Meditation and yoga often go hand in hand.
In addition to ending one’s yoga session in a peaceful manner, meditation offers many mental and physical health benefits.
Stress Reduction:
While yoga itself can help to reduce and alleviate stress, meditation also serves as a method of reducing stress. It is quite common for the everyday troubles to return to one’s mind as soon as the yoga practice is over. The mind has not forgotten its stressors, it just places them on the back burner during the yoga session. Meditating after a yoga practice can help guide the mind to remain calm and less stressed.
Stress has a negative impact on the body and mind and over time it continues to accumulate. According to The Art of Living, meditation can help reduce or release stress already in the body while preventing some problems from causing stress in the future.(1) Likewise, meditation actively releases troubles and problems and can allow one to deal with problems mentally, making forward movement possible.
Attention Span Improvement:
Meditation allows the mind to focus and improve its capabilities. According to the Yoga Journal, practitioners of yoga and meditation have long felt that the purpose of meditation is cultivating focused attention rather than eliminating the thoughts from the mind.(2)
Meditation requires active thoughts and a focused attention on thoughts, making it possible to more easily resolve problems and eliminate certain concerns. Meditation helps one develop a physical sense of well-being, improve the mind’s ability to focus and ultimately develop a better attention span.
Develop Compassion:
Compassion is a mental state that develops through active thought and planning. Compassion embodies empathy and an ability to recognize the challenges that others face. Meditation can also help one hone their compassion by allowing one’s focus to shift from self to those who are less fortunate and recognizing that there are actions available to aid others.
Improve Creativity and Happiness:
In many cases, meditating after a yoga session helps to improve the creative functions of the brain and develop a sense of well-being, which can ultimately cause one to feel happy. According to The Art of Living, creativity and happiness often increase when meditation is a regular part of life.(1) Artistic talents can also improve over time and feelings of general happiness and contentment develop as the levels of stress and anxiety decrease.
Improved Energy:
After a yoga practice, the body may feel exhausted or tired. Meditation can help improve energy levels and result in feelings of invigoration. Meditating allows both the mind and body to relax and feel rested and renewed.
Meditating after a yoga session, when many stressors that cause personal concerns and/or mental anguish are in the back the mind and stress levels are lower, allows the mind to focus, connect to feelings of empathy and compassion for others, improve happiness and increase energy levels. Likewise, meditation is easy to do and the mental and physical health benefits will only increase with time and practice.
(1) http://www.artofliving.org/benefits-meditation
(2) http://www.yogajournal.com/health/2601
