14 Incredible Ways Meditation Changes You
Here are 14 ways in which having a meditative routine can change you.
Meditation
We normally use the term Meditation when referring to the full term of Yoga. The word Yoga means, “to concentrate” and it was originally about an integrative practice of the self. The benefits of Yoga or Meditation was not studied until the 1950s.
One of the major areas of the brain that showed benefits from meditation is the Medial Prefrontal Cortex. The Medial Prefrontal Cortex’s neural activity calms down.
Visually outside the body this calming is seen as controlled responses; like rational thinking, better communication, deliberate responses, intentional body movements, decreased fear, and increased empathic responses.
Here are 14 benefits of Yoga and what you might experience if you choose to meditate.
14 Benefits Of Yoga Through Meditation
#1 Control Emotional Responses
It’s amazing how much a meditative practice helps our brain control our emotions. Normally we let emotions run wild, creating unneeded stress, anxiety and depression.
However, a quiet brain practice can help calmly deal with life situations. Being able to be self-aware and recognize our emotional responses helps build reassuring self-confidence.
#2 Think Before You Speak
As humans we tend to speak first and think second, however, this method often leads to ruined relationships from misunderstandings. Regular meditation effect how we respond by calming the brains responds to a conversation.
This enhances our ability to calm the need to speak out before fully understanding another person’s feelings or thoughts. How refreshing to understand what a person said and not what we think they meant.
Not jumping to conclusions is rewarding, we get to have deeper, richer friendships.
#3 Keep Stress Levels Down
Having introspection can lead to control of anger, anxiety, jealousy, and unhappiness, emotions that are often left un-checked and lead to increased stress levels.
An unregulated brain leads to anxiety, anxiety often enhances deregulated emotions and those feelings act to disrupt the ability to response appropriately to stressful situations.
Without management of emotions, anxiety can escalate and cause stress hormones like cortisol, to go unchecked. Unrestrained stress levels are the number one cause of depression.
#4 Let Go of Your Ego
Most people understand that their inside voice or the ego is constantly there, a companion. The ego manifests itself as a steady internal conscience.
You are never without this ego telling you how you are, what you are not, and worst what you will never be.
Calming the mind during meditation allows for the ego to take a quieter calmer approach, lessening how we react to others. This can leave you feeling calmer in intense conversations.
I love this list of Sh#t Your Ego Says by James McCrae found on livelovelearn.com
#5 Rationalize Awareness
Rational thinking awareness, seeing things as they truly are, is a hard skill for most humans. In fact it’s an ability that is habitually forgotten. We’re told we will never be able to remove our own emotions from a situation and so we will never have an emotionless recall of events.
That is not true; a meditative practice can greatly enhance your rational thinking. Rational thinking can lead to better decision-making and better relationships.
Being able to see things as they are is so beneficial and helps build lasting friendships based on rational and mutual respect. Additionally imagine being able to solve work issues effortlessly, because you are not emotionally attached.
#6 Get To Know The Real You
Psychology often paints the ego as the all-encompassing voice inside every person that lifts up emotions and creates irrational situations, like an altered state. In Neuroscience the Medial Prefrontal Cortex can, in fact, be called our ego, nothing more than neural pathways communicating.
On the other side of science, the spiritual world, the ego is completely disassociated from the Self. The ego is what most people assume is the real you, but now we know the real self is not the ego, not your brain.
A meditative state can lessen the hold of the ego, and allow for the real you to take control. This real self-state is quiet and observing, calm and collected, not demanding, nor irrational.
#7 Disconnect From Things That Keep You Attached
Without ego you see who YOU are, you become more aware of what joys you seem to suppress. Without this bond, you can let go of concerns that you are not good enough. The ego can manipulate you into thinking other people’s reactions are due to you.
When you no longer take things personally you create a soothing disconnection from people, places, or things.
This disconnection can lead to varying opportunities that you could not see before, it can open doors to dreams that once inhibited by the presence of the ego.
Infographic authored by Synchronicity Foundation for Modern Spirituality. To view the original post, Free Infographic: Effects of Meditation on the Brain.
#8 Awaken Your Third Eye
Everyone has heard of Awakening, to emerge from un-awareness to intentionality. Intuition wakening is one of the usually known benefits of mediation.
But how does this benefit you? The ability to understand intentionality leads to clear thinking, and pure thinking can boost your decision-making. Consequently, you make better decisions every day. You can direct your energy when meditating towards your spirit guides, while there you can ask your spirit guides for assistance in making decisions. It’s your inner most intuition.
