Mind & Body

Meditation And Weight Loss

July 30, 2009
By J White

Weight loss for most dieters is a challenging task to say the least. Add in stress, and it becomes more difficult. To make the weight loss process less taxing, some dieters find that meditation helps.

For many though meditation conjures up visions of Indian gurus leading their followers in chants. The reality is that the practice doesn’t need to be that exoctic. In fact whenever you take a moment to compose yourself, you are actually practicing an abbreviated form of the exercise.

To increase your moments of relaxation, you need to take your meditation to a higher level. Not only will it help you to more effectively lose weight, but it will also help to improve your overall mood and outlook on life.

To get more out of your sessions, here are some helpful hints.

Quiet Room

Meditation is best practiced in a quiet room where you can concentrate undisturbed. It is possible to meditate anywhere you find yourself, for example on a plane, bus, or train. But part of the practice involves focusing the mind, so noise and outside distractions may take away from this.

Comfortable Position

To meditate, you do not have to sit on the floor with your legs crossed. The most important thing is to be comfortable. A chair, sofa, or even your bed is find. Bear in mind, if you lie down in your bed, you may fall asleep, so you may want to at least sit up.

Relax your body

A common practice that you can use to relax your body is to tense up a body part, hold it for 5 to 10 seconds, and then let it relax. You can start with your feet, and work your way up to your face.

You may be tempted to skip this part, but don’t. This is because many of us walk around all day with part of our body unknowingly tense. By purposely tensing up, you become more conscious of what it feels like to be relaxed and free of tension.

Breathe Deeply

To say breathing is an important aspect of meditation would itself be an understatement. This is because for the most part, many people take short shallow breaths, which in and of itself, leads to stress. By practicing deep breathing you can bring about almost instantaneous relief and relaxation.

Your breathing should come from your stomach, not your chest. If you are physically able, breathe just through your nose. Make sure to slightly exaggerate your breathing process with your exhaling being the most protruded. Breathing in this manner expels more carbon dioxide, allowing you to breathe in more air.

Focus your thoughts

Every emotion you experience starts from your thoughts, which means that happiness really is a state of mind. Therefore, you want to focus your mind on something pleasant. For instance a white sandy beach, or a lush green meadow, anything that conjures up feelings of relaxation.

How will you know it you have the right mental image? If the image you are focusing on does not bring about an almost immediate sense of calm, then you need to think about something else. In short, you’ll know it when it hits you.

Here’s one last bit of advice. To get the most out of your meditation, perform a session at least once per day. If you find yourself, getting overtaxed during the day, but you don’t have time for a full session, take a minute of two to breathe deeply and focus on something relaxing. These little breaks can be just the ticket to get you through your rough spots.

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