The Science of Meditation
The Science of Meditation A book about Scientifically proven benefits of Meditation
Introduction We all have heard that “meditation is good for you”. But good in what terms? Is that just reports from people doing it for 10 years, or are there good scientific studies showing specific benefits that we all should be aware of? In this Book are summarized several scientific discoveries on the benefits of meditation. Over 100 studies were analyzed and the findings categorized into 48 benefits, divided then into five major sections: Brain&Mood, Mind&Performance, Health&Body, Spirit&Relationships and Reality&Life. You will be surprised in reading some of these surprising facts. In many blogs and forums when people ask the question “Why should I meditate?” or “What are the benefits of meditation?”, a few health and spiritual benefits are mentioned, but leave a lot behind, or they often lack scientific evidence backing up what is said. There are over 3,000 scientific studies on the benefits of meditation, but there are few blogs that compile hundreds of researches into an organized article: that is the purpose of this book. These studies were based on different types of meditation. Some effects, such as increased compassion and social bonding, are more salient as a result of specific meditation techniques (such as loving-kindness, which is a Buddhist meditation). However, any kind of authentic meditation will include most of these benefits, in one degree or another. There is also evidence that the practice will be more beneficial for you if you find a technique that you like better. Some of the studies indicated that meditating even 20 minutes per day for a few weeks was already enough to start experiencing the benefits. Additionally, another aim of this book is to make the reading of its informative content more involving and enjoyable than a simple listed manual. At the very beginning you will find an illustrated tutorial that will guide you through a basic meditation session: you will soon realize that meditation is actually an accessible practice that anyone can do.
Meditate, right Now. Follow these 6 Simple Steps 1. Find a Quiet Spot: Pick any place and time where you won’t be distrubed for a few minutes.
2. Sit comfortably: Sit Crossed-Legged on the floor on a cushin, in Lotus, Half-Lotus Position or on a chair if preferred.
3. Gentle Expression: Eyes partially open but relaxed. Look down slightly. Smile gently and chin in slightly as well
4. Focus on your Breath: Breathe in and out with your nose. Feel the air going in and out. Focus on the air flow.
5. Simple Technique: Your Lungs, Diaphragm and Belly are one big Bag. Slowly Inhale completely. Fill the bottom first, then the middle, lastly, fill the top.
Hold your breath for a moment.
Slowly Exhale completely. Starting with the top, press out the air until you get to the bottom. Press the last of the air out as your lungs curl up under your ribs.
6. Being a Mountain Now, while Breathing, try not to Think of Anything. You will inevitabely think of all sorts of thoughts, but in Meditation you are a Mountain, and these Thoughts are just passing Clouds. Whenerver you star following one remember: You Are a Mountain. Let the Clouds pass as you return focus to your breath. Meditation is not the Absence of Thought, but the Practice of Stilness.
Brain and Moods This yoga symbol appears as the palm of a hand, and the hamsa is a popular symbol in many cultures and religions. These cultures believe that the symbol, depicted by a right hand with an open palm or a hand with two open thumbs, is a sign of protection. The word hamsa is derived from the five fingers on the hand. It is often decorated with the “evil eye� which is thought to ward off any harm or danger. The hamsa is meant to be displayed or worn with the fingers facing down to offer the proper protection, and bring luck and strength.
Mindfulness practices decrease depression
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In a study conducted at five middle schools in Belgium, involving about 400 students (13~20 years old), Professor Filip Raes concludes that: “students who follow an in-class mindfulness program report reduced indications of depression, anxiety and stress up to six months later. Moreover, these students were less likely to develop pronounced depression-like symptoms.� Another study, from the University of California, made with patients with past depression, concluded that mindfulness meditation decreases ruminative thinking and dysfunctional beliefs. Another concludes that mindfulness meditation may effectively treat depression to a similar degree as antidepressant drug therapy�.
Meditation helps treat depression in mothers to be
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High-risk pregnant women who participated in a ten-week mindfulness yoga training saw significant reductions in depressive symptoms, according to a University of Michi gan Health System pilot feasibility study. The mothersto-be also showed more intense bonding to their babies in the womb. The findings were published in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice.
Meditation helps regulate mood and anxiety disorders
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This is also the conclusion of over 20 randomized controlled studies taken from PubMed, PsycInfo, and the Cochrane Databases, involving the techniques of Meditation, Meditative Prayer, Yoga, Relaxation Response. Another research concludes that mindfulness meditation may be effective to treat anxiety to a similar degree as antidepressant drug therapy.
Meditation improves your mood and psychological well-being
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PhD psychotherapist Dr. Ron Alexander reports in his book Wise Mind, Open Mind that the process of controlling the mind, through meditation, increases mental strength, resilience, and emotional intelligence. Researchers from Nottingham Trent University, UK, found that when participants with issues of stress and low mood underwent meditation training, they actually experienced improvements in psychological well-being.
Meditation reduces stress and anxiety in general
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A study from the University of Wisconsin Madison indicates that the practice of “Open Monitoring Meditation” (such as Vipassana), reduces the grey matter density in areas of the brain related with anxiety and stress. Meditators were more able to attend moment-to-moment to the stream of stimuli to which they are exposed and less likely to ‘get stuck’ on any one stimulus. “Open Monitoring Meditation” involves non-reactively monitoring the content of experience from moment to moment, primarily as a means to recognize the nature of emotional and cognitive patterns.
Meditation affects genes that control stress and immunity
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A study from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, conducted with 32 adults that had never practiced meditation before, showed that if meditation is practiced before a stressful event, the adverse effects of stress were lessened. A study from Harvard Medical School demonstrates that, after practicing yoga and meditation, the individuals had improved mitochondrial energy production, consumption and resiliency. This improvement developed a higher immunity in the system and an icredible resilience to stress.
The Transcendental Meditation technique settles mind and body
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One of the best studies that shows how TM reduces stress is a meta analysis, which used one of the most accepted stress measures, the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, researchers compared Transcendental Meditation with various other relaxation techniques, including Progressive Muscle Relaxation, EMG Biofeedback, Herbert Benson’s Relaxation Response and other meditation techniques. In this study TM was found to reduce stress aproximately two times more than the other methods studied.According to this meta-analysis of all the stress management programs available at the time of the study, the Transcendental Meditation technique is the single-most effective program to reduce stress. As a result of this and other studies showing TM’s effectivess in reducing stress, many doctors are increasingly prescribing TM as an effective stress management tool. Because practicing TM results in people feeling more calm in stressful situtions, many report feeling much less anxious when making presentation.With continued practice of the Transcendental Meditation program, you can become less and less anxious, developing a stable inner quietness than can be a buffer against otherwise stressful experiences.
