By Hope Zvara, Health and Wellness Coach
Today people are prioritizing mental peace and mental wellness more than ever, and meditation is one of the best ways to clear the mind and calm the thoughts that come and go at any moment. This mental health month, consider giving yourself a mindset makeover with the help of meditation practice.
Meditation is not what many think it is. You may discover your focus, concentration, and approach to life as a driver gets an overhaul by adding a little meditation to your life.
Driving is a challenging job that requires the full attention and focus of the driver. To achieve that, you need to be in a good headspace and focused as a driver, and you can concentrate better and reduce accidents on the road.
Meditation is something that many people put in a category all its own. They are afraid to try it out for several reasons: most think they need to be able to sit, be still, and be quiet before they meditate.
So what is meditation exactly? I like to think of meditation as giving your complete attention to one thing for a specific amount of time. In the art of paying attention in yoga, we have a word for that "Dharana," or immovable concentration.
Meditation is like yoga for your mind that rids you of irrelevant thoughts and excessive stress, which helps you focus and create clarity when you need it most. As a driver, your life can be full of stress and distractions. Meditation, when implemented correctly, can be a tool for your toolbox to reduce mental fatigue, distracted driving, and increase concentration, all while reducing stress.
The next time you find yourself behind the wheel, set a timer for ve minutes, and focus on nothing other than what is in front of you. When your thoughts wander, bring them back to the road. When your nose feels an itch, don't scratch and just focus your attention out the windshield. Those random, restless, distracting thoughts will begin to fade, and you will feel peace.
Three ways how meditation can change a driver's life in just a few minutes a day:
Helps fight stress
Working as a truck driver is stressful, but meditation can change a driver's life in just a few minutes a day. Your physical, mental, and emotional stress can melt away by learning to calm your body and mind. This leaves you feeling better, refreshed, and ready to face the challenges of your day with a fresh attitude. With regular practice over weeks or months, you can experience even more significant benefits.
Provides peace of mind and mood stability
Just as physical yoga makes you feel more peace of mind and energetic, meditation also brings serenity to the mind. Meditation can help bring awareness, balance, and control to turbulent emotions. By calming your mind, you can become more apparent and focused and help you manage the rise and fall of your emotions, over time reducing the reaction rate to stressors that come your way.
Assists in better sleep
Quality sleep is essential for truck drivers, and meditation can help you sleep better. How? Well, meditation allows you to slow down and get rid of the overthinking and irrelevant thoughts in your mind. When implemented regularly, meditation can improve sleep issues like insomnia and difficulty falling asleep.
Your life will change as a truck driver when you add five minutes of meditation to your routine. Remember, a little can go a long way.
