• Home
  • What’s On
  • Press
  • Podcast
  • About
  • Donate
Dementia Cafe

Friends of the Humane League,
The Dementia Cafe proudly supports The Humane League's work helping farm animals and promoting a vegan diet.
The Medicine of Meditation
Dementia, Dementia awareness 0

The Medicine of Meditation

By Emily-Jane Stapley @cafe_dementia · On October 3, 2017

We’ve long ago talked about yoga and the powers of calming the mind, so here we are talking: meditation. If this sentence alone has you feeling -bla- (judgemental) then this article is for you. If you think meditation is something yogi millennials do on yoga mats in Shoreditch or something that only Buddhist monks practise across the globe, humming into the wilderness, a far cry from London… then you’re wrong. Allow this article to open your mind to the health benefits of taking time out for free thought to be kind to yourself and quite possibly, drastically improve your wellbeing.

Resting the mind is so important, especially since stress is linked to the cause of dementia and so many other ills of the body.
Here’s a scan depicting the brain before and after meditation:
The Medicine of Meditation
If you don’t meditate then when do you really relax? Perhaps only when you sleep.

Not sold on the idea? Here’s an article by Forbes on 6 Scientifically Proven Benefits Of Mindfulness And Meditation.

What we so often hear from people is that they have no time to devote to feeling better and happier. We think this is sad but also … (dare we call anyone out on it) -not true! We’re all busy, so that’s everyone – what we have to do is find the time. It’s all about priorities right? If you want something, you’ll go after it. I think you have to invest in committing to feeling good and take the time to do the things that will make you feel happier and healthier. Some may think meditation is boring. If any of these sound like you but you’re still reading this article and you’re still interested in how you too can reduce stress and feel better then my suggestion would be: bath time. We all bath/shower at least once a day. This is your opportunity to replenish the self.

The Medicine of Meditation

Select a relaxing song (we know music is therapeutic because we’ve talked about it here, here and here); take a bath (or shower) and enjoy listening to something like this for just 10 minutes a day, if that’s all you have. What may be helpful is to take three deep breaths and let the breath go. I find I hold my breath quite a lot throughout the day. Breathing in until you can’t take in any more air (slowly) and then letting that breath out through the mouth is a yoga technique from my practise but anyone can do it and you will feel better afterwards. Upside: if you’re having 10 minutes relax to yourself in the bath, who’s to judge you with your loud sighing sounds anyway?! I find this technique great to use throughout the day if you are feeling tight chested, uptight or stressed about anything. Breathe in deeply and slowly and just let go by breathing out in one go. It’s recommended you close your eyes when meditating. I find I can slip into a starring trance and I don’t need to shut down the eyes, but we’re all different. Do what works for you.

Here are some tips on how to meditate if you’re wanting a ‘go-to guide’.
We all have to get ready for our day, so let’s get ready in peace, not at pace. No time in the morning? How about the evening for 10 minutes before bed? We’re certain you’ll feel calmer and more content. If thoughts wander, let them. You can observe them and not be invested in those thoughts.
This video has some particularly nice visuals to accompany it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

#meditationCalmDe-StressDementiaDementiaCafeENDALZMeditate to prevent dementiaRelaxThe Dementia CafeVegan
Share Tweet
mm

Emily-Jane Stapley

You Might Also Like

  • Bath Toys & Dementia Dementia

    Bath Toys & Dementia

  • Cutlery & Dementia Dementia

    Cutlery & Dementia

  • Dehydration & Dementia: Smoothies & Puréed Drinks Dementia

    Dehydration & Dementia: Smoothies & Puréed Drinks

No Comments

Leave a reply Cancel reply

…
Follow @cafe_dementia
Follow on Instagram
Follow dementiacafe

Calendar

March 2021
M T W T F S S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031  
« Feb    

Archvies

  • February 2019
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • Home
  • What’s On
  • Press
  • Podcast
  • About
  • Donate

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

Dementia Cafe
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

You can adjust all of your cookie settings by navigating the tabs on the left hand side.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

3rd Party Cookies

This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.

Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!