Prayer and meditation: learn how these practices can change your life

Changing routine is difficult, but not impossible – even more so when there is a good reason for it. And do you want a better reason to shake up your routine than to increase your own well-being? The benefits of body and mind practices are increasingly proven by studies by doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists and neuroscientists. The amazing thing is that a few minutes of practice a day are enough – in the case of a prayer, one to three minutes is enough. See how to transform your life by investing little time in this practice and prolong the feeling of well-being when you can dedicate yourself for longer.

6 reasons for you to meditate and pray every day

1. Avoid stress
There is nothing better than mindfulness meditation, which helps to develop concentration, to live in the present moment, reducing anxiety and deepening understanding.

The effect: In this method, it is essential to remove any thoughts that distract from your own breathing. You need to focus on inhaling and exhaling. Practice improves emotional stability and helps focus.

2. Be willing
Pray the rosary or recite mantras mentally and experience positive changes in your body. The slow and continuous repetition of a word (or phrase) reduces the respiratory rate to less than half, synchronizing it with the heart rate and blood circulation, regulating blood pressure.

The effect: your body’s biological rhythms harmonize, guiding and reinforcing each other. Thus, you acquire greater stress tolerance and pacify the soul.

3. Learn better
Meditate. This practice makes the areas of the brain linked to attention and memory interact in constant flux, avoiding dispersion.

The effect: it provides mental clarity and the ability to learn increases. Another advantage of meditation is that it diverts activity from areas of the brain related to hyperactivity and attention deficit.

4. Ensuring health and longevity
Prayer is a great ally. Thousands of studies demonstrate the link between faith and health benefits, both in preventing and managing illness.

The effect: there are numerous medical reports about the ability of people who have faith to recover more quickly, including from diseases such as cancer. Studies also prove the effectiveness of prayer to reduce high blood pressure and depression in the elderly, thus postponing the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

5. Relieve tension
Count on faith and prayer. Studies prove that religious beliefs give more hope and renew love for others. Religion also invites to social life, with prayer groups.

The effect: people who are religious meet in temples, churches and create friendship bonds much more easily. They feel they have someone to count on, which reduces anxiety and makes them happier.

6. Improve self-esteem
Talk to God. Stay a few minutes in silence and express what you are feeling in a kind of prayer, as if you were venting to someone who will never judge you.

The effect: According to scientific studies, talking about your struggles with a “higher power” such as the divine helps you to understand your emotions more quickly and to see yourself in a more positive light, accepting yourself as you are.