Getting Meditative

Over the past few days, we’ve covered how our friends and partners can boost our heart health, but there is someone else to love that you might be leaving out too often – yourself.

If you’ve ever attended therapy, you might have heard the phrase, “self-care isn’t selfish.” That’s because you don’t have the capacity to fully love and engage with the people important to you if you don’t take time out for yourself, too.

One way to practice self-love and relieve stress is through meditation. Meditation is linked to lower blood pressure, reduced stress, a lower heart rate and improved sleep.

The American Heart Association reports that, on average, meditation lowers systolic blood pressure (the top number) by 4.7 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) by 3.2 mm Hg.

Meditation is easy, too. Here’s what you do:

• Take a seat somewhere calm and quiet.
• Set a timer. Start with five minutes if you’ve never done this before.
• Be sure your body is in a stable, comfortable position.
• Feel your breath go in and out. And keep focusing on your breathing.
• If your mind wanders, refocus on your breathing.
• When the timer goes off, notice how you feel. Is your body more relaxed? Does your mind seem clearer? Are your emotions calmer?

Whether you need to fully “zen out” for a 30-minute session or only have five minutes in the middle of the day, mindfulness can be one key to a calmer existence.

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