Brenda Hanna is a former occupational therapist who operated her own clinic in Windsor, Ontario, from 2011 to 2017. For the past two years, she has provided home care as a coordinator with Toronto Central LHIN in Toronto, Ontario. Outside of the professional environment, Brenda Hanna benefits from the healing effects of meditation.
A practice that plays a major role in multiple international cultures, meditation means different things to different people. The basic principles of meditation, however, remain relatively consistent, asking participants to concentrate on a neutral and/or rhythmic focal point, such as their breathing, as a way to clear the mind of all thought.
Newcomers to mediation can begin the practice by following a few simple steps. After finding a comfortable place to sit or lie down, the meditator should close his or her eyes and place all his or her attention on the natural flow of each inhalation and exhalation. Each time that the mind wanders, the meditator must simply return focus back to his or her breathing.
This process can be far more challenging than it sounds. For this reason, beginners should generally restrict initial meditation sessions to five minutes or less.
