Meditation is a devotional excercise that helps to cleanse the mind and refresh our soul. It is a way to relieve stress at the Mental Level and help us have a Healthy Mind.

Meditation, which is the practice of focused concentration, bringing yourself back to the moment over and over again, actually addresses stress, whether positive or negative. Meditation can also reduce the areas of anxiety, chronic pain, depression, heart disease and high blood pressure. When meditating, you're emptying your mind, focusing on the most important thing(your breath) and freeing yourself from prejudice.

The mental health benefits of meditation include better focus and concentration, improved self-awareness and self-esteem, lower levels of stress and anxiety, and fostering kindness. Meditation also has benefits for your physical health, as it can improve your tolerance for pain and help fight substance addiction.

Effects Of Meditation On The Brain

1. Meditation Affects The Structure Of The: Meditation is shown to thicken the pre-frontal cortex. This brain center manages higher order brain function, like increased awareness, concentration, and decision making. Changes in the brain show, with meditation, higher-order functions become stronger, while lower-order brain activities decrease.

   In other words, long term consistent meditation changes the density of grey matter in key areas of the brain.

   Research has found that the brain of experience meditators differs from the brains of those who do not meditate. The affected areas are those tied to attention control, emotions regulation and self-awareness.

2. Meditation Can Shield The Brain From Stress: Meditation affects the way you brain processes and responds to stress.

   The salience network is a network in the brain that coordinates your response to stress, among other stimuli. Studies have it that meditation helps improve how and when the salience network is activated, reducing negative effects stress can have on your brain and body while improving your ability to recover after stressful event.

3. Meditation Can Sharpen Your Memory: Meditation can significantly improve your working memory capacity.

   Your working memory is essential for problem-solving and executing complex cognitive tasks, but it is limited. Research shows that meditation can improve your working memory capacity, your attention span and even your academic performance.

Basic Meditation Techniques

1. Find a quiet space. Make sure there is nothing to disturb you before you start meditation.

2. Sit or lie in a comfortable position. You can sit on top of a cushion or blanket, on the floor or in a chair. You may even want to invest in a meditation chair or cushion.

3.Take a few seconds to notice the areas of your body that are tensed and then find a position that feels good for you before closing your eyes lightly.

4. Take a long deep breath. Breathe gently, focusing your attention on each inhale and exhale.

5. Make no effort to control the breath; simply breathe naturally. Focus your attention on the breath and on how the body moves with each inhalation and exhalation.

6. It's okay for your mind to wonder as it is only natural for your mind to do so. You can always guide your attention back to your breath by counting slowly to each inhale and exhale.

7. You can begin to appreciate the fact that you are alive and breathing , while feeling the coolness of the air around you.

8. Call to mind something in your life that you really appreciate. It could be an object, someone, your career or it could be the fact that you are still alive.

9. Try to stay with this feel good memories for a little longer as you focus on your breath or you can try not to think about anything, empty your mind and just breathe.

10. And when you feel ready to stop your meditation you can slowly open your eyes.

How Long Should You Meditate?

For beginners, you can meditate a minimum of three to five minutes. You can meditate for as long as you want but it is best to start with smaller time intervals for someone who's new to meditation.

How often should you meditate?

You can meditate everyday or just once in a week, depending how you scheduled your routine.

Learn more about the different types of meditation and find the one that is right for you.

1. Mindfulness meditation

2. Spiritual meditation

3. Focused meditation

4. Movement meditation

5. Mantra meditation

6. Transcendental meditation

7. Progressive meditation

8. Kindness meditation

A lot of us, students are looking for a way to improve our brain capacity. Meditation is just a good way to start. The more you meditate, the more you become mentally alert and the more your brain starts to absorb information faster than usual because when you're meditating you're focusing your mind on the most important things.

Take a few time out to meditate sometimes. One hour of meditation can go a long way in your life than you can ever imagine. No matter your age, gender, financial status or academic status meditation is good for you.

A long time consistent meditation practice can help pay less attention to situations you have no control over.

Whatever problem you're going through right now ( anxiety, procrastination, failure, depression, dissatisfaction and fear) you can always solve with meditation.

I hope you find the information contained in this article very useful. Thanks for reading.