Sunday, April 12, 2015

Meditation Lowers Cortisol in 20 Minutes A Day

By Jennifer Elizabeth Masters

Cortisol is a stress hormone. When we have high levels of cortisol in our bloodstream out natural healing mechanisms in
Belly fat - sign you have too much cortisol 
our body can't work. In just 20 minutes a day, you can reduce cortisol levels and allow your body to self heal. 


9 Signs You Have Way Too Much Cortisol

  1. You can't sleep through the night.
  2. Even when you do sleep you wake up tired.
  3. You crave unhealthy foods. While doing my taxes, I indulged in chocolate covered cookies and chocolate covered almonds. Although I loved those foods, I know that they cause acidity in my body and aren't good for me. Doing activities that stress us out cause us to turn to things that we know aren't good for us.
  4. Your sex drive resides in the toilet. Yup, not wanting sex is a sign your cortisol levels are too high.
  5. You get sick easily. Colds, flu, etc wave in the wind and you get them.
  6. You have gotten a beer gut and you don't even drink the stuff! Putting on weight around your stomach is a sure sign your cortisol levels are too high. When you have fat around your abdomen, that is also a sure sign of fat around your internal organs as well. Fat around your heart also means fat in your bloodstream, clogged arteries are on their way! 
  7. You feel anxious.
  8. You feel blue, sad or depressed.
  9. Your gut acts up. This could mean constipation, bloating, diarrhea. Taking probiotics have little to no effect.
Adrenal Fatigue

When our cortisol levels are high for long periods of time, our adrenals are pushed. With high levels of stress, our adrenals dump cortisol into the bloodstream. Pushing our adrenals causes adrenal fatigue. No matter how much sleep we get, we still feel exhausted.

congruent brain waves - slow, round
When we have high levels of cortisol in our bloodstream we feel a sense of doom and gloom. Everything begins to look bleak because our serotonin production is minimized. Serotonin is one of our feel good hormones which help us feel happy, blissful and sleep well at night.

How Meditation Works

With reduced levels of cortisol your body works the way it should. With only 20 minutes of meditation a day, our bodies relax, slow down and feel safe. Our brain waves slow, becoming congruent, rounder and softer. With congruent brain waves, acidity in our body is reduced, serotonin is produced and stress hormones are curbed.

Quieting The Mind

Meditation is one of the things I thought I could never do because of mind chatter. What I found through years of practice is that most of us meditate from our brains. We need to be in our hearts to really quiet the mind chatter. Here are three different ways to quiet the mind and get into your heart so you can spend 20 minutes in peace, tranquility and harmony with ease.

1. Practise The Heart Connection

Place your dominant hand on the flat space above your breast/chest touching your collar bones. When you dip your chin, it will come into contact with your hand to let you know it is in the correct placement. Breathe into your hand slowly, 5 times. Exhale slowly and completely each time. This will help you connect to your heart. Your heart has it's own intelligence. 

2. Count

Sitting in meditation in either a chair or on a pillow, count in your head to ten, slowly. Once you get to ten, count backwards to one. Begin to meditate from here. The counting gives your mind something to do and will calm the thoughts.

3. Eyes To Ceiling

This exercise works great but certainly stretches your eye muscles. Which actually can help to improve eyesight. Keeping your head level and straight, turn your eyeballs upwards towards the ceiling. Do not lift your chin or head. Only turn your eyeballs up towards the ceiling. Sit with your eyes lifted looking at the ceiling for five minutes. Begin to meditate from here. Close your eyes and turn your eyes under your closed lids towards your hairline. This will continue to keep your mind quiet.

Meditate

Sitting with your back straight in a chair or propped up in your bed, begin to follow your breath. Breathing out slowly, just watch as your breath goes out and comes in. With your eyes closed and a slight smile on your lips, begin to notice where your shoulders are. Relax them. Breathe in and relax your shoulders a little more. You will be surprised at how much stress you hold in your shoulders and neck. With each breath let go a little more. Begin with 10 minutes of sitting still and just breathing slowly. 

With time you can add more time. I personally meditate with a mantra. I use the following mantras deciding which one to use as I begin to slow my breath.

Mantras

I am the light of The Divine inside me.

This mantra helps you recognize your own inner Divinity. Each of us is and holds a piece of The Divine within us. Which makes us Divine beings of light. This is a beautiful meditation which helps your come into contact with your own Divinity. 

Om mane padme hom

This mantra means no more suffering. Great mantra, simple and easy to use.

Gayatri Mantra

Om , bhurbhuvaha svha
Tat savitur varenyanium
Bhargo devasyvya dimahi
Dhiyo yonah prachodayat


This one is my personal favorite. It has been used in India for thousands of years. It is said to lead to enlightenment and cleanse the soul. Certainly a beautiful mantra. You can follow Deva Premal below. I do this mantra 108 times or more. It will certainly bring you into a beautiful place of inner peace and harmony. 

Sex and Meditation

Meditating can shift your mood faster than anything I know. Meditating before sex can allow two people to connect more deeply and profoundly than they have ever before. Each of your personal Divine selves shows up instead of the ego self. It is a beautiful place to begin making love.



My purpose is to bring you the latest information to assist you and your partner have the best experience you can, while deepening your connection and the intimacy between you. 

The best sex is when love and a powerful connection are present. Moving sex into the realm of sacred is my mission. If you enjoyed the article, please share it with your friends. 

Jennifer Elizabeth Masters is a love and passion coach, healer and author. She helps women heal trauma and past events, so that they can attract loving supportive relationships where unconditional love and acceptance is the underlying foundation. She also helps women and men with PTSD and addictions. You can contact her here for your personal discovery session for free. Spend 30 or 40 minutes with Jennifer to discuss what your intention is, what you are looking to achieve or heal.