Mediation has been around for a very long time and has been utilized by the history makers of our world. It has withstood the test of time and yet many do not utilize it or benefit from it.
Meditation is used to take a deliberate break from the stream of thoughts that are constantly flowing in and out of minds. While some people use it to promote spiritual growth or find inner peace, other use it as a relaxation or stress reducing tool.
Webster’s definition of meditation is “to focus one’s thoughts; to reflect or ponder over something; to plan or to project in the mind.”
In traditional meditation, we focus our prolonged one-pointed attention on a prayer, a mantra, and a specific intention or on our breath. By doing this, we redirect our mind from reviewing the past or planning the future to the present.
Practicing meditation restores us, reconnects us and enriches our lives when we discipline ourselves to practice it everyday. It centers us, heightens our self awareness and focuses us to create our most dominant thoughts.
Calming our stress and soothing our nerves are meditation’s most tangible and immediate benefits. On a physiological level, meditation has been documented to normalize many of our body’s functions by:
• Calming and stabilizing our nerve system
• Decreasing cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone
• Reducing muscle tension
• Normalizing blood pressure
• Reducing serum cholesterol
• Increasing serotonin, a neurotransmitter associated with happiness
• Strengthening our immune function
• Increasing brain activity
• Restoring normal sleep cycles
• Reversing cardiovascular disease
• Energizing us
If meditation were a drug, it would be proclaimed the greatest drug of all time, the new magic bullet that would revolutionize healthcare. Except this drug would have no negative side effects.
Dr. Matt
