5 Major Benefits of Meditation
WHAT IS MEDITATION?
Meditation is the practice of silencing one’s mind for an extended period of time. This process can be aided with music, guidance, or chanting. The benefits of meditation have been becoming increasingly known and shared in the media as more individuals are becoming interested in this practice.
LET’S TALK YOGA
There are 8 limbs of yoga, only one of those being asana, or the physical practice we commonly associate the word yoga with. The 7th limb Dhyana, or meditation, is the limb directly before Samadhi (enlightenment). So the practice of observation and reflection is seen as a key to reaching enlightenment. We can clearly see meditation is held highly in yoga, but why is it so crucial, you may wonder. In this post, we will explore in-depth the many benefits of meditation to mind, body, and spirit.
MEDITATION STYLES
Before we get into all of the science, I want first to address how to meditate. I hear people say all the time, “meditation is not for me” and then go on to explain that their mind is too chatty or that they have a hard time sitting still. Of course, the first thing that pops into my head when I hear this is, “wow, do you need meditation” (I think this in the most loving way). Meditation is for EVERYONE. Everyone can benefit from meditation. There are so many different styles to get you started. I encourage you to try a few different methods before rejecting the practice.
Are you a visual person? Try visualization meditations.
Do you have a hard time focusing? Try guided meditations or chanting meditations.
Do you have a hard time sitting still? Try moving meditations.
You can’t bear the silence? Try sound bath meditations, guided meditations, or chanting meditations.
Are you seeking silence? Try using a meditation timer.
Are you into astrology? Check out these New Moon Meditations.
Within these categories, you may find body scans, chakra balancers, breath awareness, and so much more! You can meditate sitting on the floor, on a chair with a backrest, or even laying down. Because there is no right or wrong way and we cannot say that one is superior to the others. In contrast, the one objection to this is that you are more likely to fall asleep laying down. Therefore, you can meditate for as little as 3 minutes every day in the format of your choice to benefit from the practice.
BENEFITS OF MEDITATION
There are endless benefits of meditation, and many of them you can discover on your own just by inviting a daily practice. I am going to explore 5 major benefits of meditation, backed by scientific evidence.
1. TREATMENT FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS
A systematic review of 209 studies on mindfulness-based meditation found it to be successful in reducing anxiety, depression, stress, and a variety of other psychological conditions. (1)
Meditation allows you to drop into a state of deep relaxation. It can teach you how to mitigate the intense effects of anxiety and depression through different lenses such as detachment and altered focus.
2. IMPROVES COGNITION
In a 4-day meditation study, the practice was shown to reduce fatigue while improving mindfulness. This increased mindfulness improves working memory (visual and spatial) and executive functioning. (2)
This practice allows you to bring your intention inward while silencing your mind. This helps you to exercise your brain in different ways while exploring your internal state.
3. DECREASES BLOOD PRESSURE
A review found that meditation can help lower your risk for cardiovascular disease by reducing some of the risk factors such as hypertension and psychological stress. Several different styles of meditation showed beneficial effects in lowering blood pressure. (3)
Meditation may have positive effects on the cardiovascular system through a mind-heart connection and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. (4)
4. IMPROVES SLEEP
A study on meditation-based therapies found that those who meditated were able to stay asleep longer. The intervention results showed a significant reduction in insomnia severity. (5)
Meditation over time enhances your body’s ability to drop into a state of relaxation quicker. This may help you do so at the end of the day as well when you want to let go of external and internal stimuli and drift off.
5. PAIN CONTROL
A systematic review of over 38 studies concluded that mindfulness meditation can reduce pain and depression symptoms while overall improving quality of life. (6)
While more rigorous studies are needed to determine the effects on chronic pain, this suggests the potential for benefits.
HOW MEDITATION WORKS
There are two types of meditation mentioned below:
Focused Attention (FA)
Open Monitoring (OM)
If you have seen or read Eat Pray Love (my all-time favorite book and movie), there is a clear example of these differences. When Liz is staying at an Ashram in India, she meditates for an hour every morning and evening and focuses on mediation (FA). In this instance, she is using the mantra as a focal point to avoid getting wrapped up in the wandering mind. When she goes to Bali and seeks guidance from a medicine man, he tells her to sit still and smile (OM). In this technique, it is okay for her mind to wander; she should just observe that she is thinking and then let it go.
COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING
Focused Attention meditation restructures cognitive functioning. It brings your attention to a focal point such as the breath, a mantra, or an area of your body. Typically your mind would be wandering from thought to thought, stimulating various reactions in your physical and emotional body. FA meditation suppresses these feelings or responses by guiding you in dissociating from the wandering mind. (2) Open Monitoring meditation teaches you to actively detach from these thoughts when they come into your mind without trying to force them out. (2) You can view your mind as a blue sky and every thought as a passing cloud.
During meditation, physical relaxation induces your Central Nervous System(CNS) to function at a different level. The CNS is receiving less input and producing less output. As a result, it has time to process internal activities at an increased pace. (2) I briefly mentioned this in benefit number two (improves cognition) above. Similarly, this mind-body interaction opens up a realm for various other potential benefits to slip in. By inducing relaxation, ease of mind, and increased control over your internal function, we can begin to see many cognitive enhancements through this practice.
CONCLUSION
In summary, meditation opens you up to a world of physical, emotional, and psychological benefits. In addition, there are endless styles and variations for you to explore and make your personal practice enjoyable. You can use meditation alongside yoga and other spiritual or physical practices to enhance your overall well-being!
RESOURCES
Saeed, S. A., Cunningham, K., & Bloch, R. M. (2019). Depression and Anxiety Disorders: Benefits of Exercise, Yoga, and Meditation. American family physician, 99(10), 620–627.
Brandmeyer, T., Delorme, A., & Wahbeh, H. (2019). The neuroscience of meditation: classification, phenomenology, correlates, and mechanisms. Progress in brain research, 244, 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pbr.2018.10.020
Koike, M. K., & Cardoso, R. (2014). Meditation can produce beneficial effects to prevent cardiovascular disease. Hormone molecular biology and clinical investigation, 18(3), 137–143. https://doi.org/10.1515/hmbci-2013-0056
Olex, S., Newberg, A., & Figueredo, V. M. (2013). Meditation: should a cardiologist care?. International journal of cardiology, 168(3), 1805–1810. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcard.2013.06.086
Koike, M. K., & Cardoso, R. (2014). Meditation can produce beneficial effects to prevent cardiovascular disease. Hormone molecular biology and clinical investigation, 18(3), 137–143. https://doi.org/10.1515/hmbci-2013-0056
Hilton, L., Hempel, S., Ewing, B. A., Apaydin, E., Xenakis, L., Newberry, S., Colaiaco, B., Maher, A. R., Shanman, R. M., Sorbero, M. E., & Maglione, M. A. (2017). Mindfulness Meditation for Chronic Pain: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, 51(2), 199–213. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-016-9844-2
