Self-care and self-love is all over the internet these days, and there are all sorts of routines that we can try such as affirmations and pampering ourselves with massages and baths etc…but I find some of these – for me at least, a lit Itle bit superficial, in the sense that I don’t really get any significant, long-reaching benefits from them.

The one thing I have done, and do regularly, that I believe is a profound act of self-care, is have a daily meditation practice, and I want to share 3 reasons why I consider this a really powerful practice.

1)      Meditation Leads To Self-Awareness

Self-care is really about 2 things – noticing and attending to our own needs and being kind to ourselves, and I find that mindfulness meditation naturally allows us to do both. In mindfulness meditation we take the time to stop and pay attention to ourselves, we notice our thoughts, our moods, our energy levels and how our bodies are feeling, so we are able to get a lot of insight and awareness into how we might be tracking in that moment. So often when we are rushing through our day we are completely unaware of how we may be feeling, so the self-awareness cultivated in meditation enables us to truly listen to the messages of our bodies and to understand our own needs.

2)      Meditation Reduces Stress, Fear & Worry

Stress, fear and worry – as well as anxiety and depression – are some of the biggest mental health issues around that we have all experienced to some degree to another and meditation has been scientifically proven in many studies to help us cope with them. In fact, meditation can actually rewire your brain to make you a calmer, happier, more positive person. Every time you sit down to meditate you are training your brain to become more resilient to stress and to relax more easily.

3)      Meditation Will Help You To Deal With Your Inner Critic

Perhaps one of the worst ways we can be unloving with ourselves is through harsh internal criticism, judgement and self-talk. The trouble is, if we have been doing this to ourselves for many years, our unloving habits can become deeply ingrained – sometimes to the point that we are barely aware that we are even doing it! Regular meditation helps you to become more self-aware by developing your “witness consciousness”, that part of your mind that is able to detach from your regular stream of thinking and observe it clearly. This awareness is the first step towards changing it – after all, we can’t change what we can’t see. You then have the ability to choose more loving thoughts and words and improve your self esteem and peace of mind.

Also, the type of attention we cultivate in mindfulness is very warm and compassionate, so we are effectively practicing self-compassion whenever we practice mindfulness meditation and this starts to lessen our self-criticism and self-judgment in our daily lives more.

On that note, enrollment for my signature online program “The Calmer Mind Course” is opening up again soon – it’s a step-by-step system to reduce stress, anxiety & depression in 8 weeks or less! Jump on the wait-list to be notified when enrollment opens again here.