Meditation helps reduce symptoms of panic disorder
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In a research published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, 22 patients diagnosed with anxiety disorder or panic disorder were submitted to 3 months meditation and relaxation training. As a result, for 20 of those patients the effects of panic and anxiety had reduced substantially, and the changes were maintained at follow-up. This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of a group stress reduction program based on mindfulness meditation for patients with anxiety disorders.
The 22 study participants were screened with a structured clinical interview and found to meet the DSM- III-R criteria for generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia. Assessments, including self-ratings and therapists’ ratings, were obtained weekly before and during the meditationbased stress reduction and relaxation program and monthly during the 3-month follow-up period. Repeated measures analyses of variance documented significant reductions in anxiety and depression scores after treatment for 20 of the subjects--changes that were maintained at follow-up. The number of subjects experiencing panic symptoms was also substantially reduced. A comparison of the study subjects with a group of nonstudy participants in the program who met the initial screening criteria for entry into the study showed that both groups achieved similar reductions in anxiety scores on the SCL-90- R and on the Medical Symptom Checklist, suggesting generalizability of the study findings. A group mindfulness meditation training program can effectively reduce symptoms of anxiety and panic and can help maintain these reductions in patients with generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, or panic disorder with agoraphobia.
Meditation increases grey matter concentration in the brain
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A group of Harvard neuroscientists ran an experiment where 16 people were submitted to an eight-week mindfulness course, using guided meditations and integration of mindfulness into everyday activities. The results were reported by Sara Lazar, PhD. At the end of it, MRI scans show that the grey matter concentration increases in areas of the brain involved in learning and memory, regulating emotions, sense of self, and having perspective. Other studies also show a larger hippocampal and frontal volumes of grey matter for long-term meditators.
Long-term meditation enhances the ability to generate gamma waves in the brain
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A In a study with Tibetan Buddhist monks, conducted by neuroscientist Richard Davidson of the University of Wisconsin, it was found that
“novice meditators showed a slight increase in gamma activity, but most monks showed extremely large increases of a sort that has never been reported before in the neuroscience literature�.
Therapeutic interventions that incorporate training in mindfulness meditation have become increasingly popular, but to date little is known about neural mechanisms associated with these interventions. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), one of the most widely used mindfulness training programs, has been reported to produce positive effects on psychological well-being and to ameliorate symptoms of a number of disorders. Here, we report a controlled longitudinal study to investigate pre–post changes in brain gray matter concentration attributable to participation in an MBSR program. Anatomical magnetic resonance (MR) images from 16 healthy, meditation-naïve participants were obtained before and after they underwent the 8-week program.
Changes in gray matter concentration were investigated using voxel-based morphometry, and compared with a waiting list control group of 17 individuals. Analyses in a priori regions of interest confirmed increases in gray matter concentration within the left hippocampus. Whole brain analyses identified increases in the posterior cingulate cortex, the temporo-parietal junction, and the cerebellum in the MBSR group compared with the controls. The results suggest that participation in MBSR is associated with changes in gray matter concentration in brain regions involved in learning and memory processes, emotion regulation, self-referential processing, and perspective taking.
Meditation acutely improves psychomotor vigilance, and may decrease sleep need On a research conducted by the University of Kentucky, participants were tested on four different conditions: Control (C), Nap (N), Meditation (M) and Sleep Deprivation plus Meditation. Non meditators, novice meditators and experienced meditators were part of the experiment. The results suggest that meditation provides at least a short-term performance improvement even in novice meditators. In long term meditators, multiple hours spent in meditation are associated with a significant decrease in total sleep time when compared with age and sex matched controls who did not meditate.
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Novice meditators were tested on the PVT before each activity, 10 minutes after each activity and one hour later. All ten novice meditators improved their PVT reaction times immediately following periods of meditation, and all but one got worse immediately following naps. Sleep deprivation produced a slower baseline reaction time (RT) on the PVT that still improved significantly following a period of meditation. In experiments with long-term experienced meditators, sleep duration was measured using both sleep journals and actigraphy. Sleep duration in these subjects was lower than control non-meditators and general population norms, with no apparent decrements in PVT scores. These results suggest that meditation provides at least a short-term performance improvement even in novice meditators. In long term meditators, multiple hours spent in meditation are associated with a significant decrease in total sleep time when compared with age and sex matched controls who did not meditate. Whether meditation can actually replace a portion of sleep or pay-off sleep debt is under further investigation.
Meditation helps reduce alcohol and substance abuse
Helps you stop smoking
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Smoking is, indeed, a major risk factor for
Three studies made with Vipassana meditation in incarcerated populations suggested that it can help reduce alcohol and substance abuse. Seven mainly poor-quality studies were identified. Three neuro-imaging studies suggested that VM practice could be associated with the activation of the
heart disease, for lung cancer and for many prefrontal and the anterior cingulate other conditions that produce mortality,
cortex during meditative periods,
disease and disability. As a matter of fact,
and with increased thickness in cortical
it’s considered to be the leading cause
areas related to attention as well
of death today by the Surgeon General
as increased subcortical gray matter
of the United States. It’s actually difficult
in right insula and hippocampus in
for doctors to get their patients to stop
longterm meditators. Three clinical
smoking. However, the Transcendental
studies in incarcerated populations
Meditation program has been shown
suggested that VM could reduce alcohol
to be quite effective in helping people to
and substance abuse but not post-traumatic
quit. In a meta-analysis, or study, of all
stress disorder symptoms in prisoners.
available research on cessation of smoking
One clinical study in healthy subjects
published in the Alcohol Treatment
suggested that VM could enhance
Quarterly and the Journal of Health
more mature defenses and copying styles.
Promotion, the Transcendental Meditation technique was shown to be twice as effective in helping people to stop smoking as the other treatments, including pharmacological therapy, individual counseling and self-help kits. This result is very significant for the 25-30% of the population who smoke today.
Mind and Performance With its roots in Hinduism, the Om symbol is said to represent the one-ness of all creation, including the heavens, earth, and underworld. Others say it is the representation of the three Hindu gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. The actual shape of the symbol represents the syllables of the word: the ‘three’ being the Sanskrit letter for ‘aahh’, the small ‘s’ is the ‘oooh’ and the half moon at the top is the ‘mmm’ sound. Om is considered one of the most powerful mantras, and the ritual of chanting Om has been done for thousands of year.
Meditation improves focus, attention and ability to work under stress
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In A study led by Katherine MacLean of the University of California suggested that during and after meditation training, subjects were more skilled at keeping focus, especially on repetitive and boring tasks. Another study demonstrated that even with only 20 minutes a day of practice, students were able to improve their performance on tests of cognitive skill, in some cases doing 10 times better than the group that did not meditate. They also performed better on information-processing tasks that were designed to induce deadline stress. In fact, there is evidence that meditators had thicker prefrontal cortex and right anterior insula, and also to the effect that meditation might offset the loss of cognitive ability with old age.
