Life can be continuously frantic and exhausting. But does it really have to be this way? It can feel somewhat like swimming upstream while tackling the relentless daily tasks. Whether you’re a student facing a never-ending pile of homework, or a parent juggling a hundred things at once – overload takes its toll on you. When there’s too much information sloshing about in your mind, your working memory begins to overflow. You feel stressed and powerless as your mind starts to periodically freeze. You become forgetful and simply worn out. Just like a computer that gets slower and slower as you open more windows.

Here’s what makes mindful meditation life-changing; you gain control of your life once again. You can learn to find a way to train the mind to steady simply by focusing on the breath. Why does it have to be the breath – and how’s that going to make everything right again? The breath is something we can’t live without – it’s life. Attending to it grounds you in the here and now. No matter how complicated or intense your life situation, you always have your breath as an anchor to steady the ship on your own.

A few minutes of daily practise puts you back in control. Finding a quiet spot and simply feeling the rise and fall of each breath, possibly with your hands on your belly to sense the motion, and bringing the mind back to the breath each time it wanders can be life changing if you do it regularly. There are literally hundreds of free apps and Youtube tutorials dedicated to helping you to learn. Research shows that regular meditators are able to fend off anxiety, depression and chronic pain and they also enjoy more fulfilling relationships. It boosts your immune system and given the current pandemic – that alone can’t be a bad thing!

Armour Academy