Holistic Beauty from the Inside Out (7 page)

Here are some of the other amazing physical benefits of meditation:

• Meditation reduces free radicals in the body, which helps decrease cholesterol levels and promotes younger-looking, glowing skin.
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• Meditation slows down biological aging as it increases the levels of sex hormones in older people.
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• Meditation improves memory and hearing, often helping eliminate tinnitus (constant ringing in the ears)
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• Transcendental meditation and mindfulness-based stress reduction help normalize high blood pressure, studies in 2012 found.
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When it comes to skin health, meditation can act as a cheap, completely painless, and effective face-lifting procedure. When we breathe deeply, our skin receives more oxygen and nourishment. When we relax, the tension in facial muscles disappears so face contours appear smoother and firmer. At the same time, rich blood supply helps facial muscles tighten while better blood circulation brings a lovely natural glow to the skin.

Here are some simple meditation techniques, similar to those used in the scientific studies on health effects of meditations:

Clear Mind Meditation

1. Find a quiet and comfortable place indoors or outdoors.
   
2. Sit in a chair or on the floor keeping your head, neck, and back straight. Relax your hands and feet.
   
3. Focus on the present moment and put aside all worries, thoughts, or memories.
   
4. Pay attention to your breathing and notice how the air enters and leaves your body. Feel your belly rise and fall.
   
5. When worries occupy your mind, simply note that you feel worried but do not allow yourself to spend a second on these emotions. Just make a mental note about them and let them pass away with another breath. Do not judge and do not allow yourself to feel positive or negative. Remain neutral and just breathe.
   
6. As the time comes to a close, sit for a minute or two, becoming aware of where you are. Get up and continue your day or drift off to sleep, if you meditate in the evening.
   

For best results, meditate for five minutes twice a day and increase the time spent in peace and quiet

for up to one hour.

Walking Meditation

Walking meditation is a Buddhist practice traditionally involving walking down a flat surface that is about twenty-five paces in length (but you can practice this meditation on any surface of any size). The pace of each step is slightly slower than a normal walking pace. You should focus on the actual motion of walking, rather than on your feet. Concentrate your mind on the rise and fall of each foot. Vietnamese walking meditation practice suggests taking one step with each breath. This can be a very slow pace but a powerful way to focus inwards.

1. Before walking, stand for a moment and register how the body is feeling at this very moment.
   
2. Proceed by calmly and normally pacing out your path with eyes focused on the path five or six feet ahead.
   
3. Mentally note the complex process of walking—the lifting of the foot, the movement of the foot, the creasing of the sole, and the sound of your feet touching the surface.
   
4. When reaching the end of the path, focus on the action of turning around and then repeat this process.
   

You can adapt the walking meditation to any activity you perform daily—from walking up and down the stairs, walking to the bus or train station, or walking your dog. Don’t let your mind wander and focus on your body movements to free your mental space from worries and regrets.

Most important, don’t forget to eventually go back home!

Progressive Muscle Relaxation Technique

While not exactly a meditation technique, progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) has a lot in common with focused meditation because it helps reconnect body and mind. PMR focuses on body movements while keeping your mind clear from distractions. By alternately tensing and relaxing the muscles, this technique works to reducing anxiety.

1. To try this relaxation technique, lie down comfortably and loosen any tight clothing.
   
2. Starting at your ankles, tighten up the muscles for approximately ten seconds and then release for twenty seconds before continuing with the next muscle group.
   
3. Follow in this sequence: Toes—feet—ankles—thighs—pelvic muscles—abdominal muscles—chest—palms and fingers (clench them in a fist)—arms—shoulders—neck—facial muscles.
   
4. Keep your eyes closed and concentrate on the sensation of tension and relaxation. Enjoy the feeling of warmth and heaviness after tensing the muscles. For best results, PMR should be practiced at least once a day, ideally during bedtime, for twenty to thirty minutes.
   

Loving Kindness Meditation

This practice of generating a forgiving, kind attitude toward self and others is a specific meditation practice that can be used both to develop concentration and to fall back in love with your own body and mind. This meditation involves sitting in a quiet place and repeating the phrases below over and over for fifteen to twenty minutes once or twice daily.

1. Sit in a comfortable position, reasonably upright, and relaxed. Fully or partially close your eyes.
   
2. Take a few deep breaths to settle into your body and into the present moment.
   
3. Put your hand on your heart for a moment as a reminder to be kind and forgiving to yourself.
   
4. Form an image of yourself sitting down. Note your posture as if you were seeing yourself from the outside.
   
5. Now bring your attention inside your body. Feel the pulsation, the slight body movements as you breathe, and how calm and warm your body is. Pay attention to any tense areas, perhaps in your neck, jaw, belly, or forehead.
   
6. Also notice if you are holding any negative emotions, such as worries, regrets, anxiety, or fears of the future. Understand that every human body bears stress and worry throughout the day.
   