Meditation decreases chance of distraction
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A study from Emory University, Atlanta, demonstrated that participants with more meditation experience exhibit increased connectivity within the brain networks controlling attention. These neural relationships may be involved in the development of cognitive skills, such as maintaining attention and disengaging from distraction. Moreover, the benefits of the practice were observed also in normal state of consciousness during the day, which speaks to the transference of cognitive abilities “off the cushion� into daily life. The meditation practice examined was focusing the attention on the breath.
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Meditation helps manage ADHD
In a study made with 50 adult ADHD patients, the group that was submitted to MBCT (Mindfulnessbased cognitive therapy) demonstrated reduced hyperactivity, reduced impulsivity and increased “act-with-awareness” skill, contributing to an overall improvement in inattention symptoms. Certainly people with a seizure disorder can practice the Transcendental Meditation technique. Often the seizure threshold is lowered when the person is anxious or tired. Since the Transcendental Meditation program reduces stress and produces more neurological stability, the practice of the TM technique should be helpful. And a person with seizure disorder could, of course, enjoy all of the other benefits of the Transcendental Meditation technique, such as better cardiovascular health, reduced stress, improved interpersonal relationships and a calmer, more focused mind.
Meditation improves information processing and decision-making
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Eileen Luders, an assistant professor at the UCLA Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, and colleagues, have found that long-term meditators have larger amounts of gyrification (“folding” of the cortex, which may allow the brain to process information faster) than people who do not meditate. Scientists suspect that gyrification is responsible for making the brain better at processing information, making decisions, forming memories and improving attention.
Meditation makes you stronger against pain
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A research group from the University of Montreal exposed 13 Zen masters and 13 comparable non-practitioners to equal degrees of painful heat while measuring their brain activity in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) scanner. What they discovered is that the Zen meditation, called zazen, practitioners reported less pain. Actually, they reported less pain than their neurological output from the FMRI indicated. So, even though their brain may be receiving the same amount of pain input, in their mind’s there is actually less pain.
Meditation relieves pain better than morphine
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In an experiment conducted by Wake Forest Baptist Medical Centre, 15 healthy volunteers, who were new to meditation, attended four 20-minute classes to learn meditation, focusing on the breath. Both before and after meditation training, study participants’ brain activity was examined using ASL MRI, while pain was inflicted in them by using heat. Fadel Zeidan, Ph.D., lead author of the study, explains that
“This is the first study to show that only a little over an hour of meditation training can dramatically reduce both the experience of pain and pain-related brain activation. We found a big effect, about a 40 percent reduction in pain intensity and a 57 pe reduction in pain unpleasantness. Meditation produced a greater reduction in pain than even morphine or other pain-relieving drugs, which typically reduce pain ratings by about 25 percent.�
Meditation helps us allocate limited brain resources
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When the brain is presented two targets to pay attention to, and they right after one another (half a second difference), the second one is often not seen. This is called “attentional-blink”. In an experiment conducted by the University of California, a stream of random letters was shown in a computer screen, in rapid succession. In each session, one or two numbers or blank screens would appear in the middle, and participants were later asked, immediately after the stream ended, to type the numbers they saw. They were also asked whether they thought a blank screen was shown or not. Subjects that had undergone 3 months of intense Vipassana Meditation were found to have a better control over the distribution of attention and perception resources. They showed less allocation of brain resource for each letter shown, which resulted in reduction in “attentional-blink” size.
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According to Catherine Kerr of the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging and the Osher Research Centre, “Mindfulness meditation� has been reported to enhance numerous mental abilities, including rapid memory recall�.
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Mindfulness meditation improves rapid memory recall
Meditation improves visuospatial processing and working memory Research has shown that even after only four sessions of indfulness meditation training, participants had significantly improved visuospatial processing, working memory, and executive functioning.
Meditation improves learning, memory and self-awareness Long-term practice of meditation increases grey-matter density in the areas of the brain associated with learning, memory, self-awareness, compassion, and introspection. One of the interesting implications of the research on meditation and brain function is that meditation might help to reduce “neural noise� and so enhance signal-to-noise ratios in certain types of tasks. In contexts where braincomputer interfaces are being developed that are based upon electrical recordings of brain function, training in meditation may facilitate more rapid learning. This idea warrants systematic evaluation in the future.
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Ongoing and future work focuses on a few distinct directions. One of the crucial areas needing attention is the characterization of changes in connectivity among the various brain circuits that are engaged by these practices. The developmental of new methods to probe different aspects of connectivity (both structural and functional) will be extremely valuable in furthering this line of inquiry. The goal of such work is to better understand how different circuits are integrated during meditation to produce the behavioral and mental changes that are said to occur as a result of such practices, including the promotion of increased well-being.
Meditation increases awareness of your unconscious mind
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A study by researchers from the University of Sussex in the UK found out that people that practice mindfulness meditation experience a greater pause between unconscious impulses and action, and are also less subject to hypnosis.
Meditation prevents you from falling in the trap of multitasking too often
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Multitasking is not only a dangerous productivity myth, but it’s also a source of stress. “Changing gears� between activities is costly for the brain, and induces feelings of distraction and dissatisfaction from the work being done.
In a research conducted by the University of Washington and University of Arizona, Human Resource personnel were given 8 weeks of training in either mindfulness meditation or body relaxation techniques, and were given a stressful multitasking test both before and after training.
The group of staff that had practiced meditation reported lower levels of stress and showed better memory for the tasks they had performed; they also switched tasks less often and remained focused on tasks longer.
Mindfulness meditation fosters creativity
A research from Leiden University (Netherlands) demonstrates that the practice of “open monitoring� meditation (non-reactively monitoring the content of experience from moment-to-moment) has positive effects in creativity and divergent thinking. Participants who had followed the practice performed better in a task where they were asked to creatively come up with new ideas.The practice of meditation has seen a tremendous increase in the western world since the 60s. Scientific interest in meditation has also significantly grown in the past years; however, so far, it has neglected the idea that different type of meditations may drive specific cognitive-control states. In this study we investigate the possible impact of meditation based on focused-attention (FA) and meditation based on open monitoring (OM) on creative tasks tapping into convergent and divergent thinking. We show that FA meditation and OM meditation exert specific effect on creativity. First, OM meditation induces a control state that promotes divergent thinking, a style of thinking that allows many new ideas of being generated. Second, FA meditation does not sustain convergent thinking, the process of generating one possible solution to a particular problem. We suggest that the enhancement of positive mood induced by meditating has boosted the effect in the first case and counteracted in the second case.
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Health and Body In Buddhism, the lotus blossom represents the heart opening. Buddhists compare the opening of the lotus flower petals to the unfolding of what is divine within. It is a perfect reflection of new beginnings, purity and enlightenment. A closed bloom is the heart with its infinite potential for enlightenment, waiting to unfold. The lotus is also known to be associated with purity, spiritual awakening and faithfulness. The flower is considered pure as it is able to emerge from murky waters in the morning and be perfectly clean.
Meditation reduces risk of heart diseases and stroke
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More people die of heart diseases in the world than any other illness. In a study published in late 2012, a group of over 200 high-risk individuals was asked to either take a health education class promoting better diet and exercise or take a class on Transcendental Meditation. During the next 5 years researchers accompanying the participants found that those who took the meditation class had a 48% reduction in their overall risk of heart attack, stroke and death. They noted that meditation “significantly reduced risk for mortality, myocardial infarction, and stroke in coronary heart disease patients. These changes were associated with lower blood pressure and psychosocial stress factors.” There are also other researches pointing out similar conclusions, about related health conditions.
Meditation helps manage heart and respiratory rate
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In a study published by the Korean Association of Genuine Traditional Medicine, practitioners of “Integrated Amrita Meditation Technique” showed a significant decrease in heart rate and respiratory rate for up to 8 months after the training period.
Zen meditation was found to reduce stress and blood pressure, and be efficacious for a variety of conditions, as suggested by positive findings in therapists and musicians.
Theta activity in particular seemed to be related to the degree of experience, being greater in expert practitioners and advanced masters. Moreover, Zen meditation practice could protect from cognitive decline usually associated with age and enhance antioxidant activity. From a clinical point of view,
Electroencephalographic studies on Zen meditation found increased alpha and theta activity, generally related to relaxation, in many brain regions, including the frontal cortex. Theta activity in particular seemed to be related to the degree of experience, being greater in expert practitioners and advanced masters.
This is because relaxation results in the formation of nitric oxide, which opens up your blood vessels.
patients showing significant drops in blood pressure after 3 months of meditation, and, consequently, less need for medication.
Another experiment, this time with a technique called “relaxation response�, yielded similar results, with 2/3 of high blood pressure
Meditation reduces blood pressure
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the Transcendental Meditation technique. So yes, the Transcendental Meditation technique is an effective way to lower total cholesterol.Most of the emphasis today is on lowering cholesterol, and thus you hear many advertisements for cholesterol medications on TV. Yet we need to recall remember that high blood pressure is, in fact, the most important risk factor for both stroke and coronary heart disease. Research studies have consistently demonstrated a drop in the blood pressure of people who practice Transcendental Meditation technique. So we should not underestimate the power of lowering the blood pressure of anyone, whether or not they have high cholesterol.
Mindfulness training decreases inflammatory disorders
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A study conducted in France and Spain at the UW-Madison Waisman Centre indicates that the practice of mindfulness meditation produces a range of genetic and molecular effects on the participants. More specifically, it was noted reduced levels of pro-inflammatory genes, which in turn correlated with faster physical recovery from a stressful situation.
Mindfulness practice helps prevent asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel diseases
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In a research conducted by neuroscientists of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, two groups of people were exposed to different methods of stress control. One of them received mindfulness training, while the other received nutritional education, exercise and music therapy. The study concluded that mindfulness techniques were more effective in relieving inflammatory symptoms than other activities that promote well-being.
Mindfulness meditation decreases cellular-level inflammation
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In three studies, the group that undertook mindfulness training had better results at preventing cellular level inflammation than the control groups.
Mindfulness training is helpful for patients diagnosed with Fibromyalgia
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In a study published in PubMed, 11 participants that suffered from Fibromyalgia underwent an 8-week mindfulness training. As a result, the researchers found significant improvement in the overall health status of the participants and in symptoms of stiffness, anxiety, and depression. Significant improvements were also seen in the reported number of days “felt good” and number of days “missed work” because of Fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a chronic syndrome characterized by widespread pain, sleep disturbance, stiffness, fatigue, headache, and mood disorders. Recent research has resulted in an improved understanding of fibromyalgia and its possible causes. This article highlights some of the current research, discusses a strategy for using yoga and meditation as a therapy for fibromyalgia sufferers, and presents the results of a preliminary 8-week study using yoga and meditation to help manage fibromyalgia symptoms. The study of 11 participants found significant improvement in the overall health status of the participants and in symptoms of stiffness, anxiety, and depression. Significant improvements were also seen in the reported number of days “felt good” and number of days “missed work” because of fibromyalgia. Nonsignificant improvements were seen in measures of pain, fatigue, and how one felt in the morning. Effect sizes were medium to large for most tested areas. This study supports the benefits of yoga and meditation for individuals with fibromyalgia and encourages further research to explore their use as standard therapies for fibromyalgia.
Meditation helps manage psoriasis Psychological stress is a potent trigger of inflammation. A brief mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction intervention delivered by audiotape during ultraviolet light therapy was found to increase the resolution of psoriatic lesions in patients with psoriasis. Thanks to the reader Maricarmen for pointing out this fact.
34 Meditative prayer helps treat premenstrual syndrome and menopausal symptoms This is the conclusion of over twenty randomized control studies taken from PubMed, PsycInfo, and the Cochrane Databases, involving the techniques of Meditation, Meditative Prayer, Yoga, Relaxation Response.
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Mindfulness meditation reduces risk of Alzheimer’s and premature death
36 Results from recent research, published online in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity, states that just 30 minutes
of meditation a day not only reduces the sense of loneliness, but also reduces the risk of heart disease, depression,
Alzheimer’s and premature death. People are social animals but as we age the risk of social isolation and loneliness
increases. Results from recent research, published online
in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity, states that just 30 minutes of meditation a day not only reduces the sense of loneliness, it also reduces the risk of heart disease,
depression, Alzheimer’s and premature death. UCLA
researchers followed a group of 40 men and women aged
between 55 and 85 who were evaluated as to their perceived loneliness by an established measure. Participants in the
study were then randomly assigned to an eight week program of MBSR, or were asked to go about their daily routines
as before. Both groups volunteered blood samples, which
were checked before and after the study period to measure
gene expression and levels of inflammation. Certain genes and proteins are indicators of inflammation strongly associated with cardiovascular and other diseases.
The meditation group was asked to participate in weekly 2-hour meetings where the techniques of mindfulness training were taught and practiced. A homework task,
in the form of a 30-minute period of mindful meditation per day, was also required. In addition, the group went on a day retreat. When the results from the two groups were compared, those who had learned and had practiced the mindfulness breathing and awareness techniques, reported lower feelings of loneliness. Significantly, this same group was found to have a substantially reduced expression of inflammation-related genes.
