Understanding Meditation And It’s Health Benefits
Meditation has its origins in Eastern culture, but it has been practiced for centuries in cultures all over the world. Meditation refers to a large variety of practices and techniques and includes guided meditation, transcendental meditation and mindful meditation practice. Many different techniques can be used, such as the focus of the mind on certain objects or words, or on the breath. Sometimes a particular posture can be used but isn’t necessary. Let this be part of your beginners guide to meditation.
Meditation can be simple to learn, does not require special equipment, and can be done in almost any location. Meditation and yoga for stress relief can make a big impact. After only one session a person can experience stress reduction. It has been found by most researchers that only 20 minutes a day will produce long-term health benefits. The effects can be felt even with the practice of meditation for only 10 minutes a few days a week.
Meditation, if practiced regularly, can improve psychological and physiological health. The brainwave pattern can be brought into the alpha state by meditation. This is the state of consciousness which encourages healing. Meditation promotes relaxation, mental clarity, psychological health, healing from different diseases, and mind/body health generally.
It’s been found in studies that meditation activates the part of the brain that controls the autonomic nervous system, controlling the body functions like digestion and blood pressure. Stress has a powerful negative impact on these functions, so meditation can help relieve the causes of stress-related disease, like digestive disorders or heart conditions.
In a study published in Psychosomatic Medicine, 90 cancer patients practiced mindful meditation for a period of seven weeks. Patients found at the end of that time that they suffered from less depression, anger, confusion or anxiety. They experienced fewer heart or gastrointestinal problems, and they reported higher levels of energy.
At the Maharishi School of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, a group was studied whose members had meditated for four months. Researchers found reduced levels of cortisol, which is known as the stress hormone, and these people who had meditated reported they could better handle stress in their lives, which includes tips on dealing with anxiety and depression.
Research can help confirm some of what we know about, but there are obviously many benefits we can claim without research. Meditation offers benefits to almost everyone, and has no reported ill effects.
