Meditation for Health

Let’s talk about meditation.

Meditation is the habitual process of training your mind to focus and redirect your thoughts. Once regarded as ‘alternative’, meditation and mindfulness practices have made their way into mainstream medicine and lifestyles. There are many health benefits of meditation, and as knowledge of this becomes widespread, meditation is becoming more popular. You can use it to increase awareness of yourself and your surroundings. Many think of it as a way to reduce stress and develop concentration.

Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years. Meditation originally was meant to help deepen understanding of the sacred and mystical forces of life. These days, meditation is commonly used for relaxation and stress reduction. Modern medicine’s relatively recent research on meditation has revealed that it does indeed confirm this ancient practice is immensely beneficial for health. Meditation positively impacts all facts of health, including physical, mental, emotional, relational, and spiritual sphere of wellness. And these benefits don’t end when your meditation session ends. Meditation can help carry you more calmly through your day and may also help manage symptoms of certain medical conditions. Even when you move onto the next activity in your day, the effects of meditation continue to support well being, notably for the most important organs – the brain and heart. Research has shown that your brain chemistry is altered during meditation and continues to produce positive chemicals even after you finish. Also, your heart rate is less likely to increase well after being slowed down with a meditation session.

One of the major benefits of meditation is stress relief. In our busy modern world, it is unfortunately common to be overly stressed. You can’t see or touch stress, but you can feel its effects on your mind and body. In the short term, stress quickens your heart rate and breathing and increases your blood pressure. When you’re constantly under stress, your adrenal glands overproduce the hormone cortisol. Overexposure to this hormone can affect the function of your brain, immune system, and other organs. Chronic stress can contribute to headaches, anxiety, depression, heart disease, and even premature death.

Though you may not be able to eradicate the roots of stress, you can minimize its effects on your life. Meditation is one of the easiest and most achievable stress-relieving techniques. Meditation is considered a type of mind-body complementary medicine. Meditation can produce a deep state of relaxation and a tranquil mind. During meditation, you focus your attention and eliminate the stream of jumbled thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. Meditation has consistently been found to improve quality of life for virtually every single person practicing.