Meditation makes you live longer
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Telomeres are an essential part of human cells that affect how our cells age. Though the research is not conclusive yet, there is data suggesting that some forms of meditation may have salutary effects on telomere length by reducing cognitive stress and stress arousal and increasing positive states of mind and hormonal factors that may promote telomere maintenance. Understanding the malleable determinants of cellular aging is critical to understanding human longevity. Telomeres may provide a pathway for exploring this question. Telomeres are the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes. The length of telomeres offers insight into mitotic cell and possibly organismal longevity. Telomere length has now been linked to chronic stress exposure and depression. We consider two psychological processes or states that are in opposition to one another threat cognition and mindfulness and their effects on cellular aging. Psychological stress cognitions, particularly appraisals of threat and ruminative thoughts, can lead to prolonged states of reactivity. In contrast, mindfulness meditation techniques appear to shift cognitive appraisals from threat to challenge, decrease ruminative thought, and reduce stress arousal. Mindfulness may also directly increase positive arousal states. We review data linking telomere length to cognitive stress and stress arousal and present new data linking cognitive appraisal to telomere length. Given the pattern of associations revealed so far, we propose that some forms of meditation may have salutary effects on telomere length by reducing cognitive stress and stress arousal and increasing positive states of mind and hormonal factors that may promote telomere maintenance. Aspects of this model are currently being tested in ongoing trials of meditation.
Mindfulness meditation may even help treat HIV
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Lymphocytes, or simply CD4 T cells, are the “brains� of the immune system, coordinating its activity when the body comes under attack. They are also the cells that are attacked by HIV, the devastating virus that causes AIDS and has infected roughly 40 million people worldwide. The virus slowly eats away at CD4 T cells, weakening the immune system. But the immune systems of HIV/AIDS patients face another enemy as well stress, which can accelerate CD4 T cell declines. Now, researchers at UCLA report that the practice of mindfulness meditation stopped the decline of CD4 T cells in HIV-positive patientssuffering from stress, slowing the progression of the disease. Creswell and his colleagues ran an eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) meditation program and compared it to a one-day MBSR control seminar, using a stressed and ethnically diverse sample of 48 HIV-positive adults in Los Angeles. Participants in the eight-week group showed no loss of CD4 T cells, indicating that mindfulness meditation training can buffer declines. In contrast, the control group showed significant declines in CD4 T cells from pre-study to post-study. Such declines are a characteristic hallmark of HIV progression.
Health benefits of Transcendental Meditation There is an abundance of studies around the health benefits of Transcendental Meditation (a popular modality of meditation). In a nutshell, TM is found to Helps manage the effects of Trauma. Transcendental meditation is a technique of detaching oneself from anxiety and promoting harmony and self-realisation by meditation, repetition of a mantra, and other yogic practices. Practicing transcendental meditation technique for 20 minutes twice a day can significantly reduce trauma symptoms such as unwanted thoughts and helps find inner peace. The results showed that after four months of practicing the meditation technique, the women inmates had significant reductions in total trauma symptoms, including intrusive thoughts and hyperarousal. They also felt less stressed and experienced a greater sense of inner freedom and resilience. “The study shows a natural and effortless alternative approach to reducing trauma symptoms in women’s mental health” said lead author Sanford Nidich, Director of the Center for Social and Emotional Health at Maharishi University of Management in Iowa.
Practising the meditation technique allows the mind to transcend to quieter levels and has very specific effects on the body that are the opposite of the body’s hyperaroused state known as the flight-or-fight response. The system involved in this arousal, known as the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis, is significantly decreased in its activity, thus helping people not to get affected by stress. This meditation technique can also provide other benefits such as reduced recidivism to improved cardiovascular health, the researchers found. The meditation technique can also provide other benefits such as reduced recidivism to improved cardiovascular health, the researchers stated. For the study, the team encouraged prison inmates to practice transcendental meditation individually in their prison cells twice daily and encouraged them to attend 30-40 minutes group meditation sessions, twice a week over the four month study period. The participants reported that transcendental meditation helped them reduce their obsessive compulsive behaviour, social introversion, anxiety and neuroticism as well as rates of recidivism and increased positive social relations and improved sleep.
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Spirit
and Relationship Loosely translated as “circle,� mandalas are said to represent the universe. A mandala is designed to offer a visual balance of elements that symbolize harmony and unity. When used in a spiritual practice, the mandala is said to help absorb the mind in meditation. As you may have noticed, a mandala can come in an innumerable variety of designs, patterns, and colors. If you look closely, you will see the mandala represented in so many aspects of your own life the concentric circles in the patterns of nature, and even the circles of life, friends, and family.
Loving-kindness meditation improves empathy and positive relationships
In Buddhist traditions we find the practice of metta, or loving-kindness meditation, where the practitioner focuses on developing a sense of benevolence and care towards all living beings. According to a study from Emory University, such exercises effectively boost one’s ability to empathize with others by way of reading their facial expressions. Another study points out that the development of positive emotions through compassion builds several personal resources, including a loving attitude towards oneself and others, and includes self acceptance, social support received, and positive relations with others, as well as feeling of competence about one’s life and includes pathways thinking, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and ego-resilience.
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Loving-kindness meditation also reduces social isolation
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In a study published in the American Psychological Association, subjects that did “even just a few minutes of loving-kindness meditation increased feelings of social connection and positivity toward novel individuals, on both explicit and implicit levels. These results suggest that this easily implemented technique may help to increase positive social emotions and decrease social isolation�. The need for social connection is a fundamental human motive, and it is increasingly clear that feeling socially connected confers mental and physical health benefits. However, in many cultures, societal changes are leading to growing social distrust and alienation. In this study, the authors used a brief loving kindness meditation exercise to examine whether social connection could be created toward strangers in a controlled laboratory context. Compared with a closely matched control task, even just a few minutes of loving-kindness meditation increased feelings of social connection and positivity toward novel individuals on both explicit and implicit levels. These results suggest that this easily implemented technique may help to increase positive social emotions and decrease social isolation
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Meditation increases feelings of compassion and decreases worry
After being assigned to a 9-week compassion cultivation training (CCT), individuals showed significant improvements in all three domains of compassion: compassion for others, receiving compassion from others, and self-compassion. The practitioners also experienced decreased level of worry and emotional suppression. Compassion is a key motivator of altruistic behavior, but little is known about individuals’ capacity to cultivate compassion through training. We examined whether compassion may be systematically trained by testing whether (a) short-term compassion training increases altruistic behavior and (b) individual differences in altruism are associated with training-induced changes in neural responses to suffering. We found that compassion training increased altruistic redistribution of funds to a victim encountered outside of the training context. Furthermore, increased altruistic behavior after compassion training was associated with altered activation in brain regions implicated in social cognition and emotion regulation. These results suggest that compassion can be cultivated with training and that greater altruistic behavior may emerge from increased engagement of neural systems implicated in understanding the suffering of other people, executive and emotional control, and reward processing.
