Can Meditation Help Weight Loss?

Meditation is an extremely powerful tool for self-empowerment. When meditation is practiced correctly, it has been known to be the key to ultimate relaxation, reduced stress, and greater mental focus. Meditating can create new realities, when it is practiced to strengthen inner fortitude, establish better control of the mind, and suppress urges of the body. Yogic meditation techniques can also be used to promote weight loss by allowing the practitioner to reach buried emotions, which are often the cause of over eating. In turn, discovering the source of the cause can help one to focus on the goal of losing weight, without being side tracked by hidden "baggage."

In order to improve the body, one must start with improving the mind. The reason people overeat is due to factors lying in the brain, such as low self-esteem, or using food as a way to cope with stress, loss, boredom, or depression. Each of us needs better control of the mind, and emotions, in order to maintain healthier eating habits. However, when a person spends a long time trying to lose weight, this can lead the person to associate eating anything with negative feelings. This is not ideal either. Food should be viewed as a way to nourish and take care of the body. Meditation can help solve these problems by teaching a person to take better control of eating without guilty feelings.

To seize this power of meditation, it is best to begin each day with a meditation session on an empty stomach. Find a comfortable position and concentrate on breathing deeply, disregarding any negative thoughts that come into your head. Utilize a positive image to focus on new habits that will result in gradual weight reduction. Instilling the craving for a Yoga asana practice, a walk, or an exercise session, stimulates the mind to look forward to physical activity. The power of visualization has many facets. You could picture yourself eating better, eating smaller portions, feeling gratified before being completely full. You can also see yourself as being healthier, exercising better, being more confident, or feeling good about your self-image. Try to keep this vision in your mind, throughout the day, and each choice you make should revolve around this vision.

You can also practice mediation throughout the day to help lose weight. Before eating, take a few slow, deep breaths to clear your mind and focus on ridding your mind of any negative emotions that may be causing you to overeat. Be more aware of your meal as you eat. Chew each bite slowly,while concentrating on the taste, smell, appearance, and texture.

Meditation alone cannot procure major weight loss, but it can be practiced as a powerful tool on the path of a healthier lifestyle. Dedicate yourself to practicing meditation, and then incorporate other healthy activities into your life. Before you know it, gradual changes will take form in a healthier reality.