Meditation

Ø      What is Meditation?

Ø     Effects of Meditation!

Ø     Meditation Safety & Warnings

What is Meditation? 

Meditation is the practice of focus or deep reflection with the intention of helping you feel calm and giving you a clear awareness about your life.  It may incorporate observation and control of the breath, imagery, mantras, and sitting postures. As the body becomes deeply relaxed, the mind transcends all mental activity to experience the simplest form of awareness, where consciousness is open to achieving greater spiritual clarity.  Eastern philosophies have recognized the health benefits of meditation for thousands of years. Meditation is now widely practiced in the West, with the belief that it has positive effects on health.  

From the point of view of psychology, meditation can induce — or is itself — an altered state of consciousness. However, many religious people would challenge the assumption that such mental states (or any other visible result) are the "goal" of meditation. In fact the purposes for which people meditate vary almost as widely as practices. Meditation may serve simply as a means of relaxation from a busy daily routine; as a technique for cultivating mental discipline; or as a means of gaining insight into the nature of reality, or of communing with one's God. Many report improved concentration, awareness, self-discipline and equanimity through meditation.

Two meditation techniques are most commonly used: concentrative and mindful.

• Concentrative meditation focuses on a single image, sound, mantra (words spoken or sung in a pattern), or your own breathing.
• Mindful meditation does not focus on a single purpose; rather, you are aware of all thoughts, feelings, sounds, or images that pass through your mind.

Meditation usually involves slow, regular breathing and sitting quietly for 15 to 20 minutes.

Effects of Meditation!

People use meditation to help treat a wide range of physical and mental problems, including:

• Addictive behaviors, such as drug, nicotine, and alcohol use.
• Anxiety, stress, and depression.
• High blood pressure. A report from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends meditation as one of the first treatments for high blood pressure.
• Pain.
• Managing hot flashes, which are sensations of intense body heat that affect women around the time of menopause.
• People also use meditation to relieve anxieties from long-term (chronic) conditions such as HIV and cancer.

Health applications and clinical studies of meditation

As a method of stress reduction, meditation is often used in hospitals in cases of chronic or terminal illness to reduce complications associated with increased stress including a depressed immune system. There is a growing consensus in the medical community that mental factors such as stress significantly contribute to a lack of physical health.  This has been confirmed using sophisticated imaging techniques which examine the electrical activity of the brain.  Reports have confirmed that meditation induces a host of biochemical and physical changes in the body collectively referred to as the "relaxation response" (Lazar et.al, 2003). The relaxation response includes changes in metabolism, heart rate, respiration, blood pressure and brain chemistry.

Meditation Safety & Warnings?

Since meditation usually involves sitting quietly for a period of time and breathing deeply, anyone who cannot sit comfortably or who has respiratory problems may have difficulty practicing meditation. Some people with mental health problems, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or schizophrenia, may not be able to use meditation therapy effectively.

Pick the right practitioner.  Look for someone who can guide you to do things that are going to help you, not to impose their ways on you.  Reputable mind/body practitioners don't require that people buy into a specific set of beliefs, they allow them to explore their own avenues of healing in a way that respects them.  Watch out for "gurus".

If it smells like, looks like, and talks like evangelism, it's probably evangelism.  If the evangelism happens to belong to your own choose faith, that's fine; but if you sense that someone is using your illness to pull you into a religious practice, you should question that.  For example, stay clear of someone who wanted to help you with your illness but wants you to join their church or charges money for their prayers.

Meditation is not thought to have any negative side effects or complications when combined with conventional medical treatment, but it is not considered appropriate or safe for acute, life-threatening situations.

Be true to yourself.  If you're feeling uncomfortable or threatened in any way, you should leave immediately and look elsewhere.  Watch out for any therapies that don't respect your value system or where you feel that your autonomy isn't respected.  Even though you're going to an expert or practitioner for their guidance, you should always feel safe and that the process involves a free exchange of ideas.

Many conditions also require conventional treatment for best results.  Always tell your doctor if you are using an alternative therapy or if you are thinking about combining an alternative therapy with your conventional medical treatment. It may not be safe to forgo your conventional medical treatment and rely only on an alternative therapy.

Instant Meditation

In a world that is fast, furious and exciting, it can also be challenging, trying, demanding and frightening. All of these situations produce stress, emotional reactions, anxiety, worry and anticipation. Our bodies react to this in many ways. We produce far more adrenalin than we need.  With this harmonic download Meditation has never been easier. 

The Journey to Wild Divine

Artfully combines effective biofeedback training with guided meditation and breathing techniques, allowing you to witness and transform the rhythms of your mind and body as they play together on-screen.

The Secrets to Hypnosis, Qigong, & Meditation