How to Have a Healthy Mind

Do you work out? Eat healthy? Have a flat stomach? Have good stamina? Look perfect for your age? If you answered yes for all or most of the above questions - Congratulations. Biologically you can call yourself fully healthy. Now do you meditate? - If you answered no then my friend in reality you are only half healthy.

There are two main components of health, physical and mental. Physical parameters are easy to spot, but mental are truly complex to decipher. Not having a disease related to the brain does not necessarily make you mentally fit. Just as our body does a lot of work and requires rest, so does our brain. For the body there is an on and off switch which is awake and asleep, but the brain is never off, even when we sleep its activity is reduced, but never does it stop working. Hence we have dreams and nightmares.

How important is mental health for a physically healthy person?

Very important. Depression, anxiety, laziness, boredom, anger, loss of focus etc. etc. Sound familiar? All these are more often than not signs of a tired brain screaming for relief. The easy way out is various medications, but that is no more than using a band-aid for cancer. Apart from the side effects and probability of addiction they affect your physical self too.

Flip on the TV and look how many ads you see for pills to do with depression, anxiety, weakness and what not. City life is hectic and taxing on both the body and mind, but believe me, these pills are not the solution. The solution is free, permanent and time tested- Meditation.

Isn't meditation related to certain religions?

There is a popular perception that meditation has to do with Buddhism and Hinduism and a few other religions. Not true. Meditation has to do with every religion. Every religion in some way or other asks its followers to meditate. Prayer is a form of meditation, but nowadays prayers are more a form of just talking in sync with the crowd.

How to meditate?

If you are reading this you are probably only getting started with meditation.

The topic of meditation is truly very immense. Its basic idea is to be aware of oneself and all that is around and understand how it affects you and acknowledge it as it is. As difficult and out of grasp it sounds, it could not be easier.

Following is a very basic exercise for a complete novice. Do try it once and see the difference immediately and if you can do it more regularly, I can guarantee amazing results.

I f this is your first time, it's bound to be awkward for you, but hang in there and you won't regret it.

First read the whole procedure, it's very easy

Preparation:
There is not much you need to do to prepare for meditation. The idea is to make sure you are comfortable. Doesn't matter what time it is, as long as you are awake and ok and have at least 10 minutes to spare from your daily quota of 1440 minutes. You can either sit on the ground or bed cross legged with a straight back or on a chair where your feet can rest on the ground. Place your hands the way you find comfortable like on your lap or holding each other.

The reason for a straight back and comfortable posture is that when you sit in any other awkward position fatigue and cramps are a possibility and a straight back with a comfortable posture avoids that , lying down is comfortable but falling asleep is not what we are looking for. Silence is great but a small amount of noise is almost a given anywhere. It should not matter as long as its tolerable by you, also the light should be such that it should not trouble you when your eyes are closed, whatever works for you. Try and be still. Imagine a string going from the bottom of your back coming out at the top of your head. Imagine someone pulling on it. It should straighten your back and give the right position for your head. Stay still, keep your mouth closed and deliver all control to your mind.

Keep an alarm set on your watch or cell phone and set it for 10 minutes.

Procedure:

Once you are comfortably seated eyes closed, try and pay attention to your mind, see what is going on from a third person perspective. A human mind is referred to as a running mind. Thoughts keep running through. Your objective is to stop this running and settle down for a moment. There are many ways you can do it. Since it is your first time it is nearly impossible to keep your mind still for 10 minutes at a stretch after it has been running for a few decades nonstop. So try and concentrate on only one thing for now. It can be anything, the name or face or picture of your god, someone you love, or any object that pleases you like a flower, ice-cream cone, absolutely anything that calms you down. Be aware of what your mind is doing. Your aim is to simply look and not think.
Let the speed of your breathing be very natural, i.e. what you are accustomed to. No need to increase or decrease its speed for now.

After a few minutes you mind is bound to wander and start running. E.g. If you are looking at a ice cream cone you will remember when you last had it, you will remember with whom and where you had it, what you spoke of, made plans for doing something somewhere, like a party. Then you start thinking of the party, who you will run into, what you plan to wear....... And this will go on nonstop. STOP. Realize that your mind has started running. Its only natural and once again go back to concentrating on the ice- cream cone. This will happen many times. The aim is to look at your mind from a third person perspective and to try and keep it still and concentrating at only one thing.

Before you know it 10 minutes will have gone by. Do this once every day.

You have to realize when your mind starts running and then stop and go back to the start. Difficult at first but slowly you will get the hang of it. You will become more aware of your mind in your working day and understand how it works. Slowly as time goes by and you meditate every day, after a week, you will be more able to control your mind . As a month passes, you will more clearly see the effects this seemingly small exercise has on your daily life.

Above is a basic meditation exercise meant to show you that it actually works if you show a little effort. The gains are priceless and lifelong. I would recommend that you try and reap its benefits. Very few today even know that such a thing exists much less practice it. Not only will this make you mentally healthy, keep you away from unnecessary medications and drugs but it will slowly start to enrich your life in a positive manner as you will begin to reason with your mind before every decision you take.

I also hope that you will slowly move towards advanced meditation. It has changed me for good , hope it does the same for you.