7. Locate your breathing where you can feel it most easily. Feel how your breath moves in your body.
   
8. Now offer yourself goodwill because of what you’re holding in your body right now. Say the following phrases to yourself, softly and gently:
   

   May I be safe.
   

   May I be peaceful.
   

   May I be kind to myself.
   

   May I accept myself as I am.
   

9. When you notice that your mind has wandered, return to the words or the experience of discomfort in your body or mind. Gently feel the movement of your breath once again. Go slow.
   
10. If you are ever overwhelmed with emotion, find a place for it in the physical body and soften that area. When you are comfortable, return to the phrases.
    
11. Finally, take a few breaths and just sit quietly in your own body. Know that you can return to the phrases anytime you wish.
    

Gently open your eyes.

When you have gotten the hang of this meditation, you may extend the loving kindness to others in your life, especially those toward whom you feel tension or anger. Imagine the person you are frustrated with and repeat the same phrases:
May he/she be safe, May he/she be peaceful
, and so on. This exercise in compassion will help to ease the tensions in your relationships, and fill you with greater understanding.

HOW TO F IT MEDITATION INTO DAILY L IFE

Meditation can sound daunting at first. Don’t let it intimidate you. After all, it is meant to calm you! Start with just five minutes before you drift off to sleep at night, or a simple walking meditation during your usual activities. Then, build up to a more purposeful meditation time every day, starting with just five minutes, and working up to twenty minutes, or half an hour.

Most often, as you finish your meditation, you get caught up in the same mental junk occupying your mind, with all the worries, anxieties, regrets, and expectations. That’s why I invite you to treat your meditation sessions not as a “mental spa detox,” but rather a part of your personal transformation process.

Take a cue from Buddhist monks and choose a sound that you hear at a regular interval, for example, a church bell, or a sound of an elevator. Take two deep breaths each time you hear this sound. You can also take two deep breaths before you answer a phone call, or open your e-mail.

Do not limit your meditations to your living room floor or your garden, if you are blessed with some peaceful outdoor space. You will be surprised to see many opportunities to meditate as your day goes on. Any repetitive task or a waiting time can be turned into a meditation. You can count your breaths while doing dishes, vacuuming, or sorting your laundry, for example. You can turn exercise into meditation by
focusing on your movements, steps, or breathing. Any chore that is automatic in nature will work—but don’t try meditation as you drive your car.

THE YOGA WAY TO BEAUTY

Wouldn’t you be excited to try a simple exercise routine that helps you lose weight, feel more in control, combat stress, and lift and tone your skin? Achieve it all with yoga. New research suggests that people who practice yoga regularly have lower levels of inflammation-causing compounds in their blood. These compounds, called cytokines, and particularly an inflammation-triggering, obesity promoting hormone leptin, can lead to heart disease, stroke, arthritis, and diabetes. Studies show that yoga practitioners are less likely than non-practitioners to use medication for metabolic syndrome, mood disorders, inflammation, and pain.
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Yoga is extremely helpful to reduce both anxiety and depression. Just two sessions of yoga every week can help you stay in control of your emotions and become more resilient not just to stresses of everyday life, but also to premature skin aging. Add just twenty to thirty minutes of light exercise a day to your yoga practice, and it will make a huge difference to break those anxious or moody cycles. Doing yoga outside is triply rewarding: you get a powerful oxygen boost that reaches every bit of your body; you feel grounded and more in control as you absorb calming nature’s imagery; and fresh air invigorates your metabolism, so you move one step closer to the lean, healthy-looking figure of your dreams.

The skin-rejuvenating effect is most profound in yoga inversion poses. Paul Smith recommends two inversions that are so gentle, almost anyone can do them.

Legs Up the Wall Pose:
To do Legs Up the Wall Pose (known among yogis as Viparita Karani), lie on the floor with the hips up against the wall and your legs stretched up the wall toward the ceiling. Keep the lower sacrum and tailbone against the floor. For a slightly greater inversion effect, you can put a pillow or folded blanket under the hips. Hold the position for five minutes. If the feet fall asleep, slide the feet down the wall toward the hips, with knees bent over abdomen.

Rabbit (Hare) Pose:
For Rabbit Pose (Sasangasana), begin in a child’s yoga position kneeling down and then lowering your buttocks to sit on your lower leg and feet. With your arms on the sides, lower your torso on your thighs, as you bring your head down on the floor.

Press your forehead slightly on your knees and extend your arms backward and hold onto the base of your feet. Give your heels a firm hold and then take a deep breath. Roll onto the top of the head, lifting the elbows. The top of the head is on the floor, but more of the body weight is supported by the hands. Hold for twelve slow breaths. At the end of this book, I will suggest several excellent books on yoga that explain this and many other poses in great detail.

If you have a spare minute while sitting at your desk, or watching a movie, you can also try these facial muscle rejuvenating yoga exercises, developed by Paul Smith for this book: