5 benefits of a spiritual practice
Photo by Aarón Blanco Tejedor on Unsplash
5 benefits of a spiritual practice…
A spiritual practice can mean many things to many people. It is defined as, ‘a regular performance of actions and activities undertaken for the purpose of inducing spiritual experiences and cultivating spiritual development.’ But what does that actually mean? And what are the main 5 benefits of a spiritual practice? Read on…
Spirituality often gets confused with religion. Whilst you can be both religious and spiritual, you can also be just religious, or just spiritual. Unlike religion where a set of guidance rules is generally followed, and practices often take part in community settings (like a place of worship), a spiritual practice allows you to explore without a set of rules or regulations and on your own if you wish. This can leave it open to quite wide interpretation, but the focus should always be around connecting to something larger than yourself, whether that’s the cosmos, universe, earth, angels, or anything you feel called to connect to.
People will use different ways to connect to their spirituality and expand their practice. You can use more socially accepted ways such as yoga, meditation, mindful walking, breathwork or journaling. Alternatively there are many other forms of practice such as tarot and oracle reading, sound and frequency healing, light language, moonology, astrology, crystal healing, ceremony and ritual practices and much more.
Whichever practice you are called to trust the process and explore. Why? Because there are so many benefits to a spiritual practice, often linked into the nervous system! Take a look below at our 5 benefits of a spiritual practice.
Reduced stress. Generates peace and forgiveness as a practice. Letting go! Spiritual practices ask you to trust in a higher power or belief system. This in turn helps to process complex emotions and situations and let go of what is outside of our control. This is not to be confused with spiritual bypassing. Spiritual practices ask you to be responsible and accountable, but when you experience forgiveness for the situation, to let it go rather than hold a grudge.
Increased awareness and compassion. Believing in a higher power asks you to clearly look at yourself and how you connect into this wider world and universe. Looking at yourself in this introspective way before looking at your connection and how you fit into the space you are in requires a huge amount of self exploration and awareness work. The more aware you are of yourself as a person and how you work has a positive impact on all aspects of your life. Compassion comes from that understanding of the self, where you in turn begin to understand that others face challenges too.
Increased sense of connection and community, reduced loneliness. Spiritual practice can be performed either on your own or as part of a community. Whether you practice in person together, online, or on your own, the connection you start to cultivate to the wider world and universe helps tackle loneliness. We are all connected, afterall.
Positive impact on health and wellbeing. Several reports have suggested that those with either a spiritual or religious practice life longer and less stressful lives. What’s not to love?
Lower hypertension and improved digestion. Did you know that stress impacts blood pressure and your digestive health too!? Since a spiritual practice has been proven to be able to improve stress markers and responses, it can have a direct improvement on your body by lowering blood pressure and improving digestive issues caused by stress too.
So, whether you’re religious or spiritual, or both, find a practice that works for you. There are so many available to practice whether you want an individual practice or community one. The one that works for you is the one you will benefit from most.
Develop your spiritual practice with our little community at The Snug in Pleasley Vale Mills, just off Junction 29 of the M1. We meet a few times a week for yoga, sound healing, circle, journalling, card pulling and moon worshiping! Find out more here.
