Meditation practice is essential regardless of age, occupation, career, or anything else. Your daily life may have numerous meetings, conversations, or countless issues. As a result, it can help to escape the stress you receive from various sources when you set aside a few minutes a day for yourself and your inner peace.
Meditation may help you manage stress and avoid burnout. Even though students have very tight schedules, regular practice will not take up much time. Therefore, this post offers a student’s guide to meditation for college.
Getting Started with Meditation in College
Meditation in college can be challenging because of crowded dorms and busy schedules. It is impossible to completely clear your mind of thoughts, plans, memories, and stressors. Imagine a monkey swinging from one branch to another, never resting. It is what Buddhists call the “monkey mind.”—this describes the human brain. You can calm the monkey by going to a different place. Peace is more important than perfect silence.
Consider noise-canceling headphones if your family or roommates make it impossible to have quiet. There might also be a meditation room in a college, or you might discover a quiet library study room or an unoccupied conference room. Your wellness center or an interfaith group may offer meditation groups on your campus. It is also possible to deepen your meditation practice by meditating in nature. But how would you meditate in college?
Sit before you begin comfortably. The most common posture for meditators is to sit cross-legged or in a chair, although they can sit lying down, stand, or walk. Make sure your head rests on your spine when practicing sitting meditation. Decide how long you will meditate each day. Starting with five to ten-minute intervals may be enough, but 15 minutes is ideal. Start your practice by committing to it. While meditating, set your intention to remain physically still and gently observe any tension in your body.
Benefits of meditation For College Students
Meditation may provide the following benefits to students:
Helps Ease Your Stress
Many factors contribute to college students being under constant stress. They commonly worry about grades, tests, and professor-student relationships, completely immersing themselves in the educational process.
Therefore, it would help if students practice meditation daily since they need to think about their inner feelings and emotions during these several minutes away from struggles. Throughout the educational process, they will learn more about themselves and how to cope with stress.
Improves Sleep Quality
Sleep quality directly affects your academic performance, mood, and behavior. Your body and mind’s mental and physical health depend on eight uninterrupted hours of sleep at night.
Meditation can aid you in falling asleep quickly or if your roommate is very noisy at night. The music can be calming or have a voice-over to help you sleep well all night.
Enhances Self-Awareness and Confidence
No matter what your classmates or roommates like and prefer, it would be best to define your life preferences, which can also be variable. Meditations help focus on your personality and your inner thoughts and emotions.
Being the person you have always dreamt of is never-ending hard work, and you need to keep learning, expanding your outlook and knowledge, and sharpening your skills to become the person you see yourself in the future.
Allows You to Focus on Education
Regular meditation helps you identify the proper focus at any given time. It frees your mind from anxiety and stress so you can concentrate more on your studies. Thus, if you’re studying for a Biology test to increase your knowledge, you’ll gain more. Rather than worrying about your goals and classmates, it is a great time to focus on what is essential.
With distractions removed from your mind, you can concentrate on growing your knowledge and personality and use them for your future career and personal life. The principles and values you choose will probably stay with you forever.
Types of Meditation Practices
Meditation aims to bring awareness to the present moment. Despite its simplicity, the monkey mind is potent, constantly swinging you back and forth between the past and the future. Finding a meditation technique that works for you can be tricky, but there are a few you can try:
Breath Awareness
Meditators focus on their breath simply because it grounds them in their bodies. Staying connected to the present moment requires waiting for your breath when inhaling and exhaling. Keep your breath curious rather than controlling it.
Feel the air passing through you as it hits your nose, fills your lungs, and leaves. The breath connects your life to your consciousness and unites your body and mind. It is a powerful tool for taking control of your mind when it becomes scattered.
Body Scan
Begin with your head. Make a note of all sensations, including tightness and resistance. Is there any way you can relax in this area? Then rest your forehead by focusing on feelings and tightness.
Slowly work your way down your body of eyes, cheeks, jaws, necks, shoulders, arms, chests, abdomens, fingers, and toes. Similarly to breath meditation, this practice helps you ground yourself in the present moment and clear your body of past stress.
Guided Meditation
If you have difficulty focusing, try a guided meditation. Many apps offer guided meditations to help you sleep, focus, be happier, feel more confident, and relax. A few have background music and sounds, while others do not. Several of these require you to repeat words, while others require you to listen silently.
Try different guided meditation types to find one that fits your personality and needs. Don’t be hard on yourself, and feel comfortable starting over, no matter your chosen method. Your mind will inevitably wander. That’s the way it goes.
Conclusion
With everything considered, regular meditation can benefit mental health, especially for college students with high-stress levels. Getting started doesn’t have to be difficult, as you can meditate for a few minutes every morning or evening and see the first positive results and effects on your mental health.
