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It is becoming
very common for doctors nowadays to recommend
meditation as a method to lower blood pressure,
improve exercise performance in people with
angina, help asthmatics breathe easier, relieve
insomnia and generally ease the everyday
stresses of life. The method of traditional
treatment in India is a safe and simple way
to balance a person's physical, emotional and
mental states. The concept of meditation works
on the belief that when the mind is calm and
focused on the present, it is neither reacting
to memories from the past nor being preoccupied
with plans for the future which are the two
major sources of chronic stress known to impact
health.
There are several
methods of meditation but they all have one
common objective which is to focus on quieting
the busy mind. The idea is not to remove
stimulation but rather to direct concentration
to one healing element such as one type of
sound, one word, an image or one's breath. All
forms of meditation is basically classified into
two types which are concentrative meditation and
mindful meditation.
Concentrative
meditation focuses attention on a breath, an
image, or a sound (mantra) in order to calm the
mind and allow greater awareness and clarity to
emerge. The simplest form of concentrative
meditation is to sit quietly and focus attention
on the breath. Yoga and meditation practitioners
believe that there is a direct correlation
between one's breath and one's state of mind.
For example, when a person is anxious,
frightened, agitated or distracted, the breath
will tend to be shallow, rapid and uneven while
on the other hand, when the mind is calm,
focused and composed, the breath will tend to be
slow, deep and regular. The mind becomes
absorbed in the rhythm of inhalation and
exhalation when one focuses one's awareness on
the breath which then leads to slower and deeper
breathing and thus making the mind more tranquil
and alert.
Mindful meditation
allows you to become aware of the continuously
passing parade of sensations and feelings,
images, thoughts, sounds and smells without
becoming involved in thinking about them. The
person sits quietly and merely witness whatever
that goes through the mind and not reacting or
becoming involved with the thoughts, memories,
worries or images. This tends to achieve a more
calm, clear and non-reactive state of mind.
It has been proven
that our reactions become faster, creativity
greater and comprehension broader after
meditation. Add to that, by silencing the mind,
meditation can also put one in touch with
himself and thus allowing the body's own inner
wisdom to be heard.
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