This leads to, for lack of better words, you seeing the bullshit behind people and information. With the ability to see truth from lies it will be easier to find your way in life.
In short, this wisdom disseminates your ego, making goals that you once thought where impossible, easier to do by revealing the truth. So awaken your third eye and get clear answers to all your questions.
#9 Become More Confident
When you start to integrate daily meditation habits you become highly aware of your body, that shell we souls inhabit on this planet. Instead of being consumed by our fleshy outer shell, we start to realize how cumbersome it is to allow it to rule us, the soul.
With this new clarifying insight you become less self-conscience, calmer in new situations, it puts YOU in control!
Imagine approaching your boss for a rise and not being fearful, this is a reality when you become body aware. No more awkward conversations, you are just you and you let your inner calm rule the conversation.
Quieting the mind to hear the soul lonewolf.com 
#10 Become Braver
After quieting the mind through meditation the fear pathways in our brains calm down. Fear to start something new, fear to say something, fear of commitment, every fear you have becomes manageable.
Once you are in control of those fears, you become an unstoppable action machine. Fear is so debilitating, it can keep people stagnant for years, and it can even keep you from leaving your home and pursuing your dreams.
#11 Increase Empathy
Empathy is one of our greatest gifts. Using it often can lead you to connect to others in a way you never thought possible. Someone else’s joy can become yours and someone else’s accomplishments become just as much a celebration for you as it is for them.
That means you get to add abundance in the form of connection from those around you. You become a joy attractor and not an emotional vampire magnet. All this and all you have to do is add a few minutes of meditation to your day.
#12 Have Boundaries
But just as important as a connection, the opposite of compassion is just as harmful. Being able to disconnect from the fear, emotions, and angst of others is just as vital as being able to relate. Without being able to set your foot down for your own boundaries you bring about resentment and anger for others.
Constantly feeding into the energy of people around you can leave you feeling drained, fearful, anxious, and depressed. This kind of energy depletion can devastate your immune system.
Having a meditation regime can bring into perspective when you should share your energy and when you should not. Everyone can become more aware of their own energy fields.
Just think of the benefits of having extra energy at the end of the day? You would be able to read, or maybe go to that party you have been too exhausted to say yes to. You don’t have to run away from the energy collectors of your life, just be able to disconnect from them and allow your own energy to remain intact.
Infographic authored by Synchronicity Foundation for Modern Spirituality. To view the original post, Free Infographic: Effects of Meditation on the Body.
#13 Have A Calm Mind
Quieting the brain is by far the number one benefit of meditation. When you calm your internal chatter you disconnect your neural over connectivity to areas of fear and thus decrease your overall (if not all) anxiety issues.
Some people become overwhelmed by everyday task, such as going to a doctor’s appointment, ordering coffee, or even calling their mom to tell her something they know she will react to. Leaving in constant anxiety is a terrible living situation; no one should live like that.
By doing meditation you learn to calm the voices inside your brain that keep anxiety alive. If you practice letting go of constant mind talking you can rewire your brain to focus on the now. Focusing on the now allows for better life satisfaction and in turn happiness.
The graph below from Happierhuman.com shows an increase in overall happiness with individuals who meditated over a period of 7 weeks.
#14 Re-Wire Your Brain
Meditation is a great way to break pathways to negative memories. Damaging memories are kept in replay by the minds habit of referring to them constantly. This addiction can create a never-ending negative experience in your life.
Our past teaches us, but it shouldn’t punish us. You are capable of healing your mind from past knowledge by re-wiring your brain to not think about them. Once you stop thinking about mind consuming past experiences, you are free to collect new pleasant recollections that can shape your attitude about life for the better.
In Parting,
In conclusion, the wonderful benefits of Meditation on the brain are undeniable. Meditation is not just for those seeking spirituality, but for anyone seeking a calmer mindful life.
A mindful practice should be a priority. Our prefrontal cortex with its network of neural activity, though amazing, should not rule the complex being behind it.
With meditation you can seek change that includes controlled emotional responses like, rational thinking, intentional speaking, less fearfulness, body awareness, and empathy.
Authors Note: You deserve a calm but wildly amazing life, so start a meditation regime and become the best version of you. Hugs!
References:
Gladding M.D., Rebecca (May 22, 2013) Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/use-your-mind-change-your-brain/201305/is-your-brain-meditation
Euston, David R., Gruber, Aaron J., McNaughton, Bruce L., The Role of Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Memory and Decision Making. Retrieved from https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(12)01108-7?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0896627312011087%3Fshowall%3Dtrue
Yoga, Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga
Mindfulness, Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindfulness
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