It is hard to miss the glow and natural radiance on the skin of the saints, seers (Buddha, for example), or anyone who has meditated long enough, isn’t it? It is a wonder how closing your eyes for a few minutes and stilling the mind can cause the skin to look so much brighter and effulgent. So, you may be doing everything right for your skin-you are using the right products (read natural Ayurveda prescribed skin friendly),  you are eating right and yet, you are looking for something more from your skin. Here we share 5 ways meditation makes your skin glow. We also have a few secret tricks off our cuffs that will enable you to still your mind effortlessly, even if you are a first time meditator.

Here’s the simplest connection between meditation and skin-HAPPINESS! Meditation makes you calmer, focused, clearer and nurtures your being by nourishing it with unbounded joy and happiness of a child. As Audrey Hepburn, probably one of the most beautiful actresses and stars to have graced our movie screens said- “Happy girls are the prettiest!” We would like to extend that to happy people in general, across races,gender, cultures or backgrounds!

1.Relaxation Of Facial Muscles

Meditation not just relaxes your body and mind but also facial muscles. The stress shows up most clearly on your face as facial muscles tightened up under stress, worries and anxiety. With a regular practice of meditation, you begin to notice the difference in the level of relaxation of your facial muscles more clearly. This is another reason why meditation experts recommend smiling meditation.

2.More Oxygen Supply

The cells of your skin love a good supply of oxygen. When you practice meditation preceded by Pranayamas and rhythmic breathing techniques like Sudarshan Kriya, what they essentially do is, the practices increases the use of your lung capacity and rush in more oxygen to each cell of your body and skin. This reflects in the skin feeling refreshed, rejuvenated and aglow.

3.Better sleep

Stress directly affects the quality of your sleep. Higher levels of stress on a daily basis can disrupt your circadian rhythms giving you under-eye puff bags and black circles in the morning, apart from affecting your productivity. You can manage the stress to reverse this cycle. You can manage stress effectively, by setting aside some time in the day to practice meditation twice at least. If you find stress is getting the better of you during the day, just find a quiet corner, and plug in your earphones and meditate to this guided Yoga Nidra (Yogic sleep) meditation, which gives you restful 20 minutes to recharge your batteries for the rest of the day, far more powerful than any power nap you could imagine. You can also tune into it before going to sleep at night, for a soothing, deep restful beauty sleep.

4.Reduces Skin Conditions

Stress triggers skin conditions that you are prone to, like acne, eczema or Psoriasis. On the hormonal level, stress increases the level of cortisol, also called the stress hormone in the body that thwarts the proper functioning of the other hormones in the body, leading to a hormonal imbalance and aggravated skin conditions. Studies have shown that practicing powerful stress relieving techniques like Sudarshan Kriya can help immensely in decreasing the cortisol levels, and thereby reducing stress.

5.Stops Skin Aging

You may have noticed that long time meditators look far younger than they chronologically are! That is because, meditation and deep breathing over a period of time increases the levels of antioxidant enzymes in the body. Antioxidants fight the production of free radicals in the cells of our skin. Free radicals when combine with oxygen, apart from contributing to cardiovascular and cancerous risks, also speed up the aging of your skin. According to a study, the major antioxidant enzymes-superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and glutathione-have been found to be higher among practitioners of deep breathing practices like SKY, than those who did not meditate or practice deeper breathing.

Here are 5 simple techniques to meditate effortlessly for both, the first time meditators and those who are seasoned practitioners of a spiritual practice.