Independent Vedic meditation teacher Will Williams recently led an energising guided meditation at our February event and has kindly shared some surprising benefits of this ancient practice (it’s not what you expect!)

Vedic meditation involves silently repeating a personalised sound (or mantra) for 15 – 20 minutes twice a day, and can be practised anywhere, on the commute, in bed or even in the office!  As well as significantly reducing stress it can also…

1. Boost your sex life – Good news lovers! If you’ve ever found your mind wanders during sex, Vedic meditation can still overactive thinking, stop anxiety and allow you to focus on the present moment. Due to the way it brings together our left and right brain activity, those who practise regularly experience a higher sex drive. AND you’ll have bags more energy in the bedroom thanks to the deep rest Vedic meditation gives your nervous system (33% deeper than the deepest state of sleep).
2. Build your self-esteem – Everyone needs to love and respect themselves in order to be truly happy, yet so many of us lack self-esteem. Ingrained patterning in our nervous systems collected from our life experiences can leave us with feelings of unworthiness, low confidence and optimism. Vedic meditation powerfully cleanses our nervous systems of such negative patterns that have long held us back. Our true and authentic sense of self comes shining through (like peeling off the layers of an onion).
3. Get more sh*t done… – Struggling to get through your to do list?  Feeling overwhelmed by your workload? Vedic meditation will supercharge your productivity and leave you feeling like a total boss (and with no need for your daily espressos).  You’ll be able to process information and make decisions more clearly and quickly and come up with creative solutions. Think of it like an orchestra being brought into a beautiful symphony by a talented conductor
4. Enhance your intuition – Intuition is an ability that transcends the logic of our Western mindsets – Plato considered it to be fundamental knowledge that resides in the soul of reality. Yet we still find ourselves making poor decisions and not feeling like we’re in the right place, or moving in the right direction.  It’s no surprise given the vast amount of noise and clutter our nervous systems deal with on a daily basis – city living, constant emails and social media updates, computer screens and screaming kids. In this state, they can no longer detect the subtle energy and information that passes through the field of consciousness, and so many of us aren’t able to connect to our intuition.  The power of the mantras in Vedic meditation helps de-excite the nervous system, freeing it from this noise and clutter and allowing our innate intuitive abilities to flourish.
5. Digestion Heaven! – The stress epidemic we’re in the midst of has left many of our digestive systems crying out for help – IBS, cramps, gas, acid reflux, food intolerances, constipation – peptic ulcers anyone? Digestion uses a lot of energy and when the body goes into the stress response, it shuts down our digestion in order to direct energy for survival mode.

By practising Vedic meditation, digestion is improved in a number of different ways: it restores the body’s optimal functioning and balance, re-balances biochemicals used in digestion, restores blood flow to the gut area and repairs damaged cells and tissues.

Will Williams Meditation runs regular beginners meditation courses and free introductory talks in Soho – see here for more details.