Mindfulness meditation decreases feelings of loneliness
A study from Carnegie Mellon University indicates that mindfulness meditation is useful in decreasing feelings of loneliness, which in turn decreases the risk for morbidity, mortality, and expression inflammatory genes.
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Scientists believe that Transcendental Meditation help manage emotional eating, which prevents obesity. Many people have problems controlling hunger and appetite, and science explains that there are hormonal reasons for this. The secretion of many of these hormones is directly effected by stress. Under stress one loses the natural intuition of knowing what the body does need and does not need. The Transcendental Meditation technique allows people to develop a state of mental and physical balance, where one naturally begins craving the foods that the body needs.
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When the body is getting what it craves, one tends to have a more balanced appetite. Stress plays an important role in causing obesity. The hormone cortisone, for instance, is released as a response to stress. Cortisol increases insulin resistance, and insulin is a hormone that makes you gain and hold onto weight. When your body has increased insulin resistance, it has to secrete more insulin to metabolize the food you’re consuming. So if you have higher cortisone levels, then you have more insulin resistance, which in turn causes weight gain. Several studies have shown that the Transcendental Meditation technique, by decreasing stress, causesbaseline cortisone levels to drop.
Meditation reduces emotional eating
Mindfulness For Kids Work on the effects of mindfulness and young people is not yet as extensive as work with adults but is now growing rapidly, particularly in developed countries such as the US and to a lesser extent the UK, and is results are promising. Research has developed rapidly in the last thirty years and two recent reviews concluded that mindfulness interventions are promising, generally acceptable and liked by the young people who take part, and there have been no reports that any of them did any harm. Conclusions Work on mindfulness with young people has a developing presence and can be effective on a very wide range of outcomes. Well conducted mindfulness interventions have been shown to be popular with students and staff, and capable of addressing the problems of the young people who take part, and improve their wellbeing, reduce worries, anxiety, distress, reactivity and bad behaviour, improve sleep, self esteem, and bring about greater calmness, relaxation, and self-regulation and awareness as well as improving aspects of cognitive function, and also physical health. Mindfulness correlates positively with wellbeing, positive emotion, popularity and friendships, and negatively with negative emotion and anxiety. There are several possible promising locations for it within mainstream education and the health services, for example within SEL, work on mental health, work on the process of learning, and staff development. The various studies suggest that for schools and the health service to engage in mindfulness is likely to have beneficial results on the emotional wellbeing, mental health, ability to learn and even the physical health of their students and patients as well as on the staff and carers. In these straitened times, it is worth reflecting that such interventions are relatively cheap to introduce and have an impact fairly quickly.
45 Anxiety and depression are symptoms of stress. Children and adolescents often encounter stress at home and at school just as adults do in their jobs and relationships. Research studies have demonstrated that the TM technique not only reduces stress, it increases inner happiness, and results in improved flexibility, social ability, and self esteem. When children and adolescents learn the Transcendental Meditation program, they tend to find approval from within rather than needing it from the outside, which leads to greater independence and less influence from peer pressure. Research shows that with the regular practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique, students improve significantly in academic performance and socialization skills. One striking example of a school where students practice the Transcendental Meditation technique is the Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment in Fairfield, Iowa, where students have demonstrated high levels of success in academics, the arts, and athletics.
Reality and Life
Buddha is a Sanskrit word that means The Awakened One. It represents the life of Siddhartha, an Indian prince that gave up his throne, riches and lavish lifestyle to look for true meaning and happiness in life. He studied for years with religious prophets and went on a six-year journey to share what he believed was the wayto achieve real peace and fulfillment in life. His teaching is known as the Dharma. Buddha is represented in many different forms. He symbolizes protection, serenity, meditation, medicine and teaching.
Meditators are more able to affect reality in a quantum level
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Numerous scientists over many years have studied the role of consciousness and how it can directly influence our physical material world, and a lot of research has been published clearly demonstrating that consciousness and what we perceive to be our physical material world are directly intertwined. A paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Physics Essays explains how The Quantum Double Slit Experiment has been used multiple times to explore the role of consciousness in shaping the nature of physical reality. The experiment uses a double-slit optical system to test the possible role of consciousness in the collapse of the quantum wave-function. Scientists predicted the ratio of the interference pattern’s double slit spectral power to its single slit spectral power would decrease when attention was focused onto the double slit as compared to away from it. The study found that factors associated with consciousness significantly correlated in predicted ways with perturbations in the double slit interference pattern.
“Observations not only disturb what has to be measured, they produce it. . . We compel to assume a definite position. . . We ourselves produce the results of measurement.”
In the first experiment, participants were instructed to direct their attention toward the double-slit apparatus or to withdraw their attention away and onto another task. At certain times, a computerized voice instructed them, saying “Please influence the beam now” when they were to focus on it and “You may now relax” when they were to look at something else. This first experiment was modestly designed in accordance with the consciousness collapse hypothesis.
The second experiment was conducted at a Zen Buddhist temple, which was a great place to recruit meditators for the experiment. This time for audio feedback, during attention-away periods the computer played a soft, continuous drone tone, and during attention toward it played a musical note that The second experiment wasperiods conducted changed at a Zen Buddhist temple, which waspitch to reflect the real-time value offor the participants were instructed a great place to recruit meditators to direct the experiment. This time for audio their attention toward the doubleperiods slit device as in the initial study. feedback, during attention-away they were successful, then the double the computer played a soft,Ifcontinuous slit spectral power was predicted to drone tone, and during attention toward and in turn the pitch of the periods it played a musicaldecline, note that note would also decline. This changed pitch to reflect themusical real-time testinstructed finished after 19 participants value of the participants were engaged to direct their attention toward the in 31 sessions. At the Institute Noetic Sciences (IONS) laboratory, double slit device as in the of initial study. 3 meditators If they were successful, then the double contributed 11 sessions and 4 non-meditators contributed 7 slit spectral power was predicted to sessions. decline, and in turn the pitch of the At the Zen Buddhist temple, 12 meditators musical note would also decline. This contributed 13 sessions. The tests were supervised, and a double test finished after 19 participants engaged in 31 sessions. At slit the apparatus Institute was presented. This of Noetic Sciences (IONS)experiment laboratory, provided more evidence, and the IONS laboratory the meditators 3 meditators contributed 11insessions showed 7“superior performance” and 4 non-meditators contributed as compared sessions. At the Zen Buddhist temple, to the non-meditators. 12 meditators contributed 13 sessions. The tests were supervised, and a double slit apparatus was presented. This experiment provided more evidence, and in the IONS laboratory the meditators showed “superior performance” as compared to the non-meditators.
“The stream of knowledge is heading toward a non mechanical reality; the universe begins to look more like a great thought than like a great machine. Mind no longer appears to be an accidental intruder into the realm of matter, we ought rather hail it as the creator and governor of the realm of matter. Get over it, and accept the inarguable conclusion. The universe is immaterial mental and spiritual.” — R.C. Henry (“The Mental Universe” ; Nature 436:29, 2005.)
