what is meditation & mindfulness?

​​Meditation and Mindfulness are two different things but since they both involve calming the mind I am going to put them in one blog. They are both extremely difficult to master but once you get the hang of it, you will be glad you took time out to experience it. ​

​I will start with some information about Meditation.  It has been around for thousands of years and in Latin means 'to ponder'. Meditation first started as a religious practise and to help with Spiritual growth, but now it is also used for the purpose of relaxation, stress reduction and to improve self awareness and improvement. There is still this stigma attached to it that to practise Meditation you have to be a hippy and far out there, but this is really not the case.

​Meditation is difficult to practice due to the way we live our lives in the present day. Our lives are so full of stress, pressure and noise that we just don't know how to calm our minds. Technology has played a huge part in us not being able to still the mind and be in a state of peace, because we are never off it! We are constantly on our phones, watching TV, listening to music, playing games etc that our brain just doesn't get the time to stop!

​Right up until we go to sleep we are on our phones. Texting, updating Social Media, browsing the internet, watching videos and people don't realise how unhealthy it is. I am not saying that technology is the devil or anything like that because I use it every single day, but what I am saying is that we need to take time out every now and then to let ourselves just stop and breathe!

It is thanks to Meditation that I have been able to open up my Mediumship, Once I had mastered how to clear my mind, I was able to hear and sense things that I couldn't before.  I had taken myself back to basics, where there was no noise around and nothing taking up my thoughts. By calming the mind, I was able to let other things in and to be more aware. This wasn't my intention when I first started to Meditate, it just kind of happened. ​

I am not saying that by meditating you will open up all kinds of gifts you didn't know you had, but it will open up your mind to sense things and notice more of what is going on around you. By giving yourself time out from technology, noise and stress you are having the chance to let go of tension and reflect on what is important in life instead of the worries that are going around your head. ​

​Meditation is not about sitting cross legged on the floor like a Buddha (although a lot of people do find this helpful) it is about finding somewhere that is calm, free from noise and comfortable. At first it is extremely hard to stop thoughts coming into your head such as 'what am I going to make for tea?' did I lock the door? why did I say that today? but this is normal. It takes a lot of practice which is why I offer coaching so that you can do it with someone else who is already able to calm the mind and not judge you for wanting to learn how to Meditate. With me you do not need to worry about feeling or looking silly because I will be doing the exact same thing as you!

​So what about Mindfulness? Well it is extremely similar but whilst Meditation is the awareness of NOTHING, Mindfulness is the awareness of SOMETHING. Mindfulness can be done anywhere at anytime, it just means that you are living in the moment, in the here and now, not re living yesterday and not time travelling to tomorrow. It is about paying attention and noticing what is happening in the present rather than letting your thoughts run wild and lose concentration on what you are supposed to be doing

By practising Mindfulness you will be able to tune into your surroundings and notice things that you didn't before. You will start to appreciate life more and be thankful for the things and people around you. You will start to realise that yesterday and tomorrow don't matter because its the HERE and NOW that does. So here are the benefits of practising both Meditation and Mindfulness 

Clears the mind
Provides relaxation
Helps you to appreciate life more
Reduces anxiety and depression
Improves cognition
Lowers stress
Helps with Spiritual growth 
Helps you to sleep better
Puts things and life into perspective 
Relieves pain
Better breathing
Boosts energy
Controls anger
Balances the Chakras 
and soooooooo much more!!

Like all Holistic Therapies the benefits are endless. Meditation and Mindfulness at Bliss is a wonderful way to promote natural healing around the body and to relax the mind, body and soul together.

Unfortunately we may be unable to offer Meditation and Mindfulness Coaching to people who suffer severely with the following.. (please contact us though for more information as we still may be able to offer treatment) 

Schizophrenia
severe depression and anxiety
Psychosis 
severe personality disorder
heart problems
Epilepsy 
Angina
high blood pressure
severe PTSD

Bliss Holistic Healing xx