Get Off that Rollercoaster and Enjoy a Calmer Ride (The Benefits of Meditation)
The benefits of meditation are endless and certainly deserve our contemplation and consideration. Many successful business people, celebrities and sports professionals practice and enjoy meditation as a daily routine. Research has scientifically proven that meditation is a safe and simple way to balance your physical, emotional, and mental state, contributing countless values that have been practiced for years.
In our daily lives, we expose ourselves to many stressors. Situations such as bearing the traffic on Sunset road or being yelled at by your kids, will trigger off the stress response which enables us to act without contemplation and deliberation. When our bodies are exposed to a sudden threat or stress we respond with the characteristic fight-or-flight reaction which is known as an adrenaline rush. When adrenaline and other hormones are released from the adrenal glands, our pulse races, blood pressure increases, our breathing becomes faster and our blood flow to our muscles increase. If we would be in extreme danger these reactions are of great assistance. We have inherited this survival response from our ancestors who faced many life-threatening situations every day. The same response is now triggered in our daily lives (even though we are not a bunch of Neanderthals being chased by tigers!) and can be controlled by meditation (yes, not medication).
One of the most important benefits of meditation is how it releases stress from our bodies. Meditation, practiced regularly will lead you to a deeper level of relaxation. If you want to be free of constant worry, pressure and stress, the benefits of meditation can give you a life that is calm, peaceful, happy and relaxed. Even ten minutes of meditation a day will help alleviate stress.
Meditation isn’t so mysterious after all. Neuroscientists have found that people who mediate at least 10 minutes/day shift their brain activity to different areas of the cortex - brain waves in the stress-prone right frontal cortex move to the calmer left frontal cortex. This mental shift decreases the negative effects of stress, mild depression and anxiety. There is also less activity in the amygdala, where the brain processes fear.
Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, recorded the brain waves of stressed-out employees of a high-tech firm in Madison, Wisconsin. The subjects were split randomly into two groups, 25 people were asked to learn meditation over eight weeks, and the remaining 16 were left alone as a control group. All participants had their brain waves scanned three times during the study: at the beginning of the experiment, when meditation lessons were completed eight weeks later and four months after that. The researchers found that the meditators showed a pronounced shift in activity to the left frontal lobe. In other words, they were calmer and happier than before.
Though meditation is usually recognized as a largely spiritual practice, it may be used by people of all walks of life. If you are a Type A personality, drinking ten cups of coffee to have enough energy to go off on tangents for the rest of your life, I suggest that you start looking at sitting on a pillow, silently for around 5 minutes to start with. Meditation techniques should infact be implemented in the management of life threatening diseases; in the regeneration of a healthy genetic structure; in reversal of mental illnesses and to lower your heart rate and blood pressure all together. If you are not convinced yet, here is a list of the benefits meditation might have in your life:
Physiological, Psychological and Spiritual Benefits of Meditation:
- It increases blood flow and slows the heart rate
- Increases exercise tolerance
- Leads to a deeper level of physical relaxation
- Reduces anxiety attacks by lowering the levels of blood lactate
- Decreases muscle tension
- Reduces activity of viruses and emotional distress
- Enhances energy, strength and vigour
- Helps with weight loss
- Reduction of free radicals, less tissue damage
- Decreases the aging process
- Builds self-confidence
- Increases serotonin level, influences mood and behaviour
- Helps with focus & concentration
- Increased feelings of vitality and rejuvenation
- Increased emotional stability
- Decrease in road rage!
- Provides peace of mind, happiness
- Helps you discover a deeper understanding of yourself and others
- Increases the synchronicity in your life
