How to meditate 10 minutes a day to preserve your mental health?

Do you already know Bloom, the very first meditation studio in Paris? As soon as the doors of this urban refuge are pushed through, the flow of thoughts seems to slow down. Mental calm becomes total once seated on the meditation cushions, facing the green wall of the Day Room or under the starry ceiling of the Night Room plunged into darkness. It is in this zen cocoon thatEugenie Lambert Bucksteinthe founder of the place, reveals her first steps with meditation, its observed effects as well as a practical guide to integrate it in turn into your daily life.

“The benefits of meditation are scientifically proven when practiced for ten minutes a day. It helps prevent many ailments and ultimately : reduction of stress, better regulation of emotions, improvement of memory and quality of sleep. Finally, in the same way that we brush our teeth every day, we should allow ourselves a few minutes to meditate daily: it is part of true mental hygiene.

Meditation is not a medicine it allows to prevent rather than cure: to prevent burn-out, depression. What we perceive as our personality is actually influenced by the autonomic nervous system which is divided into several parts: the sympathetic nervous system which triggers the body’s flight or fight defense response, and the parasympathetic nervous system which produces the response of digestion and relaxation of the body and which helps us to find a state of calm.

Research shows that regularly practicing mindfulness meditation can down-regulate the sympathetic response, decreasing our tendency to be overly reactive, and activating the parasympathetic system which brings balance and calm to the body and mind.”

How to integrate meditation into your daily life?

“As for me, I started meditating with an app (Headspace or Petit Bambou) when I was a TV journalist in London and I was sent on difficult missions (terrorist attacks). I felt that my mind was tired from these ordeals and it was time for me to take care of my mental health. I found it extremely difficult at first, the meditations were laborious and I was not sure I was “doing well”. After a month, I started to feel the effects of meditation in my life: I could detect a stressful situation before it even happened to me. right to ask myself a few seconds before answering someone, that slowing down also meant feeling fully, being in contact with one’s sensations and emotions… In short, giving way to life and more freedom!