What is holistic wellbeing?
In short, holistic wellbeing takes into account all health aspects: physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual. Holistic wellbeing acknowledges that all these parts of human health are interconnected, rather than isolated.
Learn more about the ins and outs of holistic wellbeing.
Physical benefits of holistic meditation
One of the most noticeable ways meditation can help improve holistic wellbeing is by boosting your physical health. And its benefits stretch far beyond relaxation.
Regular meditators have lower blood pressure, less chronic pain, and inflammation, as well as reduced muscle tension.
Sounds pretty great, right? But that’s not all! Studies show that meditation activates multiple genes related to the immune system, which suggests that meditation can improve your body’s natural defenses against diseases.
So from now on, when preparing for the autumn flu season, add regular meditation to your home apothecary.
Mental and emotional benefits of holistic meditation
This practice also does wonders for mental and emotional health. Meditation reduces stress, which is great for maintaining a balanced immunity and reducing the risk of stress-related illnesses.
Chronic stress is linked to conditions like anxiety and depression. Luckily, regular meditation can decrease symptoms of these conditions by lowering cortisol levels and helping the meditator feel more at peace.
Interestingly, meditation has been shown to improve the overall quality of life, and it plays a particularly big role in improving mental health. In time, people who practice meditation become more satisfied with life and have emotional stability and resilience.
Plus, meditation improves focus and clarity, which is always a good extra for everyday busy individuals. :)
Social benefits of holistic meditation
Meditation is a fantastic tool for battling social anxiety. It helps you feel more at ease with yourself, your surroundings, and accept situations as they are.
To learn about others, and experience empathy, you need to learn about yourself first and learn to give yourself grace. You cannot pour from an empty cup, and awareness of your current feelings and energy levels is the first step to understanding yourself. This is what meditation can help with.
Once you know yourself, you can learn to understand others. People who have more self-awareness and empathy are better adapted to forming better relationships with others.
Moreover, holistic meditation is crucial for society. In 1993, a large group of meditators gathered in Washington, D.C. to meditate. The goal of the study was to see if collective meditation could reduce violent crime.
In the course of two months, the city saw over 23% reduction in violent crimes. The study concluded that group meditation could have a measurable, positive impact on crime rates. This shows that meditation doesn’t only affect us; it improves our environment and can create more healthy thought and behavior patterns in other beings.
Spiritual benefits of holistic meditation
Meditation is one of the best ways to connect to your higher self. It can help you get a deep sense of who you are and your interconnectedness with other beings. Through meditation, you reach a deeper sense of awareness and experience feelings of inner peace.
Regular meditators often experience higher states of consciousness. This means that by calming your mind you may start to hear, see, and visualize new sensations in your body and mind that you were not aware of before. These experiences, in turn, give a glimpse of the wholeness of the universe, and a hunch of what a human spirit can be capable of.
By practicing meditation you can speed up your spiritual growth, understand your gifts and mission on this Earth, and essentially become closer to who you are meant to be.
How to face challenges and make meditation part of your daily life
Meditation is the art of stillness and observation. It’s about learning how to take a step back from your feelings and thoughts and see situations and yourself from a distance. By meditating, you essentially become a third party to your own life and can observe whatever you’re going through without any judgment.
Or at least that’s the goal.
However, it’s easier said than done because meditation comes with plenty of misconceptions and hurdles. So let’s explore the common difficulties and understand how to overcome them to reap the meditation benefits for holistic health!
Misconceptions about meditation
One of the most common misconceptions about meditation is that you need to be in a specific position to do it. Stereotypically, an image comes to mind with a person sitting in a lotus position with palms facing upwards, connecting index finger and thumb, eyes closed, and back straight.
In truth, not everyone has the luxury of sitting with legs crossed with a straight back for long periods of time. There are tons of other meditation practices to try out. Some practices are done lying on the back, sitting down, standing, and some can even be done while walking.
Meditation challenges and how to overcome them
Your brain starts working from the moment you’re born, constantly figuring out your next move and keeping you going. However, your brain may be either a friend or a foe, depending on how you train it.
To maintain your holistic wellbeing, you need to give your mind a break and learn to slow down your thoughts for a moment. Otherwise, you risk burning out and facing health issues. Taking time to relax and reset isn’t a luxury—it’s necessary for good holistic health.
Challenge #1: Your Minds Wanders
This is arguably the most popular reason why beginners quit meditation. Many mistakenly believe that meditation only happens when you have zero thoughts.
However, that's far from the truth. Advanced meditators can slow down their thoughts for longer than beginners, but they’re only human and struggle, too.
How to overcome this challenge:
- Forgive yourself. Once you notice thoughts taking you over, start again. It’s normal for your mind to wander and you don't have to compare yourself to anyone.
