I have a personal experience I want to share. Back in 2007, I was diagnosed with professional burnout. I was of course prescribed some pills to control the “depression” and eventually was able to return to what somewhat a “normal” life within a few weeks of rest. I took these pills for years and until I met an old friend that was into meditation, I had not even thought of stopping taking the pills. I was introduced to [eafl id=”87″ name=”Zen12″ text=”meditation”] by this friend and within a few weeks of practice, I experienced a real reduced level of work related stress and a greater emotional resilience. After a couple of months, I quit taking the pills and I am still free today of the antidepressants I was prescribed then.
There is an important lesson for us all here. “Well-being” is a skill. It is something that can be improved with training. If we take real responsibility of our well-being, we can help minimize physical and emotional exhaustion or at least reduce its severity. It has been proven many times over, that individuals who practice a form of meditation which promotes focus and empathy through increased awareness of thought and bodily sensations such as breathing, can help minimize burnouts or at least really decrease its severity. [eafl id=”87″ name=”Zen12″ text=”Mindfulness”] benefits the mind just as physical exercise benefits the body.
So how does meditation work and why is it so helpful? It has helped me in a number of ways and it can do the same to anybody who practice it regularly. When you are on the go all day long, you can easily disconnect from the fact that you’re ready to drop. By this time, your body is usually crippled with tension. Meditation provides an opportunity for you to check in with your body and give it a rest. It also provides a way in which you can practice observing your thoughts and emotions rather than trying to block them. This gives you a new perspective on a very busy mind and more space to make more rational decisions and greatly reduce stress at the same time.
If you haven’t ever tried it, give it a go. It’s very easy. You need yourself a place when you feel comfortable enough to close your eyes, and 12 minutes. I truly like the [eafl id=”87″ name=”Zen12″ text=”Zen 12″] meditation program and use it daily and I recommend to anybody that wants to try meditation to start with this one. [eafl id=”87″ name=”Zen12″ text=”And best of all it’s free to try!”]
