What are the reasons to meditate? Brain scans and medical research have provided some answers to that question. Researchers established a connection between spiritual meditation and the body’s physical processes through several studies of participants who were practicing it. They discovered that, with just 40 minutes of meditation each day, a person could actually alter the makeup of the brain — lessening the effects of aging and increasing the amount of gray matter in the right hemisphere. There are many other positive benefits of this practice for people with depression, chronic pain and insomnia, experts say.
The National Institute of Health has spent more than $21 million conducting research on meditation and its effects on the mind and body. Transcendental meditation in particular is one of the most-studied alternative therapies in existence. Over the years, there have been studies on metabolic/biochemical/cardiovascular changes (67), personality development (55), overall health (49), learning/academic performance (49), rehabilitation (44), electro-physiological changes (41), the Maharishi Effect/transcendence (41), motor/perceptual ability (26), psychology (25), physiological changes (24), sociology (17), physiology stability (16), and productivity/quality of life (12).
Zen meditation has been shown to lower pain sensitivity both in and out of a meditative state. The study conducted by the Universite de Montreal found that those who meditate breathed at an average of 12 breaths per minutes, compared to 15 breaths per minute in those who don’t meditate. The ultimate result for practitioners was an 18% reduction in pain sensitivity. “If meditation can change the way someone feels pain, thereby reducing the amount of pain medication required for an ailment, that would be clearly beneficial,” explains co-author Joshua A. Grant.
If you’re depressed, you might benefit significantly from meditation. An Oxford University study indicates that mindfulness meditation significantly reduces the number of people with depression. Study leader Professor Mark Williams said: “We are on the brink of discovering really important things about how people can learn to stay well after depression. Our aim is to help people to find long-term freedom from the daily battle with their moods.”
People who once wondered about the reasons to meditate are now finding they are the biggest advocates of the practice. Physicians are using it to cut down on fatigue, stress and burn-out. Employers are incorporating yoga and meditation into their employees’ work days to increase productivity and boost office morale. Patients are using different types of meditation to help when traditional medicine has failed them, for everything from chronic joint pain to depression. We’re likely to see many exciting findings in the coming years, given the amount of research being conducted and the advancement of MRI brain scan technology.
Meditating is more than just learning how to sit still and breathe properly. It can clear the mind and let you think of different solutions to problems you may be having in your life. It is relatively easy to learn and can do a world of good. Click here to get the meditation info you need.
