Meditation

Meditation accomplishes for the mind what relaxation does for the body.

Meditation extends the benefits of relaxation to the mind and promotes a calmer, more focused Self.

Meditation trains the mind to find inner stillness and calm amid exterior clamor.

During relaxation we become aware of muscular tension and then consciously release that tension. Meditation extends this awareness and control to the mind, enabling us to observe where our attention is and to focus it where we choose.

We move beyond reflexive, reactive thoughts into calm, tranquil, one-pointed concentration.

Meditation brings peace and joy to the mind

We are habitually distracted. Racing to process a ceaseless barrage of stimuli, our minds become cluttered and unfocused, like a rudderless raft rushed along by circumstances and surroundings. Meditation teaches us to step out of the frenetic current of thoughts, a vantage point from which we are aware of our thoughts but not at their mercy. Such awareness allows us not only to "collect our thoughts," but also to set them aside—and to find in their place deep stillness, peace, and joy.

Transform your life through awareness.

Meditation teaches techniques for personal transformation. Our thoughts, both conscious and unconscious, are the foundation of our lives. Our beliefs, attitudes, and actions—which build our lives—are an extension of our thoughts. Cultivating an awareness of our thoughts and learning to be selective and deliberate with our attention gives us the power to change our lives.

Concentration and mindfulness: the heart of meditation

Meditation strengthens two closely related skills: concentration and mindfulness.

1. Concentration is the ability to fix our attention on a single point.
2. Mindfulness is the ability to observe our thoughts with compassionate detachment.

The practice of these two skills produces mental clarity and focus, making the mind a more efficient and more effective tool. Instead of being controlled by an undisciplined mind, we learn to control our minds and therefore our lives.

Yoga Nidra: a companion practice to meditation

Relaxation is the doorway to meditative practice, bringing peace and joy to the body and providing an initial taste of internal calm.

Meditation is the next step and extends the peace and joy of stillness to the mind.

A further step on the journey inward is Yoga Nidra.

A form of meditation that involves entering the Deep Sleep while remaining awake and alert, Yoga Nidra is a companion practice to meditation that enhances inner peace and quiet.

Among the benefits of Yoga Nidra are

• Improved, more restful sleep

• Deep relaxation and calm

• Awareness and control of the Deep Sleep state

Benefits of meditation include

• Greater mental accuity
• Heightened concentration
• Enhanced creativity
• Improved memory
• More energy
• Increased productivity
• Reduced insomnia
• Increased emotional stability
• Reduced physical stress
• More efficient cellular repair
• Improved relationships
• Enhanced self-esteem and composure

How it Works

1. Meditation is an extension of relaxation to the mind. It builds on the practice of relaxation and its practice begins with relaxation.
2. After the body is relaxed, attention is rested on a single point.
3. When distracting thoughts enter the mind, they are observed but not engaged with or reacted to. This attitude is known as non-attachment.
4. Attention is returned to the single point of focus.

Physical benefits of meditation

Meditation, like relaxation, induces a physiological state known as the relaxation response. The relaxation response can most simply be thought of as the opposite of the fight-or-flight response, which prepares the body for action in stressful situations by effecting changes like increasing heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate through the release of specific hormones. The harmful effects of stress on the body are the result of chronically or too-frequently elevated levels of these hormones in the body.

The relaxation response slows the heart and respiratory rates, reduces blood pressure, decreases muscular tension, and increases muscular blood flow, returning the body to a more calm and peaceful state. There is evidence that, when regularly activated, the relaxation response reduces the body's receptivity to norepinephrine, one of the stress hormones—so that even when the hormone is present in the body it does not have its usual effects.¹

Improve immunity

There is evidence that hormonal changes associated with the relaxation response have a beneficial effect on the immune system.

Medical students who received relaxation training during exams were found to have increased levels of helper cells, a type of white blood cell involved in fighting infectious disease.²

Another study found that elderly residents of a retirement home who were taught relaxation techniques had increased blood levels of two key indicators of tumor and virus resistance.³

Alleviate chronic pain

Patients at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center who were suffering from chronic pain were trained in relaxation and were able to reduce—and in some cases cease altogether—their use of pain medications.⁴ Moreover, the majority of these patients who continued to practice relaxation regularly reported four years after the study that their pain remained abated and that they continued to be less reliant on drugs to control it.⁵

Treat Disease

There is experimental evidence that relaxation can be beneficial in controlling a number of common disorders, including:

• Hypertension⁶
• Diabetes⁷
• Asthma⁸
• Migraine Headaches⁹

Relaxation has seen clinical success in the treatment of:¹⁰

• Emphysema
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Insomnia
• Anxiety
• Mild Depression
• Procedural side effects, e.g. chemotherapy and kidney dialysis

Reverse arterial plaque buildup

A group 60 patients with atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) who practiced meditation for 6 to 9 months demonstrated a significant decrease over the course of the study in the thickness of their arterial walls. The control group of patients who did not meditate, on the other hand, showed an increase in arterial wall thickness over the same period.¹¹

Reduce blood cholesterol levels

Patients with elevated cholesterol levels and of comparable age, weight, activity levels, and dietary habits were divided into two groups. One group was taught and practiced meditation over a period of 11 months while the other was not. At the end of the 11 months, the meditators were found to have an average reduction of 12% in their cholesterol levels while the non-meditators showed no significant reduction.¹²

Cognitive benefits of meditation

Increase the thickness of the cerebral cortex

Researchers compared brain scans of experienced meditators with those of people with no meditation experience. Compared with the non-meditators, the brains of the meditators consistently showed a thickening in the areas of the cerebral cortex associated with cognition and emotional processing—areas that normally get thinner with age.¹³

Create beneficial brain activity

Another study compared brain waves of people who learned meditation over a period of 8 weeks to a non-meditating control group. Brain activity was measured at the beginning of the 8-week course of meditation training, at the end of the training period, and again 4 months after the completion of the training. The meditation students showed a shift in brain activity away from the right frontal cortex that is involved in stress responses and toward the left frontal cortex, which is associated with calmer, more homeostatic processing. There was also a noted decrease in activity in the amygdala, the area of the brain associated with fear.¹⁴

Bibliography

The scientific community has recognized the benefits of relaxation for over twenty-five years.

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2. Kiceolt-Glaser, Janice, Ronald Glaser, Eric Strain, Julie Stout, Kathleen Tarr, Jane Holliday, and Carl Speicher. "Modulation of Cellular Immunity in Medical Students." Journal of Behavioral Medicine 9.1 (1986): 5-21. springerlink.com. Web. 15 June 2010. [Back to text]
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9. Holroyd, Kenneth, and Donald Penzien. "Pharmacological Versus Non-Pharmacological Prophylaxis of Recurrent Migraine Headache: A Meta-Analytic Review of Clinical Trials." Pain 42.1 (1990): 1-13. sciencedirect.com. Web. 15 June 2010. [Back to text]
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