| The stressful lives we lead today take their toll on | | | | meditation process counteracted the effects of |
| our health. Mental stress and physical fatigue drain | | | | the sympathetic nervous system - the one that |
| us of our positive energy leaving us depleted | | | | wants to fight or flee. Whereas the sympathetic |
| physically, mentally and emotionally. Considered to | | | | system dilates the pupils and gets the heart rate, |
| be part of alternative medicine, meditation is fast | | | | respiration and blood pressure up, the |
| gaining popularity amongst conventional medical | | | | parasympathetic system, activated when we |
| practitioners as well. Patients are increasingly being | | | | meditate, does just the opposite.Muscle tension |
| advised to meditate for sometime in the day, | | | | decreases, blood pressure drops, and for some |
| which is believed to have a positive effect along | | | | extraordinary practitioners, even temperature and |
| with the allopathic medicines prescribed for a | | | | basal metabolism rates drop during a prolonged |
| number of medical conditions.What is | | | | meditation. Oxygen needs of the body are |
| meditation?Meditation is a technique that helps us | | | | reduced when you are in a highly relaxed state, |
| focus and calms the mind resulting in relaxed and | | | | and brain waves change from the busy beta |
| restful state of physical and mental being. | | | | waves to the blissful alpha waves.Meditation |
| Meditation is generally focused on one constant | | | | TechniquesThere are two major approaches to |
| thing, usually your breath. Meditation is an | | | | meditation, which are Concentrative Meditation |
| effective tool to gain mind control, self-awareness | | | | and Mindfulness Meditation. These can be explained |
| and understanding that eventually lead to inner | | | | as follows -1. Concentrative Meditation |
| calm and peacefulness. For people practice | | | | The approach to still the mind is to focus the |
| meditation, it can lead to profound experiences of | | | | attention on the breath, image or sound (mantra). |
| self-realization and transcendental awareness and | | | | This gives way to greater awareness and clarity. |
| knowledge. A proven alternative therapy, | | | | In its most basic form concentrative meditation |
| meditation is a known stress reliever.Meditation is | | | | requires you to sit quietly and focus your |
| beneficial not only psychologically but is known to | | | | attention on your breath. Practitioners of yoga |
| have positive effects on various health conditions | | | | and meditation believe that there is a direct |
| ranging from blood pressure, insomnia to even | | | | correlation between one's state of mind and one's |
| depression. There are different techniques of | | | | breath. For e.g. when a person is anxious, |
| meditation that people follow today. These are a | | | | frightened, agitated or distracted, the breath will |
| product of diverse cultures and peoples around | | | | tend to be shallow, rapid and irregular. On the |
| the world. The power of meditation has been | | | | other hand, when the mind is calm, focused and |
| harnessed to alleviate pain, suffering and promote | | | | composed, the breath tends to be slow, deep and |
| healing for centuries in different cultures and | | | | regular.2. Mindfulness Meditation |
| religions, in some or the other form.Types of | | | | In this type of meditation, the mind is aware of |
| meditationThere are various types of meditation | | | | all that is happening around you. You just observe |
| that originate from various parts of the world. | | | | the sounds, feelings, sensations, images, thoughts, |
| Prayer is possibly the most common one, the | | | | smells etc without getting involved in them or |
| others are Transcendental Meditation, mindfulness | | | | thing about them. The person is just like a |
| meditation, Zen meditation, Buddhist Meditation | | | | spectator who is witnessing everything but one |
| and Taoist Meditation.The body under | | | | who does not react or get involved with |
| meditationScientific experimentation and research | | | | thoughts, memories, feelings, worries or images. |
| has found out how the human body reacts under | | | | This helps to gain a more calm, clear and |
| profound meditation. It has been found that the | | | | non-reactive state of mind. |