The Power of Meditation: How Meditation Retreat Helped Me Find Balance in Life

Author: ​Jane Bolto
​With a background in Marketing, Jane Bolto currently works as a Content Specialist at Nybizdb.com. Always willing to share her passion for new marketing strategies.

​Finding balance in life is incredibly important. One of the secrets to finding happiness is capturing that balance, so that everything in life is steady and even. You should never be too stressed, too worried, too angry, too hurt. These things need to be addressed before you can find happiness. Here’s how a meditation retreat helped me to find that balance, and to understand how it makes a real difference to life.

Physical Balancing:
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The first thing that I learned was that physical balance is an important foundation. When you sit in your meditation pose, you should always find a comfortable balance. You should sit neither hunched forward, nor leaning back. You should not tilt to one side or the other. When you take your seat, gently rock your body around until you find that exact middle point. You will feel the tension flowing out of your body as you find your centre. If you cannot get your physical balance right, it is very difficult to let go of physical concerns and detach your mind. If you can’t do that, then mental balance is nearly impossible.

Emotional Balancing:
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​Once I had my posture balanced, I needed to think about my emotions. When your emotions are running high, it’s difficult to concentrate. Like all things, emotions should be approached in moderation. Suffering and happiness do not come from others, they come from within yourself. Therefore, you should not attach too much importance to emotional connections. Settle your mind with the forgiveness of others. Make a prayer or wish that everyone may be free from suffering, may have happiness, may treat one another equally, and may find enlightenment. With this thought in your mind, you can erase emotions like hate, anger, jealousy, and so forth. Holding on to a grudge will unbalance your emotions very quickly.

Mental Balancing:
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Now, with our emotions relaxed and balanced, we were able to learn about balancing our minds. Mindfulness will help you to achieve this balance. Be aware of how you are feeling. Are you sleepy? Then you should make an effort to wake yourself up and stay alert. Are you feeling excited? Then make an effort to calm down and become relaxed. You should be able to achieve a perfect mental balance over time. This is when you are relaxed without being sleepy, and alert without being tense. You are aware of things around you, but you do not allow them to interrupt your balance. Achieving this balance may take a lot of effort, and at first you may not be able to hold it for a long time. The aim of meditation is to let go of everything else, until you are in that perfect state.

Life balancing:
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Finally, it was time to think about how this applies to everyday life. Even when not meditating, it is possible to apply these principles to find balance. Letting go of grudges and moving with the flow will help hugely in this regard. You can also bring more balance into your life with mental awareness. If you realise that you are often tired, you should cut down on activities or increase your sleep. If you are often too tense, find activities to help you relax. A balanced life is a far happier one than an unbalanced life.

Conclusion
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With all of this learning at the meditation retreat, I had a lot to think about back home. But with the power of meditation, I was able to find that balance in life, and to maintain it.