Meditation Benefits: Live Classes on SKILLR
Hey, babe. How are you feeling? Work’s got you stressed? Struggling to balance everything on your plate? We see you.
Take a minute to let some of that shit go. Inhale deeply through your nose. Exhale fully from your mouth….
Now, how do you feel?
We could all use a little more of that in our lives. Meditation is one proven way to bring a little more peace and quiet to our minds, improve our mental health and bring us loads of other juicy benefits (for our emotional health, self esteem and physical health).
Curious to learn about what a daily meditation practice can do for you? Read on to get the tea on all things meditation and why practicing on SKILLR could bring some much needed calm to your life.
Here’s what we’ll get into:
What is meditation?
Meditation benefits
Types of meditation
Meditation training on the SKILLR App
What is meditation?
Meditation is a practice that encourages you to explore the thoughts, feelings and sensations in your body and become aware of the present moment. Meditation can seem nebulous or intimidating if you haven’t practiced it much before, but it’s really quite simple and available to anyone regardless of belief. Meditation has been used in spiritual traditions over the centuries but it’s also practiced without any spiritual connotation or connection too.
Meditation benefits
Like we mentioned, meditation can provide many health benefits, both physical and mental. Here are a few ways mindfulness training can help you feel better. If you meditate regularly for half an hour a day, you’ll likely see many of these benefits but meditating even just a few minutes a day can help you reap some of them.
Physical health benefits
There are a ton of physical health benefits that you can see from a regular meditation practice. According to UC Davis, meditation’s stress reducing quality translates to an effect on stress-related conditions like post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), irritable bowel syndrome and fibromyalgia.
Meditation is often recommended to people who deal with chronic pain. The reason being that meditation releases endorphins in the brain, which serve as pain relievers. Another reason meditation is said to be helpful with chronic pain management is because it gives your mind something else to focus on.
Here are a few additional benefits of meditation that research suggests:
Decreases high blood pressure
Decreased risk of heart disease
Slows age-related memory loss
Improved sleep quality
Decreased psychological stress and chronic stress
Managing physical pain
Strengthens immune system
Increased self awareness
Increased sense of emotional stability, inner peace and well-being
Mental and emotional health benefits
Talk to anyone who’s been practicing meditation for a while and you’ll probably hear about how it’s changed their lives. You might feel a little skeptical when you hear this but in addition to the anecdotal evidence, there’s a lot of science to back this up.
Meditative practice can help with stress reduction, emotion regulation and management, awareness of the self and present moment, productivity, creativity and focus.
All of these things are vital in improving your quality of life and just being able to function well and regulate your nervous system. So yeah, it’s safe to say that for many people meditation can be pretty fucking life-changing and that the benefits of meditation are all over the board.
Types of meditation
There are several different types of meditation techniques. Try them all and see what works for you!
Transcendental meditation
Transcendental meditation (TM) is a bit different from other forms of meditation as it’s a specific technique that is taught by a practitioner. This style was brought to the western world in 1959 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Unlike other forms of meditation, TM is “effortless” and less focused on bringing awareness to thoughts or trying to concentrate. Once you learn it, it’s recommended you use it 15 to 20 minutes per day.
Mindfulness meditation
Mindfulness meditation is one of the most popular forms of meditation. It invites you to sit or lie down in a comfortable position, close your eyes, be aware of your breathing and observe your thoughts. When observing, the goal is to not judge or analyze your thoughts. You’re simply trying to be with the thoughts and accept that they’re there, returning your focus to your breath.
Guided meditation
When you’re new to meditating, you may find it helpful to have someone there to lead you through it. After all, the idea of sitting and being with your breath and your thoughts can seem pretty intimidating. Here’s where guided meditations come in. Guided meditation is any meditation that’s led by a coach or teacher. These meditations are usually audio or video recordings but you can also do them in a yoga or meditation class or live on the SKILLR App.
Visualization meditation
Can’t seem to quiet your mind? Or, maybe you’re into manifestation? Visualization meditation could be for you! Visualizing invites you to use your imagination to mentally create scenes or images. You can use this style with a mantra to reinforce positive beliefs or thoughts. You can picture yourself accomplishing a goal or relaxing in your fave vacay spot. Or, you can let your mind take you where it wants to go. The options are endless when it comes to visualization.
Metta meditation
Metta or loving-kindness meditation is a style of meditation focused on feelings of compassion and love for self and others. It’s an incredibly powerful style of meditation if you want to work on things such as self-love or forgiveness. There’s often a visual element to it in which you surround yourself with love or send it to others.
Movement meditation
Feel like you’re too fidgety for seated meditations? Bring a little movement to your practice with some creative movement meditation. These meditations include everything from walking meditation (a personal fave) to qi gong and tai chi. You can even meditate while folding laundry, dancing or doing any other kind of movement you like. All you have to do is be mindful of your breathing and any movements you make. You can also bring in a guided meditation while walking or running for some additional support.
Mindfulness based stress reduction
Mindfulness based stress reduction is an eight-week mindfulness course that’s usually led by a health professional. Participants gather once a week to learn about managing stress, anxiety, depression or substance misuse through mindfulness techniques like yoga and meditation. While this isn’t necessarily a meditation type, it’s a useful way to incorporate mindfulness into your daily life and to learn about meditation from a pro.
These are just a few of the many types of meditation! As always, we encourage you to experiment and figure out what styles of meditation best suit you and your mind.
Meditation training on the SKILLR App
If you’re a beginner, practicing meditation can be so much easier with an experienced guide to lead you through it. Recorded guided meditations are helpful, but talking with an experienced meditator and going through a live session with them can help you ease into the practice and feel more comfortable and confident about pursuing a regular meditation practice.
On SKILLR, you can match with a guided meditation pro, ask them any questions you have and get started on your mindfulness journey. They can give you tips and tricks, share lessons from their own meditation practice and personalize your meditation experience around any specific topics you’ve had on your mind lately.
Once you’ve downloaded the app and created an account, you can navigate to the Get Fit screen and then hit “Guided Meditation” at the top of the screen. You can scroll through the experts here and book a session, or use the Instant Match button on the home screen to get matched with the first available Skillr.
Happy meditating! We hope you reap all the amazing benefits for your physical and mental health, and find some peace of mind through meditation on the SKILLR App. Ready to practice meditation? Get connected with a pro today!
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