Health Benefits Of Meditation
Meditation is normally recognized as a largely religious practice, particularly in Eastern philosophies and religions. In the past few years, as Western culture has been exposed more and more to meditation through the martial arts and some popular Eastern philosophies, it has also been found to have many health benefits. Western people are also discovering that meditation is not as mysterious or difficult to do as many of us may have thought. And given the long list of benefits of meditation that a little meditation can produce, it may be worth it for them to look in to this ancient practice.
Quite commonly meditating on a regular basis helps people to quiet their mind. People will know when they reach this quiet spot as everything takes on a calmness that is not necessarily there in their day to day life. People can use their meditation sessions to concentrate on one particular part of their body. When people concentrate their mind, they will start to feel the health benefits of meditation work their way through into whichever part of their body they are concentrating on. Amazing as the thing may sound, simply concentrating on one part of the body will increase the flow of blood and therefore oxygen and other vital nutrients to that part of the body. This factor alone helps to explain why there are numerous medical benefits of meditation, although mainstream Western medicine does not always acknowledge these benefits.
By helping to calm the mind people are also strengthening their mind. Like any other muscle part, the mind also needs exercise. Meditation is one way that people can satisfy this need. Amongst the other physical benefits of meditation, it has easily been found that athletes who meditate on a regular basis will also perform better in their sport. Some of the health benefits of meditation may include Decreasing respiratory rate; Lowering oxygen consumption; Increasing blood flow and slowing the heart rate; Increasing exercise tolerance in heart patients; Leads to a deeper level of relaxation; Good for people with high blood pressure because it helps bring the B.P. down; Reducing anxiety attacks by lowering the levels of blood lactate; Decreasing muscle tension and any pain due to tension and headaches; Building self-confidence; Helping in chronic diseases like allergies; arthritis; Reducing pre- menstrual Syndrome; Enhancing the immune system etc.
People do actually not have to sit in some pretzel like position in a secluded monastary to do good meditation. Meditation greatly involves sitting in a relaxed position and clearing their mind. People can do this on the floor or on a bench, or in a chair. Just people should not use a chair that is too comfortable or they may fall asleep. People may focus on a repetitive soothing sound, or by counting their own breaths, or by concentrating on nothing at all. It is necessary to have 5-20 distraction-free minutes to spend on practicing meditation. It is highly needed to have silence and privacy. If one has never tried meditation before they might find it useful.