embracing whatever is coming your way. If your mind gets too involved, it will find something to complain about and spoil all the happiness. Even the simple experience of breathing peacefully can evoke the feeling of happiness.

In order to create a meditation habit, it is recommended that you practice it. By subscribing to Leva’s Premium service, you will receive daily meditation and access a library of over 100 meditations created for women by women to help you strengthen your mind and generate more peace and happiness in your life.