MEDITATION IS THE MEDICATION

So what do you think meditation is all about,

Meditation is the art by which one can understand himself from within. It is not about becoming a different person, a new person, or even a better person. It’s about training in awareness and getting a healthy sense of perspective. Meditation is also a consciousness-changing technique shown to have many benefits on psychological well-being. Meditation has been practiced in cultures all over the world for thousands of years. Today, meditating daily is not a luxury but a necessity.

Nearly every religion, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, has a tradition of using meditative practices. Meditation can also be used as a psychotherapeutic technique. It is the delicate art of doing nothing and letting go of all efforts to relax in your true nature, which is love, joy, and peace. The practice of meditation gives you deep rest. It is essential to reduce stress levels and maintain mental hygiene.

"Your mind is an instrument learn to be its master, not its slave"

What are the benefits of meditation?

Having a calm mind,
Focussed attention,
Good concentration power,
Clarity of thoughts and feelings
Balanced emotions in stressful situations,
Improved communication skills,
Emergence of new skills and talents, unshakeable inner strength,
Healing powers,
Ability to connect to an internal source of energy,
Relaxation,
Rejuvenation

Effects of meditation on brain

The researches indicate that meditation may affect the brain in different manner. The effect is observed in two areas namely the structure of the brain and the functioning of brain

The areas of brain which are affected by the practice of meditation include,

Gray matter [outer most layer of the brain]
The prefrontal cortex [front part of the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex.]
Amygdala [region of the brain primarily associated with emotional processes located in the temporal lobe]
Hippocampus [region of brain located in temporal lobe]

Meditation Changes the way Brain responds to distractions. Profound meditation can result into change in the structure of brain. The scientific study indicates that meditation increases the cortical thickness of the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory and regulating emotions. Meditation is also decreases in the volume of the amygdala [the part of the brain responsible for emotions such as stress, fear, and anxiety]. It is observed that long-term meditators have better-preserved brains than non-meditators as they age. There has been an observation that meditation is also responsible for increasing the amount of grey matter in brain, therefore, resulting in more critical and better logistic thinking.

Effect on areas of Brain

Prefrontal cortex:

Meditation strengthens connection between the prefrontal cortex and amygdala
Meditation prevents the prefrontal cortex from shrinking
Meditation increases activity in your left prefrontal cortex which is associated with happiness

Frontal lobe:

The frontal lobe is considered to be the most highly evolved part of the brain that is responsible for reasoning, planning, emotions, and self-conscious awareness.
In simple language, this lobe tends to go offline during meditation.

Parietal lobe and thalamus:

The parietal lobe processes sensory information about the surrounding world and during meditation, activity in the parietal lobe slows down.
The thalamus helps focus your attention by channeling sensory data deeper into your brain and stopping other signals from firing.
Meditation reduces the flow of incoming information to the thalamus. Meditating actually minimizes the arousal signal.
So why is the decrease in all of these brain activities a good thing? These activities are actually undesirable brain functions that are responsible for lapses in attention and disorders such as anxiety, ADHD, and even the buildup of beta amyloid plaques in Alzheimer’s disease.

How does meditation help your body?

As an Healing form:

Meditation can result in many forms of healing i.e. emotional, spiritual, and even physical. The word healing comes from the Anglo-Saxon word “haelen” which means to make whole. You heal in an environment grounded in respect and empowerment. Thus we may conclude that meditation is a beneficiary practice and its helps to cure to root cause to all the problems in the world ie stress. There is a need especially for today's generation to practice meditation for attaining a healthy,peacefully,calm and happy life

"If you cultivate your mind, body , emotions and energies to a certain level of maturity meditation will blossom "

Other beneficial ways meditation helps us are:

Meditation practice improves memory
Meditation can slow down, or even prevent, some neurodegenerative diseases.
Meditation can help to reduce blood pressure
Regular meditation leads to neuroplasticity [ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization.in the brain]
Meditation can sometimes be more effective than sleep.
Routine meditation can make making decisions easier.
Thousands of people have overcome addictions using mindful meditation.
Meditation reduces stress.
Meditation can improve one’s attention span.
Meditating can increase kindness.
Most importantly meditation makes you happy.

Other general benefits:

Psychological Benefits

Builds self-confidence
Increases Serotonin levels
Resolves phobias and fears
Helps control own thoughts
Helps with focus and concentration
Increases creativity
Increased brain wave coherence
Improves learning ability and memory
Increased feelings of vitality and rejuvenation
Increased emotional stability
Improves relationships
Mind ages at a slower rate
Develops Intuition
Improves relations at home & work
Able to see the larger picture in a given situation
Develop will power
Develops emotional maturity
Grows a stable, more balanced personality
Greater tolerance
Gives composure to act in a considered & constructive way
Decreased tendency to worry
Helps make more accurate judgments
Decrease in restless thinking
Require less time to fall asleep, beneficial for insomnia

Physiological Benefits:

It lowers oxygen consumption rate
Decreases respiratory rate
Increases blood flow and slows the heart
Increases exercise tolerance
Leads to a deeper level of physical relaxation
Good for people with high blood pressure
Reduces anxiety attacks by lowering the levels of blood lactate
Enhances the immune system
Helps in chronic diseases such as arthritis, allergies, etc…
Helps in post-operative healing
Decreases muscle tension
Reduces pre-menstrual symptoms
Reduces activity of viruses and emotional distress
Drop in cholesterol levels, lowering risk of cardiovascular disease
Helps with weight loss
Higher skin resistance
Improved flow of air to lungs, resulting in easier breathing
Higher levels of DHEAS (Dehydroepiandrosterone)[one of the most abundant circulating steroids in human]
Cure headaches and migraines
More inclined to sports, activities
Harmonize your endocrine system
Reduced need for medical care
Greater orderliness of brain functioning
Relaxes the nervous system