My Benefits of Meditation

Discover the Benefits of Meditation and Yoga

What is Meditation?

what is meditation?

Meditation can be described in hundreds of ways.

Meditation refers to any number of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some health or spiritual benefit.

Meditation changes the brain and the body. There are structural and functional changes that occur in the brain with repeated practice over an extended period of time. It is similar to learning to ride a bike, play an instrument or become an expert on a subject.

Meditation is a personal practice, generally inwardly oriented, which individuals can do by themselves. Meditation may involve cultivating a feeling such as compassion, or may involve an internal state such as attending to a specific focal point. Prayer beads or other ritual objects may be used during meditation.

Meditation has been practiced since antiquity as a component of numerous religious traditions. There are many types of meditation techniques; the word meditation may carry different meanings in different contexts.

Meditation is used in health care as a method of stress and pain reduction. It has been used in hospitals in cases of chronic or terminal illness to reduce complications associated with increased stress and/or depressed immune systems.

Dr. Herbert Benson of the Mind-Body Medical Institute, which is affiliated with Harvard University and several Boston hospitals, has done clinical studies at Buddhist monasteries in the Himalayan Mountains. He reports that meditation induces a host of biochemical and physical changes in the body collectively referred to as the “relaxation response.” This relaxation response includes changes in metabolism, heart rate, respiration, blood pressure and brain chemistry.

The first step is relaxation or surrendering of the body and mind so that the mind is not cluttered with various unrelated and disturbing thoughts… (Click for more on How to Meditate…)