Helping Mental Health: The Power of Meditation

Improve your mental health during this year’s Mental Health Awareness Month by adding meditation to your mental health toolbox. 

We can’t stress the importance of mental health care enough and that’s why we’re bringing you mental health content all month long. Let’s get our minds right, fam! 

Here’s what we’ll get into today: 

• What is meditation? 

• How does meditation help with managing mental health and mental illness? 

• How does meditation help with physical health? 

• Meditation on the SKILLR App

• What are some mental health services I can check out? 

What is meditation? 

Meditation is the practice of bringing awareness to your thoughts, breath and bodily sensations. The purpose of meditation is simply to be mindful of the experience you have in your mind and body. There are many benefits to meditation including stress reduction, emotional regulation and decreased blood pressure. Meditation has served both as a spiritual and non-religious practice for people throughout the years, and there are several different types of meditation you can try. Learn more about them on the blog!

How does meditation help with managing mental health & mental illness?

Meditation is a great way to practice taking care of yourself and managing your emotional and mental health as it helps you bring attention to thoughts and feelings, and instead of pushing them away, encourages you to notice and regulate them. Research studies suggest that a regular meditation practice can help you realize your full potential, increase feelings of self-worth and create a more positive daily experience. 

Here are a few ways meditation can be an incredible tool when it comes to good mental health: 

• Stress reduction

• Emotion regulation and management

• Awareness of the self and present moment

• Productivity

• Creativity

• Focus

• Increased ability to cope with negative emotions

• Greater positive outlook 

• Management of some symptoms of mental illnesses (including anxiety and depression) 

How does meditation help with physical health? 

Meditation works with the mind-body connection as it challenges you to begin to pay attention to what’s going on both in your mind and within your physical body. Because of this, it not only serves to improve mental health problems and inner emotional support, but also the physical. 

Meditation doesn’t just have mental health benefits, it’s also said to have some physical benefits too. Meditation is reported to be helpful for stress-related conditions like IBS, PTSD and fibromyalgia. Here are a few other physical benefits you might find with this mindfulness practice: 

• Lowers blood pressure 

• Lower risk of heart disease

• Lowers heart rate

• Slows down age-related memory loss 

• Improves sleep quality 

• Decreases psychological and chronic stress

• Manages physical pain 

• Strengthened immune system 

• Stronger sense of self awareness

• Higher sense of emotional stability, inner peace and well-being

Meditation on the SKILLR App

Get in on the meditation game with the SKILLR App. On SKILLR, you can match with guided meditation pros who can hold compassionate space for you to explore mindfulness during live, one-on-one meditation sessions via video call. 

How it works 

To use the app, simply download it from the App Store for iPhone. Create an account. Then, head over to the Get Fit section and navigate to Yoga. There you’ll see yoga, guided meditation and breathwork pros. Scroll through the profiles and book with an available expert. Or, use the Instant Match feature to get matched with the first available Skillr. 

You can let your pro know if there are any specific kinds of meditation you’re interested in doing and how long you’d like the meditation to last. Additionally, you can ask them questions about mindfulness and get tips for your own meditation practice and mindfulness journey. 

What are some mental health services I can check out? 

What’s in your mental health toolbox? This Mental Health Awareness Month is the perfect time to evaluate your coping skills, mental health issues and the ways you look after your mental health. Speak with your primary care provider if you’re considering seeking new mental health treatments and don’t know where to start. 

Here are a few mental health services you can talk to your doctor about: 

• Psychotherapy for individuals, couples or groups (including methods such as cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy and EMDR)

• Medications (including antidepressants, anti-anxiety, mood stabilizers and antipsychotics) 

• Support groups 

• Recovery programs 

• Alternative treatments (including nutrition, being physically active, yoga, hypnotherapy and meditation) 

• Psychedelic therapy 

What are you waiting for? Access meditation pros in your pocket and get your mind right with SKILLR! 

Download the SKILLR App today. Want more SKILLR? Check out our blog page to learn more about how to make the most of the app. Follow along with us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn for all things SKILLR.