Meditation is a great tool for achieving inner harmony, and it helps you get to know yourself better, get aware of your emotions and bring positive changes to your life. There are numerous studies that show meditation helps you get rid of negative mental states, relieve stress, decrease levels of anxiety and improve psychological well-being.

Changes in your brain are positive and stable, but they take time and may not always be visible in the beginning. Help yourself see the progress by investigating your moods before and after each session. You can have a mood journal, where you’ll track your emotions. Write down all of your moods, and after a while, you’ll be able to notice positive shifts.

However, you may experience mood swings, at times quite intense, after a good meditation session. You might feel happy and full of energy, then suddenly feel sad and disappointed with your life. Don’t be quick to dismiss meditation - such changes happen with many of those who start practicing. Through meditation, you get in touch with your inner blockages and unpleasant thoughts and emotions buried long time ago. It is easier to believe they are gone, but that’s not an effective approach: sooner or later they will put in a surprise appearance.

Let’s draw a parallel. Imagine, you have a strong toothache, and, instead of visiting a dentist, you take lots of painkillers. You still have the pain, but it’s numbed by the medicine. The same with your emotions. It’s much better to work with them slowly, in the comfortable and safe atmosphere. You can slow down with your meditation, but don’t stop it and remember you are doing great things for your mental health.