MY STORY
After realising that no one was going to pay me for reading novels whilst dipping Crunchie bars into cups of tea, I decided to qualify as a solicitor. I worked my way up; hitting targets, achieving partnership and cross-qualifying as a barrister. I was thriving. Until I wasn’t.
I started to experience headaches, insomnia and serious problems with my vision. I couldn’t do all the things that I loved and it baffled me because I considered myself to be healthy, I just worked a lot. After numerous medical investigations the doctors told me that my symptoms were due to stress. This was not the diagnosis I was expecting. I was hoping for a magic pill!
Looking for something to make life ‘normal’ again I tried anything that might alleviate the symptoms. One night I found myself in a mindfulness drop-in session, not my usual kind of haunt, and I was sceptical of the effectiveness, but at least I could fall asleep during the meditation at the end. After months of extra-large font on my kindle I started to notice a change in how I was feeling.
Meditation did not come easily to me but I stuck with it and it began to feel like ‘home’. It gave me a real release and changed so many aspects of my life, enabling me to reclaim some control and even start to enjoy simple pleasures again. I regained normal vision and my sleep improved dramatically. Phew! Now I could literally see clearly again I decided to take the plunge and qualified as an accredited meditation teacher alongside my job in law.
I am not a woo-woo type of person. I like facts and figures and hard evidence; I am a lawyer after all! So here are a few facts about meditation that I was surprised to learn…..
Meditation is a highly effective form of brain training with real results which have been physically and scientifically measured.
It calms anxiety because of the reduction of cells in the amygdala, the part of the brain that is responsible for fear, anxiety and stress. It quietens a ‘monkey mind’ because it reduces activity in the default mode network (DMN), and it improves learning and memory function because of the thickening to the hippocampus.
The benefits of meditation are powerful and transformative and simply too good to ignore. Through mindful meditation we can learn to regulate our emotions and lessen feelings of worry and fear. This in turn allows us to experience a greater sense of calm, better decision making and an appreciation of the here and now. Meditation helps with creating clarity and focus in our lives, as illustrated by leading athletes who use mediation to improve their performance.
I would love to help you to feel the benefits of meditation; a healthier and happier life.