Hi Team! If you haven't met me, my name is Bladen, and I’m one of the summer interns at AXIS. In a world that feels like everyday is a curveball, it’s so important to have self care practices that help us stay physically and mentally healthy. Meditation is a great practice to add to your AXIS fitness regime for optimal physical and mental health, or as I like to call it...wellness. Meditation has a plethora of benefits and can be a great daily practice, especially during times of uncertainty, (aka all of 2020!), as well as a great tool to add to your health “toolkit” to reach optimal well being! Some of the main benefits of meditation (and my favorite reasons to meditate) are… Reduce stress. The stress hormone, cortisol, is released in abundance when our bodies or minds are under distress, which triggers an inflammatory response all throughout our bodies. Meditation can reduce cortisol levels, thus reducing inflammation throughout our bodies and curbing some of the side effects of inflammation in both the brain and the body. Reduces pain. A recent study conducted with MRI imaging showed that the brains of people experiencing similar injuries reported vastly different pain levels depending on whether or not they engaged in a short meditation. The chemical and neurological makeup of the brains on the scans showed positive improvements after meditation was practices, resulting in reporting lower pain levels. Improves sleep. People who regularly participate in a meditation practice have been shown to not only fall asleep faster, but stay asleep longer, and enter the REM cycle (deep sleep when our bodies rest and recover) more quickly. Can reduce age related memory loss. A review of 12 studies found that multiple meditation styles increased attention, memory and mental quickness in older volunteers. Practicing meditation, a form of mindfulness, can help us to both grow and retain more mental acuity. Can generate kindness. In this crazy world we call home, there can never be enough kindness! Certain meditation practices can increase positive feelings both inward (towards yourself) and outwards (towards others). Multiple studies have shown that meditation has led to increases in compassion towards both the self and others, and who doesn't want that! At the very least, meditating gives us a chance to “tune IN to tune out”. So if you would like to join me for some self love, some breathing, and some stillness, join AXIS for our self love guided meditation practice, coming up as one of our 10 year virtual anniversary events, I promise you won’t regret it! More details on how you can attend in our weekly Newsletter, or email info@AxisTrainingStudio.com for more information! Know someone that needs AXIS in their life? Have them text us at 352-872-5373 to try our limited time specials running for our 10 year anniversary! Spots are limited, so reserve yours today!