How to Clear Your Mind for Meditation: Deepen Your Practice
Select two words to capture our present era and chances are solid that both “anxiety” and “mindfulness” spring to mind. While we can do very little to control global events or even our boss’s Monday morning mood, we can adopt Viktor Frankl’s counsel and manage how we react in the present moment.
Regular meditation can be a boon in this regard. Famed for enhancing emotional regulation, it inspires a pause between triggers and responses. Moreover? Science demonstrates that it can quell stress and anxious thoughts, thus suggesting why it’s become increasingly popular in our demanding society.[1,2]
As anyone who has ever struggled with meditation knows, eliminating distraction and tapping in can feel downright impossible—until, perhaps, now. Here’s how to meditate deeply and with ease—and how natural remedies like kava may help.
The Purpose of Meditation
Meditation may seem like a modern phenomenon, but it can be traced back to ancient China and Egypt—or around 5,000 BCE, to be exact.[3] Derived from the Latin word “meditationem,” or to “think over,” the practice is now prescribed everywhere from physician’s offices to the inner sanctums of huge companies like Apple and Google.[4,5]
Why we do anything is largely subjective, but the potential benefits of mediation seem to be the driving factor behind its prevalence. These might include:
- Heightened self-awareness and presence
- Amplified emotional health and positivity[6]
- Sharpened focus and mental clarity
- Increased calm and relaxation
- Improved recall
- Healthier sleep patterns
What’s more, the cognitive and emotional forbearance that meditation inspires suggests it may be a novel method for managing addictive behaviors.[7]
Why Can’t I Clear My Mind When Meditating?
You know meditation may offer a host of advantages. Whether you’re using meditation for focus or something else, it can be incredibly difficult to clear your mind and let meditation do its magic.
Some researchers indicate that the unrelenting nature of our thoughts when we set out to meditate is due to what’s called the “default mode network.”[8] Put simply, our thoughts, wandering or not, run in the background during daily life tasks. But when we intentionally sit down to still them, they’re brought to the foreground of our attention—and unwanted thoughts may seem magnified.
Fortunately, breathing exercises or moving meditations like yoga, and martial arts can be transformative for those whose minds refuse to quiet down. Focusing solely on your breath or your body's physical sensations can help clear your mind, and natural remedies may also help ease you into (and deepen) your meditation.[9,10]
The Role of Natural Remedies for Deepening Meditation
Researchers believe that the possible perks linked to meditation are thanks to its capacity to tone down the body’s organic stress response—specifically, by impacting two vital stress “byways” in the brain that may result in enhanced emotional temperance.[11]
Add herbal and other natural remedies to the mix and you may find that meditation is even more beneficial. A handful of the most common herbs used to enrich your mindfulness practice include:[12]
- Lavender
- Ashwagandha
- Rhodiola
- Passionflower
Each of these botanicals interacts with the brain and its neurotransmitters differently. Still, the one thing that they have in common is their potential to promote calm, which is the optimal state to be in when you meditate. Additionally, these supplements provide natural ways to increase focus and concentration––both in your daily life and in meditation sessions.
Kava: A Natural Meditation Ally
Kava falls into this camp of botanicals—and may very well take your meditation practice to new highs (or, shall we say, depths?).
How so?
Kava is an ancient herbal remedy native to the South Pacific that brims with kavalactones: polyketides that have an array of advantages by influencing the central nervous system.[13,14,15]
To be more precise, kava may:
- Provide relief from everyday stressors[15]
- Promote tranquility[16]
- Diminish feelings of discomfort[17]
- Enhance focus[18]
To phrase it differently, kava may encourage the alertness of mind and softness of body to support deep meditation.
Tips for Integrating Kava into Your Meditation Practice
Incorporating kava into your meditation practice is a breeze when you have quality products within reach, such as kava:
- Capsules
- Extracts
- Teas
- Tonics
You can relish a kava beverage recipe before assuming your favorite meditation technique or movement, or simply start your day with a supplement. Either way, it might take your meditative state from good to great.
Calm Your Mind with Botanic Tonics
How to clear your mind for meditation—and how to meditate deeply—often comes down to observing your thoughts and letting them pass rather than punishing them (and yourself) for showing up. The natural remedies mentioned here may provide the occasional stress reduction and clear mind you need to enter this transformative place.*
Consider Botanic Tonics your passport for getting there. Our kava tonic pairs kava with other botanical ingredients to promote mood and serenity. Prefer to complement your meditation practice with a capsule? Our kava capsules accomplish the same effect, while all of our products are clean and rigorously tested.
Make mindfulness part of your daily routine with Botanic Tonics.
Sources:
- Journal of American College Health. Effects of guided mindfulness meditation on anxiety and stress in a pre-healthcare college student population: a pilot study. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30939081/
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Meditation and mindfulness: what you need to know. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation-and-mindfulness-what-you-need-to-know
- Wellness at NIH. Meditation or is it mindfulness: a practitioner’s lens of some differences similarities and where to begin. https://wellnessatnih.ors.od.nih.gov/news/Pages/Meditation-or-is-it-Mindfulness--A-practitioners-lens-of-some-differences,-similarities-and-where-to-begin.aspx
- Online Etymology Dictionary. Meditation. https://www.etymonline.com/word/meditation
- SHRM. Meditation offerings can help employees in difficult times. https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/employee-relations/meditation-offerings-can-help-employees-difficult-times
- Healthline. 12 science-based benefits of meditation. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/12-benefits-of-meditation#7.-Can-generate-kindness
- Addiction Science & Clinical Practice. Mindfulness-based treatment of addiction: current state of the field and envisioning the next wave of research. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5907295/
- Scientific Reports. Mindfulness meditation increases default mode, salience, and central executive network connectivity. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-17325-6
- The New York Times. The benefits of morning meditation. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/21/well/mind/meditation-morning-practice.html
- Medical News Today. How to treat anxiety naturally. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322396#natural-remedies-for-anxiety-and-stress]
- American Psychological Association. Mindfulness meditation: a research-proven way to reduce stress. https://www.apa.org/topics/mindfulness/meditation
- Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice. Common herbs for stress: the science and strategy of a botanical medicine approach to self-care. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9737923/
- Nature Plants. The biosynthetic origin of psychoactive kavalactones in kava. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-019-0474-0
- Microorganisms. Biosynthesis of polyketides in streptomyces. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6560455/
- Mount Sinai. Kava kava. https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/herb/kava-kava
- Journal of Clinical Medicine. An updated review of the psychoactive, toxic and anticancer properties of kava. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9315573/
- GoodRX Health. What is kava and are there health benefits to drinking it? https://www.goodrx.com/well-being/supplements-herbs/kava-use-benefits-side-effects
- Journal of Ethnopharmacology. The impact of traditional kava (Piper methysticum) use on cognition: implications for driver fitness. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378874122001143
About The Author
Jamal Bouie is an accomplished professional with a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry from Lemoyne-Owen College in Memphis. Currently, he is pursuing his PhD in Biomedicine at Salus University. Jamal has worked in several industries; he began his career in pharmaceutical manufacturing and transitioned to the cannabis industry, where he specialized in analytical testing and manufacturing, playing a vital role in ensuring product safety and compliance. Now, Jamal has turned his attention to the dietary supplement field, combining his scientific acumen with his passion for health and wellness.
