If you are among the millions who read Elizabeth Gilbert’s wildly popular book Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia or the millions more who saw the movie adaptation starring Julia Roberts, a discussion of meditation might conjure images of an Indian ashram in your mind. And, while others are talking about the benefits of meditating, you might be stuck on the memory of Gilbert’s struggle to master the practice of meditation taught at that ashram. How, you wonder, can you possibly tap into the benefits of meditation when Gilbert found it difficult to do so while at an ashram!
Many who haven’t read the book or seen the movie are also intimidated by the idea of meditating. They deny themselves the benefits of meditation because they can’t sit in a lotus position or can’t stop their thoughts from ricocheting around in their brains.
In other words, you haven’t allowed yourself to enjoy the benefits of meditation because it just looks too hard!
We have good news for you! Or rather, Emma M. Seppälä Ph.D., science director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism< Research and Education at Stanford University and co-director of the Yale College Emotional Intelligence Project at Yale University, offers good news in her article “20 Scientific Reasons to Start Meditating Today,” which appears on PsychologyToday.com. The need for any of the following, she says, is a myth:
- Having an empty mind—nope, in fact, when you start meditating, you’ll find its quite the opposite
- Sitting in lotus position—nope, you can sit on the couch (just don’t lie down, you’ll fall asleep)
- Sitting for an hour a day—nope, small doses work just fine, (see here and – by yours truly – here)
- Chanting in a language I don’t understand—nope, not unless that floats your boat
- Buddhist, Hindu or religious—nope, not unless you make it so
- Weird—what’s so weird about sitting and breathing? Besides, US congressmen, NFL football leagues and the US Marine Corps are doing it, how weird can it be?
At Spring Gardens Detox Center in Florida, we want to offer our guests any and every tool that can help them on the road to recovery. Meditation is one of several innovative therapies offered at our residential treatment facility to help you through the physical and emotional challenges of the detox process.
We understand that the concept of meditating is intimidating for many people. And we don’t want that to be the reason you deny yourself the many benefits that meditation offers. That’s why we offer guided meditation at our Florida drug detox center. With guided meditation, a qualified professional will lead you through each session, allowing you to experience the benefits of meditation without the intimidating challenges of going it alone.
And the benefits of meditation are definitely worth pursuing! Various studies have shown the practice can be helpful in a variety of way, including but not limited to:
- Reducing stress
- Relieving anxiety
- Easing depression and promoting a more positive outlook
- Increasing immune functions
- Decreasing pain
- Enhancing self-control
- Improving focus and attention
- Enhancing memory
According to Healthline.com, meditation may also help you battle your addiction! “Meditation develops mental discipline and willpower and can help you avoid triggers for unwanted impulses. This can help you recover from addiction, lose weight and redirect other unwanted habits,” the consumer health information site reports.
For more information about the powerful tools that Spring Gardens’ non-12-step rehab program will put at your disposal, please call day at (866) 244-9556 today. There’s a reason we’re known as an innovative leader among luxury treatment centers in Florida!
