I feel like I share more about my life in this column than I do on my personal blog. But the response I get here has always been so positive, curious and supportive that I can’t help but continue. So, I have a another confession to make: I’ve been practicing meditation since I was about 16. But, to be honest, meditating —even guided meditations — can be difficult. It can be so hard to tap into your mind and explore your world.

Five years later, I feel like I’ve finally progressed to a point that I am experiencing the benefits. In this column, I’m going to focus only on meditation, but I have been incorporating mindfulness techniques and exploring things like healing crystals, and natural, simple things. I’d love to cover that in another column (or a few) if readers are interested. (Please leave a comment and let me know.)

1. Meditation has been great for my anxiety. I’m still taking a daily medication for anxiety, but I’ve been using my emergency anxiety medication less and less, which is amazing. Also, meditating has helped me manage my anxiety in the real world, outside of the meditating space.
2. Meditation has connected me with my body like never before. This has been great to help me better understand my problem areas and then enabling me to better communicate these troubles to my physical therapist, for example.
3. Meditation is an excellent tool for pain management. When you meditate, you bring your attention to your breath and body. In many meditations you are directed to relax any, or every, muscle. When you meditate well, you can do just that and it helps you manage chronic pain better.
4. Trouble sleeping? Meditation is for you! This is my favorite night-time meditation. I do this every night. Try it!
5. Combat brain fog and get creative. A meditative space is a creative space. I found that meditating helped me think and see things more clearly. I chose Jason Stephenson to lead me through guided meditations. He can be found on YouTube and iTunes. He’s kind of everywhere.
6. Meditating will help you get to know yourself and help you manage cerebral palsy better.
7. Need an afternoon pick-me-up? There are meditations for that.
8. Meditating will help you deal with your emotions in a healthy way by giving you a space to channel them.
9. Learn to know what you need. There are specific meditations for so many things — stress, anxiety, grief, pain, happiness, etc. Trying many different meditations will help you find out what works best for you and with so many options, how can you resist getting started?
10. Smile more. Being calm and feeling like you’re in control more often leads to more smiles! 🙂

Please remember that this article is based only on my experience. Meditation is different for everyone. However, I do think that everyone should try it. It couldn’t hurt, right? 🙂

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If you meditate, leave a comment and let’s start a discussion. If you’d like to read more columns with this type of topic, let me know.

Note: Cerebral Palsy News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Cerebral Palsy News Today, or its parent company, BioNews Services, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to cerebral palsy.