It’s something that you hear all the time from celebrities, politicians, and other prominent public figures. Meditation is great, it’s good for you, it uplifts your soul. But could it really work for the average Joe?
As it turns out, it could, in a lot of ways both physical and mental. It’s more than just a trendy health fad. There are tons of published scientific studies out there that have shown the remarkable improvement that the practice of meditation had on people suffering from addiction, extreme stress, eating disorders, anxiety, and depression. There are research that shows that the healing powers of meditation can work on the cellular level, reducing the symptoms of ailments such as high blood pressure, chronic pain, irritable bowel syndrome, and heart disease in some people.
But before delving deeper into the major health benefits of meditation, let’s take a look at the practice from a wider perspective.
What is Meditation?
Meditation is a practice wherein an individual focuses on a singular thought, object, or activity to achieve a mentally peaceful and calm state. It has been around for thousands of years, and can be found in numerous cultures and religions around the world.
Though it is commonly associated with Eastern religions like Buddhism and Hinduism, meditation is also practiced in Abrahamic religions like Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Religious movements like Neopaganism and New Age have also incorporated meditation into their beliefs.
It is in the 19th century wherein people started using meditation in private and business environments for its well-touted health benefits, outside of its traditional religious associations. Since then, its practice started to grow among the masses, offering people an inexpensive, no-risk, method with which to alleviate stress and find calm in an increasingly stressful world.
Different Kinds of Meditation
Different cultures and different religions have minute variations when it comes to meditative techniques. But their overall goals are practically the same- achieve inner serenity and clarity of mind.
There are many different forms and types of meditation among these different contexts, a few examples of which are listed below:
*Mindfulness meditation – This kind of meditative practice involves being fully immersed in your present environment (i.e. being “mindful” of what’s around you), and just living in the present moment.
*Guided meditation – A form of meditation where the individual thinks of scenes and situations that are relaxing to him or her, solely focusing on this single thing alone to achieve inner calm.
*No thought meditation – As what the name suggests, the goal is to cease any unwanted thought activity.
*Mantra meditation – Similar to guided meditation, thought the relaxing component here is the repetition of a word, thought, or phrase that the meditation practitioner finds relaxing.
What Goes On In the Body When You Meditate
Meditation works not only on the mental, but also on the physical aspect of your body. Here’s what happens when you meditate regularly.
Reduces Stress
The amygdala is the part of the brain that primarily deals with negative emotions like anger and stress. When people go through a lot of stress, the amygdala becomes more dense. However, a scientifc study has shown that those who practice meditation have smaller and less dense amygdala than those who don’t.
It can work for those who have addictions too. For example, two groups of smokers underwent a smoking cessation program. One group incorporated meditative technique, while the other group didn’t. While both groups eventually smoked less after the study, those that meditated have shown less stress response in the amygdala when measured by an fMRI machine. More information about the effects of meditation on addiction recovery can be found here (https://www.pasadenarecoverycenter.com/10-styles-meditation-benefits/).
Less Chances For Heart Disease
A study involving 40 middle-aged adults have shown that an intensive eight-week meditation training reduced that amount of C-reactive proteins in the heart, a protein which is commonly associated with the development of heart disease.
Increases Cognitive Function
As people grow older, the prefrontal cortex becomes thinner. Though this is something that is expected with age, meditation practitioners can slow and even stop this process. According to neuroscientist Dr. Sara Laza, she encountered patients who are long time meditation practitioners whose prefrontal cortexes show no signs of decline.
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