Good news: Fitness doesn’t always have to correlate with daily gym dates and lots of sweat. Simply sitting in meditation can boost your overall health, too.
In Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (played by Julia Roberts) learns to meditate and in turn, turns her life around. Quieting her mind helps her overcome depression, define her priorities and make a commitment to herself. Pretty heady stuff, but according to Mallika Chopra, daughter of Deepak Chopra and the creator of intent.com and a new series of meditation videos for ExerciseTV, meditating is something anyone can do. “Even five minutes of focusing on your breath (one form of meditation) can help you feel more balanced,” Chopra says.
The benefits of meditation are numerous. “Studies have shown that consistent meditation produces real physiological affects,” Chopra says. “During meditation, your heart rate slows, blood pressure decreases, blood flow to the brain increases, your immune system gets stimulated, and there are changes in hormone levels. Those same hormones can act as ‘antidepressants’ to help quiet your mind, reduce anxiety and generally make you feel happier.”
Are you sold, yet? Here’s a simple, five-step meditation exercise from Chopra, to help start you on your way to perfect and perfectly balanced health. (MORE)
Source: MSN Health and Fitness
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