“A fundamental conclusion of new physics also acknowledges that the observer creates the reality. As observers, we are personally involved with the creation of our own reality. Physicists are being forced to admit that the universe is a ‘mental’ constuction.” — Sir James Jeans (Pioneering physicist)
Science is quickly catching up to ancient wisdom. Changing our world requires action, yes, but that action must come from a place of peace, love, cooperation, and understanding. Who is to say that meditation, and directing intention toward what we would like to change, is not the base of action? If you change within, manifestation without will begin to unfold, and that’s exactly what’s happening on our planet right now. If our hearts are in the right place, and our intentions are pure, we will be provided with the necessary opportunities using action to implement change. This is why the role of consciousness, and recognition of its role, is so important. It plays a large factor in creating global change on a mass scale.
“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”
– Albert Einstein
Mindfulness meditation may improve your sex life
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One of the first things that I teach, when I work with anyone around their sexuality is the link between sex and a clear mind. Sex requires our presence, not numbing out.The best sex requires of us that we are fully in our bodies, and alive to the possibility of sensation. As we awaken away numbness we are actually able to experience the softest of touches as electric vibrations through our entire body. If you think you’re erotically numb, hormonally challenged, this does not have to be. Erotic numbness is reversible and it begins with reawakening our ability to feel arousal. Arousal is a state that not only fuels our creative engines, but can be enjoyed from our genitals up through our hearts and throughout our bodies. It’s really difficult to feel sexual arousal if our minds are busy and our thoughts are interfering. This is where meditative states can be incredibly useful. When we can quiet the mind and connect to our genitals we are able to feel deeply into our bodies in ways that we may never have experienced before. Sometimes, it’s in these quiet genital connections that we are able to find the source of any blockages to pleasure and our relationship with our own bodies. If we can learn to clear our minds and connect to our genitals this can be a path to full awakening: mind, body and spirit.
Meditation is the perfect entry point to many profound sexual experiences. Successful meditation and successful sex all start with the same three key entry points:
1. Get comfortable 2. Slow down 3. Connect to the breath When we are able to approach sex just like we approach meditation we are able to touch deeply ecstatic or erotic states where we have “alterations in bodily perception” and a “diminution of self awareness”. These shared experiences are found both in subjects deeply in meditation and in people having sexual experiences. People meditating and having an orgasm both experience the before mentioned “diminution of self-awareness” and “alterations in bodily perception.” When you meditate, the left side of your brain becomes activated and when you engage in sexual activity, though, the right side of your brains activates. Both of these brain responses helps you to stop the constant thinking or talking in your brain. Here lies the key when you are able to stop the chatter, and float into what can be called “states of higher consciousness” where your brain helps you by allowing you to lose physical and mental boundaries.
That is where we can find enlightenment. Our busy lives takes us to a place where we live all the time in our thoughts. When we are run by our thoughts we can lose connection with our bodies. This is known as “sensory amnesia” and is a feeling of not being able to give presence to our bodies. It’s possible to reclaim our bodies and our sexuality.
We can regain our own sense of our bodies and begin to shed our numbness.
Reduces race and age prejudice Research has shown that mindfulness can positively affect peoples’ lives in a number of ways, including relying less on previously established associations. We focused on the impact of mindfulness upon implicit age and racial bias as measured by implicit association tests (IATs). Participants listened to either a mindfulness or a control audio and then completed the race and age IATs. Mindfulness meditation caused an increase in state mindfulness and a decrease in implicit race and age bias. Analyses using the Quad Model showed that this reduction was due to weaker automatically activated associations on the IATs.
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Meditation Techniques Now you know that meditation has many benefits, and why you should be doing it. There are a lot of different ways of doing meditation, dozens of meditation techniques, and some conflicting information. You wonder which way is best for you. This last section will help you navigate the sea of different practices of seated meditation, briefly explaining each of them. There are literally hundreds of types of meditation, so here we will explore only the most popular ones. The advice regarding the posture of meditation is very similar among the different styles of seated practice, so I will go in to more detail about it only once, when talking about the first technique (Zen meditation). This section will not tell you which is “the best” type of meditation, because there is no such thing, and I’m not here to create controversy.
Zen Meditation (Zazen) Origin & Meaning Zazen means “seated Zen”, or “seated meditation”, in Japanese. It has its roots in the Chinese Zen Buddhism (Ch’an) tradition, tracing back to Indian monk Bodhidharma (6th century CE). In the West, its most popular forms comes from Dogen Zenji (1200~1253), the founder of Soto Zen movement in Japan. Similar modalities are practiced in the Rinzai school of Zen, in Japan and Korea.
How to do it It is generally practiced seated on the floor over a mat and cushion, with crossed legs. Traditionally it was done in lotus or half-lotus position, but this is hardly necessary.
The most important aspect is keeping the back completely straight, from the pelvis to the neck. Mouth is kept close and eyes are kept lowered, with your gaze resting on the ground about two or three feet in front of you. As to the mind aspect of it, it’s usually practiced in two ways: Focusing on breath — focus all your attention on the movement of the breath going in and out through the nose. This may be aided by counting the breath in your mind. Each time you inhale you count one number, starting with 10, and then moving backward to 9, 8, 7, etc. When you arrive in 1, you resume from 10 again. If you get distracted and lose your count, gently bring back the attention to 10 and resume from there. Shikantaza (“just sitting”) — in this form the practitioner does not use any specific object of meditation; rather, practitioners remain as much as possible in the present moment, aware of and observing what passes through their minds and around them, without dwelling on anything in particular. It’s a type of Effortless Presence meditation.
Vipassana Meditation Origin & Meaning “Vipassana” is a Pali word that means “insight” or “clear seeing”. It is a traditional Buddhist practice, dating back to 6th century BC. Vipassana-meditation, as taught in the last few decades, comes from the Theravada Buddhist tradition, and was popularized by S. N. Goenka and the Vipassana movement. Due to the popularity of Vipassana-meditation, the “mindfulness of breathing” has gained further popularity in the West as “mindfulness”.
How to do it There is some conflicting information on how to practice Vipassana. In general, however, most teachers emphasize starting with mindfulness of breath in the first stages, to stabilize the mind and achieve “access concentration.” This is more like focused attention meditation. Then the practice moves on to developing “clear insight” on the bodily sensations and mental phenomena, observing them moment by moment and not clinging to any. Here goes an introduction, aimed for beginners. To know more I’d suggest following up the links provided or learning from a teacher (perhaps in a Vipassana retreat).
Ideally, one is to sit on a cushion on the floor, cross legged, with your spine erect; alternatively, a chair may be used, but the back should not be supported. The first aspect is to develop concentration, through samatha practice. This is typically done through breathing awareness.
