Maybe you’ve seen them; the folks, with the glowing skin, shiny hair, radiating calm and vitality. Annoyingly serene, you secretly have the desire to strangle them but deep below are keen to find out their secret. Their whole demeanor denies their age.

So rather than have you squeeze the life out of the nearest clear skinned, shiny eyed person, I’m letting you in on the secret – regular meditation.  Ah yes, you say, but I can’t meditate, I can’t sit still and control my mind.  Well here’s the good news, neither can most of us when we first take it up. It’s just like sex, with a little practice we get better at it (hopefully).  We have to do a soupcon of retraining the brain’s neural pathways and if we practice a small amount each day, even five minutes, we work on this process.

Regular meditation shows in the face of the practitioner.  Skin tends to be glowing and relatively free of blemishes; the eyes are clear and calm; face plumper and more oxygenated; a person’s whole demeanor appears unfazed by what life throws at them and best of all, their actions begin to be congruent with the outward unfazed demeanor.  Basically the inner beauty is reflected on the face.

When we meditate regularly the following occurs:

1. The brain’s prefrontal cortex becomes larger

This increases the development of a range of emotional responses. It processes not only our current environment, but also our past situations. It helps us with our decision making, knowing what is good and bad and understanding the consequences of the choices we make. All this helps us with our personal expression. It is already the largest part of the brain and with regular meditation it can change neuronal firing pattern, allowing for greater development of this area[1]

2. Enhanced decision making

Due to our enhanced decision making capability, there is a lesser requirement for the body to release the hormone norepinephrine (noradrenaline), which enhances and prolongs the arousal of the fight or flight response. This means that we have greater control over our sympathetic nervous system and are more capable of sending a considered message to our body rather than have it react automatically. In response to noradrenaline, the body releases an anti inflammatory hormone – cortisol, to help us deal with the physiological stress triggered by the fight or flight response. Whilst cortisol has anti-inflammatory and calming properties, too much of it floating around over a long period has an adverse affect, elevating blood sugar levels, leaving us susceptible to fluid retention, weight gain and reduced capacity of the body’s detoxifying organs – the kidneys. [2] We also become vulnerable to adrenal fatigue which can be slow to recover from.

And….what’s this got to do with my face?

Your skin is a reflection of your internal state. When the body experiences increases in periods of relaxation, all physiological systems work better. This means that the body’s natural process of elimination is enhanced and  in a nutshell, means less crap floating or stagnating internally, therefore less crap surfacing on the skin.

Sit quietly, breathe consciously and glow radiantly.

[1] http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/i/i_08/i_08_cr/i_08_cr_dep/i_08_cr_dep.html

[2] https://www.drnorthrup.com/adrenal-fatigue/

Practice with me