Meditate Your Way to Facial Enlightenment

When I see a zit or two sprout on my face, I know there are sinister forces within at play. I’m either about to get a visit from Aunt Flo, or the stress I encounter on a daily basis is getting the best of me.  For the last few months, I’ve been incessantly dealing with the latter and I just. can’t. seem. to. chill. It doesn’t help that the zits are the worst kind, the type that just won’t go away by themselves after a few days.

Perhaps I only have myself to blame. The weeks of inadequate sleep topped off by the constant stress and tension just wasn’t doing my body any favours. I wasn’t eating healthy, and I was skipping my gym sessions pretty regularly.  When I finally realised the connection between stress and acne and realized my lack of chill was making my stress hormones turn on my skin, I knew I had to find an outlet for some much-needed relaxation.

“Everyone suffers in their own way. Unfortunately, stress is a massive epidemic. Perhaps that’s why we are also observing an unprecedented spike in occurrences of adult acne. We all need a solution to the major disruption and imbalance this is causing in our lives. If de-stressing can restore some form of balance and bring the glow back to our skin, why not?” explains Dr Kenneth Lee, medical director of SW1 Clinic.

There are no excuses really, because the act of meditation doesn’t have to be time-consuming to be effective. A brief minute of meditation a day in repetition will bring about a long-term change in the positive direction. All that is required for you is the willingness to open that door for you. Best of all, meditation is a powerful healing tool that is a no-risk practice. There are substantial health benefits to meditation; it lowers your blood pressure, creates more sustainable energy, releases irrationality and supports your lymphatic system.

The science is sound: If you’re reducing your stress through this process, you’re reducing inflammation in your body. Think a one-minute detox, without the conventional means of detoxification.

In case you’re still not sold, here’s how meditation can change your life… every aspect of it.

Meditation slows down the aging process.
A few minutes of meditation every day brings energy (also known as prana) into your body and creates a wave of calm and relaxation. During meditation, prana helps to repair your body’s skin tissues and cells, giving your skin a fresh, radiant glow. Mindful breathing while meditating introduces more oxygen to the skin, a key component in boosting cellular health. This increased oxygen rejuvenates your skin, balancing your body and your mind while repairing your body’s cells and tissues. It’s pretty evident that meditation has the ability to brighten your complexion, reduce your wrinkles, and slow down the aging process from the inside out. It also lowers blood pressure and tension-related pain such as headaches, ulcers, insomnia, muscle aches and joint problems, making you not only look younger, but feel younger too.

Try: Find a short time each day when you can be absolutely still, and tune out the surroundings around youl. Try the Water Infusion Mask on your face, and sit in a comfortable position. Lying down tends to make you doze off, so try to remain seated. Silence your thoughts and focus on your breathing. There is no need to devote hours to this practice, even a good 10 minutes is more than sufficient.

Meditation improves self-confidence and mood
The state of your complexion is intimately connected to your level of self-confidence. When your skin looks better, your sense of confidence increases, too.
A regular session of meditation increases the brain’s ability to repair itself and develop new neural connections. Like a muscle, these neural pathways get stronger and more effective over time with practice. As a result, people who meditate experience more happiness, inner peace and an overall sense of well-being. Meditation also increases your brain’s serotonin production, which is scientifically proven to be a mood enhancer.

Try: Anytime you feel anxious, worried or insecure, adopt a ‘power pose’. Sit straight and upright, and get rid of any hunched shoulders. Open up your chest and sit tall. By adopting a more confident posture, you will subconsciously feel more confident. Close your eyes and then focus on your breathing. If you find yourself breathing quick shallow breaths, try to pace your breathing and gently ‘banish’ any thoughts from entering your mind. Wipe the slate of your mind clean. Every time a thought tries to enter to distract you, just be aware and gently let it go, then return to the core focus of meditation, that is your breath.

Meditation helps you make healthier choices.
Frequent practice of meditation reaps more awareness of your breath, your body and your surroundings. This leads to the enhanced ability to pause, be present and consider your lifestyle choices. This change can manifest in several ways, from communicating more effectively with your loved ones, or simply becoming more conscious of where and how your food, clothes or skin care products come from. Meditation also arms you with the precious ability to slow down and enjoy the process of taking care of yourself, such as taking a few extra minutes to enjoy taking care of your skin.  When we are more in touch with the present, we can fully exist and feel gratitude for every moment in our lives – making that the moment we stop existing, and really start living.

Try: Dedicate a generous amount of time to your meals. Eat slowly and mindfully, trying to savour every flavour in your food. Be conscious of the texture, taste, smell of every bite. Slowing down your eating pace may also make you full much faster, preventing weight gain in the long run.
Like a candle, meditation lights the way. And the more you meditate, the brighter your glow.

Happiness does indeed come from the inside out.