Focus all your attention, from moment to moment, on the movement of your breath. Notice the subtle sensations of the movement of the abdomen rising and falling. Alternatively, one can focus on the sensation of the air passing through the nostrils and touching the upper lips skin, though this requires a bit more practice, and is more advanced. As you focus on the breath, you will notice that other perceptions and sensations continue to appear: sounds, feelings in the body, emotions, etc. Simply notice these phenomena as they emerge in the field of awareness, and then return to the sensation of breathing. The attention is kept in the object of concentration (the breathing), while these other thoughts or sensations are there simply as “background noise”. The object that is the focus of the practice (for instance, the movement of the abdomen) is called the “primary object”. And a “secondary object” is anything else that arises in your field of perception either through your five senses (sound, smell, itchiness in the body, etc.) or through the mind (thought, memory, feeling, etc.). If a secondary object hooks your attention and pulls it away, or if it causes desire or aversion to appear, you should focus on the secondary object for a moment or two, labeling it with a mental note, like “thinking”, “memory”, “hearing”, “desiring”. This practice is often called “noting”. A mental note identifies an object in general but not in detail. When you’re aware of a sound, for example, label it “hearing” instead of “motorcycle,” “voices” or “barking dog.” If an unpleasant sensation arises, note “pain” or “feeling” instead of “knee pain” or “my back pain.” Then return your attention to the primary meditation object. When aware of a fragrance, say the mental note “smelling” for a moment or two. You don’t have to identify the scent.
When one has thus gained “access concentration”, the attention is then turned to the object of practice, which is normally thought or bodily sensations. One observes the objects of awareness without attachment, letting thoughts and sensations arise and pass away of their own accord. Mental labeling (explained above) is often use as a way to prevent you from being carried away by thoughts, and keep you in more objectively noticing them. As a result one develops the clear seeing that the observed phenomena is pervaded by the three “marks of existence”: impermanence (annica), insatisfactoriness (dukkha) and emptiness of self (annata). As a result, equanimity, peace and inner freedom is developed in relation to these inputs.
Mindfulness Meditation Origin & Meaning Mindfulness Meditation is an adaptation from traditional Buddhist meditation practices, especially Vipassana, but also having strong influence from other lineages (such as the Vietnamese Zen Buddhism from Thich Nhat Hanh). “Mindfulness” is the common western translation for the Buddhist term sati. Anapanasati, “mindfulness of breathing”, is part of the Buddhist practice of Vipassana or insight meditation, and other Buddhist meditational practices, such as zazen. One of the main influencers for Mindfulness in the West is John Kabat-Zinn. His Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program which he developed in 1979 at the University of Massachusetts Medical School has been used in several hospitals and health clinic on the past decades.
How to do it Mindfulness meditation is the practice of intentionally focusing on the present moment, accepting and non-judgmentally paying attention to the sensations, thoughts, and emotions that arise.For the “formal practice” time, sit on a cushion on the floor, or on a chair, with straight and unsupported back. Pay close attention to the movement of your breath. When you breath in, be aware that you are breathing in, and how it feels. When you breath out, be aware you are breathing out. Do like this for the length of your meditation practice, constantly redirecting the attention to the breath. Or you can move on paying attention to the sensations, thoughts and feelings that arise.
The effort is to not intentionally add anything to our present moment experience, but to be aware of what is going on, without losing ourselves in anything that arises. Your mind will get distracted into going along with sounds, sensations, and thoughts. Whenever that happens, gently recognize that you have been distracted, and bring the attention back to the breathing, or to the objective noticing of that thought or sensation. There is a big different between being inside the thought/sensation, and simply being aware of it’s presence. Learn to enjoy your practice. Once you are done, appreciate how different the body and mind feel. There is also the practice of mindfulness during our daily activities: while eating, walking, and talking. For “daily life” meditation, the practice is to pay attention to what is going on in the present moment, to be aware of what is happening – and not living in “automatic mode”. If you are speaking, that means paying attention to the words you speak, how you speak them, and to listen with presence and attention. If you are walking, that means being more aware of your body movements, your feet touching the ground, the sounds you are hearing, etc. Your effort in seated practice supports your daily life practice, and vice-versa. They are both important.
Loving Kindness or Metta Meditation Origin & Meaning Metta is a Pali word that means kindness, benevolence, and good will. This practice comes from the Buddhist traditions, especially the Theravada and Tibetan lineages. “Compassion meditation” is a contemporary scientific field that demonstrates the efficacy of metta and related meditative practices.Demonstrated benefits include: boosting one’s ability to empathize with others; development of positive emotions through compassion, including a more loving attitude towards oneself; increased self-acceptance; greater feeling of competence about one’s life; and increased feeling of purpose in life.
How to do it One sits down in a meditation position, with closed eyes, and generates in his mind and heart feelings of kindness and benevolence. Start by developing loving-kindness towards yourself, then progressively towards others and all beings. Usually this progression is advised:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Oneself A good friend A “neutral” person A difficult person All four of the above equally Gradually the entire universe
The feeling to be developed is that of wishing happiness and well-being for all. This practice may be aided by reciting specific words or sentences that evoke the “boundless warm-hearted feeling”, visualizing the suffering of others and sending love; or by imagining the state of another being, and wishing him happiness and peace. The more you practice this meditation, the more joy you will experience. That is the secret of Mathieu Richard’s happiness.
“For one who attends properly to the liberation of the heart by benevolence, unarisen ill will does not arise and arisen ill will is abandoned.” – The Buddha
Transcendental Meditation Origin & Meaning Transcendental Meditation is a specific form of Mantra Meditation introduced by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1955 in India and the West. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Maharishi achieved fame as the guru to the Beatles, The Beach Boys and other celebrities. It is a widely practiced form of meditation, with over 5 million practitioners worldwide, and there is a lot of scientific research, many sponsored by the organization, demonstrating the benefits of the practice. There are over 600 scientific papers, many of them peer reviewed, and I have used part of their research when composing my benefits of meditation page. However, there are also critics of the Maharishi and his organization, and some accusation of cultish behavior and doubtful research practices.
How to do it Transcendental meditation is not taught freely. The only way of learning it is to pay to learn from one of their licensed instructors. The support given seems to be good, though.In general, however, it is known that TM involves the use of a mantra and is practiced for 15–20 minutes twice per day while sitting with one’s eyes closed. The mantra is not unique, and is given to the practitioner based on his gender and age. They are also not “meaningless sounds” – rather, they are Tantric names of Hindu deities. This probably is irrelevant for most people.
Conclusion In a nutshell, science confirms the experience of millions of practitioners: meditation will keep you healthy, help prevent multiple diseases, make you happier, and improve your performance in basically any task, physical or mental. However, in order to experience most of these benefits you need to practice meditation consistently and daily.