Meditation is very important in many Eastern religions and philosophies. It first gained mainstream popularity in the west in the 1960s as a form of psychological exploration, spirituality and consciousness alteration. Only later did we begin to comprehend the health benefits of meditation.
Stress relief and meditation
Studies show that even fifteen minutes of meditation can significantly de-stress you. Not only does meditation make you feel better when you’re stressed, but it also calms the mind so you can focus, make decisions and do whatever you need to do to make the stress go away. Meditation for stress relief also seems to reduce the level of hormones associated with anxiety by calming the autonomic nervous system.
The purpose of a mediation session is learn to control your mind. You let go of thoughts and concerns and all the things you need to get done, and focus on the here and now. By practicing meditation, you learn to have this outlook more often during your daily live. Over time, you improve at focusing on the big picture and what really matters instead of sweating the small stuff.
Happiness
Studies have shown that not only does meditation decrease stress, it increases overall happiness. People who meditate regularly count themselves as more happy on average than people who don’t. Why this happens is not fully understood. Meditation seems to rejuvenate the mind and increase one’s sense of well-being, which could certainly lead to happiness.
Changing your life
If you’re working to change yourself and your life, meditation can be a powerful tool. Whether you’re healing from a trauma or trying to improve your self-discipline, meditation can quiet your conscious mind so that your unconscious mind reveals itself. This can show you rigid thinking patterns you have become locked into, biases that may be holding you back or ideas you would ordinarily not even consider.
Meditation is also a tool for psychological transformation. If you have psychological wounds stemming from mistreatment or bad experiences in the past, mediation can be a powerful adjunct to any other treatment you need.
Meditation and anti-aging
Meditation is also associated with longevity and anti-aging. A study found that some people who meditated were physiologically a dozen years younger than their actual age, based on their hearing, blood pressure and eye sight.
Filed in Yoga/Meditation
Updated: August 20, 2010
Copyright: August 23, 2010
