What is meditation?
Meditation is normally understood by people as a spiritual practice. Although true, it is only half the truth. Meditation is far more important and a useful practice than is generally thought of. When we talk about meditation, we instantly think about people sitting in lotus positions with closed eyes chanting some mantras or sitting in quiet contemplation.
This is not a complete picture. Meditation is simply put -- a way of life. In ancient Hindu scriptures, lot of stress is given to it and it is considered a part of a daily ritual in addition to physical and breathing exercises that is Yoga and Pranayams.
Meditation has long been used by our ancestors especially in Indian way of life as a means of salvation. But no one ever tried to look at the beneficial effects it has on our body related to our physical health. Recent developments from some quarters in trying to introduce Yoga to western countries have resulted in lot of scientific research into the effects of mediation on our health. The results have been astonishing to say the least.
Its Benefits
Now it is an established fact that meditation in all its forms has a positive and beneficial effect on people’s physical health in addition to their mental and emotional wellbeing. It has long been proven that meditation helps to calm and control our mind and makes us better equipped to handle emotional and mental stress. By practicing meditation daily, people have bettered their lives across the whole world.
But now more promising news is on the way. It has been scientifically proved that people who practice meditation daily – have lower instances of heart attacks, do not suffer from high blood pressure and are less prone to anxiety and stress related diseases. In our body, many stress related hormones decrease during meditation practice and stabilize at lower levels as the meditation is practiced daily.
The Health benefits
1. It increases mental and emotional strength.
2. It reduces stress and calms the mind.
3. It helps in lowering core body temperature (thus helping longevity)
4. It helps to control our blood pressure.
5. It reduces risk of heart attacks and heart related diseases.
6. It helps in controlling drug addiction by reducing stress.
7. The meditation techniques have also proven useful in chronic pain related ailments such as arthritis. As the person practices meditation, his overall stress reduces and thus they feel less pain as against others who are more stressed .It is not that it relieves pain, but it helps people to deal with pain more effectively. It is actually all about keeping your mind over body. If we can control our minds, we will feel lesser pain.
8. The pregnant women who practice pranayams – the breathing exercises, feel lesser pain than those who don’t. It is again due to much calmer mind which helps women to deal with their labor pains.
9. And since people feel more in control of themselves, they respond better to traditional methods of treatments and pain management. In fact, the patients with diseases such as cancers, tumors etc are also known to respond better to treatments if they are practicing meditation.
This is the reason why meditation is considered a Way of Life as it helps us to not only perform better in our daily life , but also in dealing with stressful and difficult situation in our life with better control.
