Superstar Salma Hayek Reveals The Meditation She Practices To Maintain A Healthy Mind

Banner image Source: Instagram

We all know how sedentary the lockdown life can be. In the past few months, coronavirus has changed all of our lives drastically and this is very much true when it comes to following our regular workout routines. Many have started working out at home to stay fit and healthy. If you think celebrities are spared from this, you would be mistaken. Salma Hayek, the woman behind Frida, Puss In Boots, and many more Hollywood blockbusters, let her Instagram followers in on a little secret. Salma is a huge proponent of yoga and holistic meditation practices. She is also a huge fan of the Indian culture and loves to share that with her followers. So let’s see how meditation benefits not just the mind and the body, but the soul as well:

Goddess

The actress shared a picture of the Hindu goddess, Lakshmi on her Instagram feed and captioned it with “When I want to connect with my inner beauty, I start my meditation focusing on the goddess Lakshmi, who in Hinduism represents wealth, fortune, love, beauty, Māyā (literally meaning “illusion” or “magic”), joy and prosperity. Somehow her image makes me feel joyful, and joy is the greatest door for your inner beauty.” Many of her Indian followers reacted positively to her post and thanked her for her keen interest in the religion. The post even attracted Bollywood celebrities like Bipasha Basu, who left comments as well. Many people in the comments brought up how Hinduism is about Sanata Dharma and the only religion that gives female Gods the same respect as male Gods.

Yogatastic

Salma has earlier shared a really awesome picture of her performing a famous yoga pose, ‘the bow’ on a table. She showed off her gorgeous curves in a little black dress and heels and joked about “losing it” after three weeks of being quarantined. This pose involves someone lying on a flat surface and then grabbing their ankles while stretching outwards. It is commonly done to attain and maintain flexibility, and Salma got the pose down to a tee.

Although the post was just for fun, Salma used this to further the benefits of yoga and joked about performing yoga in stilettos. She often attributes her enviable and ageless beauty and incredible figure to yoga and meditation. Although the actress definitely does indulge in more hardcore workouts as she prepares for film or ad shoots, she’s always been vocal about the various benefits and advantages of practicing yoga and mindful meditation. So let’s take a look at some of the proven health benefits of yoga and meditation!

Benefits Of Meditation

One of the biggest reasons why people switch to meditating and yoga is that it helps with the reduction of stress. The hormone cortisol causes both mental and physical stress, and when you’re anxious, your body goes into overdrive by producing this hormone. The effects of cortisol can disrupt your sleep cycle and cause fatigue and anxiety. This can also cause your blood pressure to increase and lead to cloudy judgment. Meditation can also help improve symptoms of stress-related conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder and irritable bowel syndrome (1).

Meditation can also help with increasing self-awareness. Some forms of meditation help you develop a much more robust understanding of yourself and help you grow stronger and more confident with yourself. Meditation can also have a positive impact on your attention span and help you focus better. It can help increase the endurance and strength of your attention span. Meditation can also help keep your mind feeling and looking young. In addition to fighting off any signs of memory loss, meditation also helps reduce the stress of those who are coping with a family member who may be suffering from dementia or Alzheimers (2).

Meditation can also help you develop a healthy relationship with your body and fight off any addictions that you may be facing. Whether it is an addiction to eating food or an addiction to nicotine or alcohol, meditation can teach you to have a sense of discipline and self-control. It can help reduce emotional and binge eating tendencies as well and help people come to terms with their conditions (3).

Improves Sleep

It is challenging to calculate the exact percentage of people who suffer from some form of Insomnia. Still, most estimates suggest that anywhere between 30 to 50% of the world population suffers from a disrupted sleeping pattern. Now, with the added stress and disruption of our body clocks during the coronavirus pandemic, people are even more likely to develop sleeping disorders. In many parts of the world, it is difficult to get your hands on sleeping pills as they can also be used for self-harm (4).

Meditation can help those who have anxiety-related insomnia by helping them unwind before they hit the sack. It can help control or re-direct “runaway thoughts” that may be leading to insomnia. Many people who are strong proponents for meditation believe that it can even help them sleep better at night and might even help them sleep for longer durations than they usually do. It can also help your body release any stress, tension, or anxious thoughts before bed (5).

Adopting a healthy meditation and yoga routine will be extremely beneficial for not just your physical health, but your mental health as well. Tell us your thoughts on this article in the comment section below.

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Niharika NayakBA (Media & Communication)

 

Niharika has a passion for all things art, music, and travel and has over 4 years of experience in writing for social media. During her spare time, she likes experimenting in the kitchen, playing video games, and hanging out with stray animals.

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