Humans have become nothing short of machines that wake-up, go to work, come back, fulfill their duties at home and then go back to bed. Activities, like playing basketball, going on a picnic, hiking, doing yoga and even meditating, seem so attractive and interesting, but the challenge that seems insurmountable is to take out time for these activities. The good news is, it may be hard, but it is far from impossible. Amongst all of these techniques, we are going to discuss and understand the benefits of meditation on not just the physical but also the mental health and through the same discussion, we are going to try and motivate the readers towards incorporating the practice of meditation into their daily lives.
There has been seen a certain degree of confusion regarding how to practice meditation. So we can start be clearing up this particular confusion. Meditation could be defined as a technique that is aimed at resting the mind and obtaining a state of consciousness which is completely different from the normal waking state. In a state of meditation, the mind becomes clear, relaxed and focused on the inwards. So a person who is in a state of meditation is completely aware and alert, but that alertness is not focused on the external world rather the focus of the mind is directed inwards, a state where the mind falls silent. When the mind becomes silent enough to no longer distract, the state of meditation deepens.
The general benefits of meditation are pretty simple to understand. Since it assists in exercising the brain, meditation is seen to help in the maintenance of the mental health; it is seen to improve memory, it encourages empathy and promotes a sense of self. The concept bears plenty of resemblance to how physical exercise is good for boosting resilience, muscle strength, cardiovascular health and the blood pressure and cholesterol. In the same regard, there was a study led by researchers at Harvard, which was carried out at the Massachusetts General Hospital. The study found that meditating only for 8 weeks could lead to significant change in the brain’s gray matter, a very significant part of the Central Nervous system which is linked to the processing of information, as well as providing nutrients as well as energy to the neurons.
Even though the connection of meditation is to peacefulness and physical relaxation, it is also seen to expand cognitive health and psychological state and the said benefits last throughout the day. There was another study in the benefits of mindfulness which declared that techniques like the yoga and meditation could actually lead to a change in the length of telomeres in breast cancer patients, a compound which prevents the chromosomes from declining. Research has also found that the people who have a habit of practicing meditation have brain structures that are very different from the brain structures of people who do not meditate.
Since the aim of meditation is mental exercise and well-being, it could benefit us emotionally in a number of ways. A few of the ways is the usefulness of the technique in helping us cope with stress as well as burnout. A study published under the name of the ‘Fayed study’ compares the MRI results from two different groups. One was the hospital staff that had no meditation experience, and the other group was Zen Buddhist monks; people who practiced a type of meditation. The conclusion was that meditation can modify the white fiber microstructure and that it also changes the resting state or the state of the mind of neutral activity.
There has also been conducted research which suggests that meditation may help manage the symptoms of a number of physical as well as mental conditions including Anxiety disorders, Asthma, Cancer, depression, Heart disease, Blood pressure, Chronic pain and sleep disorders. Even though it is not an alternative to the traditional medical treatments and cures, it could prove very useful in the progression towards recovery when used in addition to the same medical treatment. Meditation has also been seen to help with a number of symptoms of Menopause.
The great news for us is that these benefits are not just there, in theory, rather a number of research studies have presented proof that these benefits do in fact exist. One of these research studies is that carried out by researchers at the Yale University. This particular study shows that meditation is seen to shut down the areas of the brain that could be linked to daydreaming, anxiety, schizophrenia and a number of other psychiatric disorders. The brains that had been exposed to mediation showed very less activity in the area of the brain known as the ‘default mode network,' an area which can effectively be linked to self-centered thinking. The research further suggests that suppressing these areas of the brain which subdue these self-indulgent thoughts, the meditators could develop a new mental state which is more focused on the present.
A report centered on the findings of the aforementioned study was published in the National Academy of Sciences. The proceedings claimed that meditation could also help with health problems like quitting smoking, and coping with cancer. It also revealed that practiced meditators were able to turn off the areas of the brain which could be linked to lapses of attention and also to a number of mental disorders such as the Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and anxiety and could also prevent from the developing of Alzheimer’s disease.
The classic distinctions suggest the existence of as many as 14 different forms of meditation. Recently, however, the University of Alberta Evidence-based practice center in Canada carried out the review of the numerous studies of meditation, and its effects and the research study also identified the five categories of meditation. The first of these five categories is ‘mantra meditation’ which comprises of relaxation and clinically standardized meditation. The second category is Mindfulness Meditation, which is very much similar to the meditation technique that was adopted by Buddha. It is the classification of meditation which results in a reduction of stress and provides cognitive therapy. Other classifications of meditation include Yoga, Tai Chi and Qi Gong.
The compilation of 813 studies provided us with a number of conclusions. It revealed that the mantra meditation, Qi Gong, and Zen Buddhist meditation led to significant decline in blood pressure. Other research studies successfully concluded that yoga was a technique that had proved successful in stress reduction. However, when it came to reducing anxiety in cardiovascular patients, Mindfulness-based stress reduction was a technique that was more useful in comparison to yoga.
Meditation could help with a number of our problems mental and physical included. If we take this step to practice meditation in time, however, it could keep us at lower risk of developing a number of health abnormalities and could also assist in keeping normal heart rate and cholesterol levels. We may require more than a little bit of patience when looking for the positive effects of meditation after we start meditating, but we could be sure that they are going to follow. Meditation is also going to keep us in a positive state of mind and keep at bay all of the negativities. We have to admit that for all of these benefits; it is worth the efforts that we could put into the exercise.
Works Cited
Bhushan, Dilwar Hussain, and Braj. "Psychology of Meditation and Health: Present Status and Future Directions." International Journal of Psychology and psychological Therapy (2010): 439-451.
Bushak, Lecia. The Mental Health Benefits Of Meditation: It’ll Alter Your Brain’s Grey Matter, And Improve Memory, Sense Of Self. 24 January 2015. <http://www.medicaldaily.com/mental-health-benefits-meditation-itll-alter-your-brains-grey-matter-and-improve-319298>.
Dunlop, Julie. "Meditation, Stress Relief, and Well-Being." Radiological Technology (2015): 535-555.
Horowitz, Sala. "Health benefits of Meditation." Alternative and complementary therapies (August 2010): 223-228.
Paddock, Catharine. How Meditation Benefits The Brain. 23 November 2011. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/238093.php>.
Rama, Swami. The Real Meaning of Meditation. 03 June 2013. <https://yogainternational.com/article/view/the-real-meaning-of-meditation>.
