The Skin Healing Power of Meditation

 By Kaitlyn Sisco

One of the major causes of acne in all people is stress. Although stress cannot create acne, it can cause your already acne prone skin to flare up. The stress hormone causes the cells that create sebum, or the oily substance that mixes with dead skin cells, to clog up the pore.

This leads to pimples or acne. One way to relieve this stress and prevent future breakouts is meditation. Meditation is when you find inner peace, and let go of all of the stress and problems that have been bothering you.

When I hear the word "meditation", the first thing that comes to my mind would be "yoga mats", "breathing exercise" and anything related to it. I even thought that meditation is something that has to do with becoming a different or a better person but apparently, it’s not just about that.

The big question is: What is meditation and how does it help with acne?

What Is Meditation?

We often think of the word meditation as something that has to do with having a different or better persona. But not, it’s not that alone. Meditation can also be a form of exercising awareness and getting a strong sense of perspective without trying to turn off one’s thoughts or feelings. It can also be learning to observe without judgment.

Meditation is perceived by many to be an ancient tradition that is still practiced all over the world to help get a sense of calm and inner harmony. Meditation or mindfulness is a purposeful or non-judgmental way of paying attention in the present moment.

Meditation is a mind-body paired medicine that helps reduce stress and relaxes your body.

Importance Of Meditation On Acne

You breathe in and out slowly, emptying your mind of those pesky thoughts that have you worried. Meditation has been proven to relieve stress, and even if stress is not your number one culprit of acne, meditation is bound to make you feel better and lift your spirits.

There is no bad involving meditation. You can have a self-meditation or guided meditation; either way, if you just take time out of your day to escape from your troubled problems, it is bound to be helpful to your skin.

You may be wondering and asking yourself, “How is meditation important or beneficial for acne?

Meditation helps reduce the stress that’s related with social anxiety and rejection found in people with skin conditions such as acne.

Most of us, including me, do break out more due to stress from time to time – may it be from loads of schoolwork, work meetings and projects, or toxic relationships. Stress - both physical and physiological – plays a huge factor in acne and meditation helps by lowering those cortisol levels, thus helping in managing your acne as well.

In terms of physical health, meditation helps relieve stress and anxiety, increase self-awareness and helps with longtime productivity. Meditating helps in providing a physical impact on our body by alleviating the impact of energy or work on it and lowers our metabolic and heart rate as well as cholesterol and lactate levels.

Meditation is good for managing your acne breakouts or keeping them at bay as this practice is proven to release stress, regardless of whether stress is the culprit of your acne or not.

Meditation helps promote faster healing from acne and improves your sleeping patterns. This practice also provides emotional benefits as it helps manage thoughts of anxiety or depression which are commonly found in patients with acne.

Meditation may also alleviate other conditions such as:

• Allergies
• Anxiety disorders
• Asthma
• Depression
• Fatigue
• Heart disease
• Sleep problems

Types Of Meditation To Practice For Acne

Did you know that there are different types of meditation that you can incorporate in your acne routine?

Here are some of the types of meditation you can practice at home:

• Mindfulness meditation
• Spiritual meditation
• Focused meditation
• Movement meditation
• Progressive meditation

Mindfulness meditation 

This type of meditation came from Buddhist teachings and is known to be the most common meditation technique in the West. Mindfulness meditation involves a combination of concentration and awareness and is good for people who don’t have a teacher to guide them as this type of meditation can be practiced alone.

Spiritual meditation

Unlike the mindfulness meditation, spiritual meditation is being used in Eastern religions like Hinduism, Daoism and even Christianity. This type of meditation is similar to prayer as it is where one reflects on the silence around him/her. The use of essential oils like frankincense, myrrh, sage, cedar, sandalwood and palo santo are mostly practiced in this kind of meditation.

Focused meditation

 A kind of meditation practice that includes concentration using any of the five senses. It may be a bit difficult for beginners to hold their focus for longer than a few minutes on their first try. 

Movement meditation

 This is more or less similar to walking meditation as it involves walking in the woods, gardening or any other gentle forms of motion. This type of meditation fits those who seek peace in action and prefer to let their minds meander.

Progressive Meditation

This type of meditation is also known as the body scan meditation. It is a practice aimed to reduce any tension in the body and promote relaxation. Progressive meditation often involves slowly tightening and relaxing one muscle group at a time throughout the body. This meditation practice is good for relieving stress.

How Do I Manage Acne Through Meditation?

Managing your acne through means of meditation may not be that easy but following these simple steps may be of help:

• Sit in a quiet room or set your environment
• Focus on what you want
• Meditate at least 10 times a day.
• Take it slow
• Keep on practicing

Meditation is not just beneficial for our acne but also for our overall health & wellness. 

My Experience With Medication Clearing My Acne

 My skin has been really stressed out lately because of all of the homework I have and school related problems. Meditation has made a difference in my life. I want others to feel this difference too. I have been using a meditation app called “Breathe” that has guided my meditation experience because I, personally, am not that comfortable meditating by myself.

I usually try to go in my room at the end of a long day for at least five to ten minutes to wind down before bed. This relieves all of the stress I had that day.

Sometimes, when I want an extra relaxing day, I mediate as soon as I wake up in the morning. This allows me to have a clear mindset for the day, and although waking up earlier in the morning is not exactly what I prefer to do, I enjoy the rest of my day because of this. The app that I use allows you to pick your mood and then it chooses the best meditation for you at that time based on the mood that you just chose. I don’t meditate every day, but I would like to.

I have been meditating for a few weeks now and have definitely seen a difference in my skin. Meditation has made me a happier person in the spirit and a happier person regarding my skin. My acne has reduced in redness and in numbers.

I love all of Banish’s products and in addition to meditation, I have been using their products in my skincare routine. I now have close to clear skin and couldn’t be any happier. I know this is the result of me not being stressed out.  With meditation, I can be almost worry free and acne free. 

It is a wonderful feeling, and I hope everyone can experience it. The best meditation music that I meditate to is nature sounds. These sounds just really relax me, and I know that I am getting the best meditation experience possible. Meditation does wonders for my life and my skin. I do not know what I would do without it.

Do you have any other meditation tips that worked for you? Feel free to share them below.