- Know that there are no set goals. You don’t need to reach a specific state or become “good at meditation” because that’s not a thing. The process is the goal. It’s mundane, repetitive, and maybe a little boring, but you’ll start to love it and see the meditation benefits for holistic health.
- Focus on your breath. No matter which meditation type you choose, most revolve around coming back to your breath. If you hold your breath for a bit, the world goes quiet. This gives you a couple of seconds to “pause life” and get more peace and clarity, helping you go deeper into holistic meditation.
Challenge #2: You’re Stressed and Used to Rationalizing
For most of us, it seems like there are a million little things to do and remember each day, and it could create anxiety while meditating. “What if I'm wasting my time just sitting there?”, “Shouldn't I be doing something actually productive?”
If you’re prone to high stress, you like planning, or tend to take on more things than you probably should, listen up!
How to overcome this challenge:
- Put it in writing. Take a piece of paper, jot down the worries that are bugging you right now. Then ask yourself: “Can I do something about it?” Then write things you will do after you’re done meditating. That way, you have a plan in place and will be able to relax more easily.
- Find your no-rush space. If possible, practice holistic meditation in a place where you can’t be rushed. For example, if you take the train or a cab, use that time to meditate while you’re already on your way.
- Allow yourself to pause. Know that the world won’t fall apart if you sit down for five minutes and practice holistic meditation. It’s only your stress response telling you not to relax. But you should, because holistic meditation is a productive way to recharge. It takes some time to get used to this idea, but you’ll get there!
Challenge #3: Facing Your Feelings Is Not Easy
It’s never pleasant to discover and face your own negative patterns. But there’s no other way to grow other than acknowledging that you can do better. This growth can be quite scary and intimidating, often bringing a wave of obsessive thoughts, such as “Why am I like this?”, “Why can't I be like others?”, “Why is nothing working out in my favor?”
If you resonate with these feelings, know that you're not alone—most of us feel this way at some point.
How to overcome this challenge:
- Stop the negative self-talk. Words and thoughts have great power, and you should avoid talking about yourself in a degrading manner. It’s not good for your mind, body, or soul. Instead, observe these thoughts and don’t give them much attention. Eventually, they’ll pass, and when they do, find something nice to say about yourself instead.
- Know that beginnings are always hard. Try to be OK with feeling things, even the uncomfortable ones. This works better if you can meditate in a safe place without distractions so you can let your feelings come as they are, and express them if they arise. Many people have repressed feelings and don’t feel comfortable showing something that’s not positive. If you’re alone in the room, try to work up the courage to let the emotions out in a safe manner, either by crying, shouting, moaning, throwing pillows, or whatever comes naturally to you.
- Don’t back out. If tough love works for you, I’ll tell you that to nobody’s surprise, the only way out is through. When practicing holistic meditation, there’s nothing else to do about negative feelings but try to accept them as they come. The more you sit with them, the more you’ll understand, accept, and eventually learn to change your patterns.
Challenge #4: Finding the Time Can Be Difficult
It’s not easy to make time for meditation. With work, family life, hobbies, and other activities, holistic meditation can be difficult to squeeze in, even for a couple of minutes.
But meditation itself doesn’t have to take much time. However, the mental preparation for it, just like with other activities, such as going to the gym, can be burdensome.
Luckily, you don’t need to put on your running shoes or drive anywhere specific to meditate. You just have to have a couple of tricks up your sleeve.
How to overcome this challenge:
- Choose your go-to meditation practice. To save time, start by understanding what type of meditation is best for you. Do you want to sit on a chair or in a lotus position? Stand or lay down? Do you wish to do mindfulness meditation, transcendental meditation, visualization, mantra meditation, vipassana, or anything else? Once you have your go-to meditation practice, you’ll be able to eliminate the guesswork and start meditating sooner.
- Sneak in meditation throughout your day. Use small moments of your day to practice holistic meditation. If you have a couple of minutes before the next meeting, are waiting for your kids to finish class, sitting in line, or doing something else that involves waiting, use this time to meditate.
Making meditation your friend
Meditation is an accessible tool for improving holistic wellbeing. It helps physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual health. While ancient have known about the meditation benefits for holistic health for centuries already, modern research is getting closer to validating these effects, too.
While there are countless meditation methods, find one that is the best fit for your lifestyle. You can meditate with eyes closed or open, sitting down or standing, and there’s a holistic meditation practice out there for everyone!
Even though it can be difficult to start, you’ll eventually reap the benefits of this beautiful practice. It will help you be more calm, present, and help you understand your own patterns and become more true to yourself.
And remember—the process is the goal. There are no milestones you are required to meet. The only goal is to show up for yourself and be more loving, kind, and present in your own life.
