Meditation is a practice where your mind enters a realm of nothingness. It involves taking a break from “doing”, and just being still. Here, you can experience profound peace and restfulness. This state of rest goes even beyond deep sleep. Practitioners around the world swear by the benefits of meditation.
Today, research papers and medical books that describe the effects of meditation on the mind are on the rise. These studies back up the claims sages, shamans and monks made ages ago. They said that through meditation, you could reach the heights of well being – physical, psychological as well as emotional.
The Benefits of Meditation: Now, Science Agrees!
Meditation Regulates Your Emotions.
Ever wondered about the connection between your emotions and your body? Let’s look at their close relationship…
Your heart pumps several thousand litres of blood each day. This involves a great deal of strength. To remain functional, the heart relies on rest – during each beat, it relaxes for half a second. While the heart rests, the unclean blood purifies in the lungs. For complete purification, the heart must rest for a full 0.5 second.
Now, when you have negative emotions, your body feels stress. This makes your heart beat faster and rest lesser than 0.5 seconds. So, your blood purification levels decrease. Impure blood links to various problems, such as higher risk of heart attacks, chronic fatigue, insomnia, higher irritability, skin diseases, heart diseases, and high blood pressure.
The positive impact on your emotional state is one of the most vital meditation benefits for health. Studies link meditation to more “feel-good” hormones and less stress-causing hormones. It also helps you react to stressful situations neutrally – your mind isn’t easily agitated. You experience lesser negative emotions like fear, anxiety, anger, and sadness, and guilt. Liberated from stress-causing emotions, your heart gets enough rest per heartbeat and your blood will remain pure.
It Boosts Your Brain Power.
For years, scientists have been studying the powerful impact of meditation on the human brain. 70% of your blood travels to your brain since its activities are so energy consuming. Most of its energy is spent on planning, remembering and thinking, as well as emotions. The lesser energy your brain needs to do these activities, the better it can perform.
In today’s world, multi-tasking is so common. Our attention scatters across our task at hand, music in the background, social media, future plans for the next day, memories and so on. Many think that our brains are performing better since we multi-task. But this is not the case. We are least focused and most easily distracted. So our brain processing power is on the fall.
Meditation helps you focus on the current moment. It keeps your brain calm and focused. With full attention in the present, your brain performance increases. It then needs lesser time and energy to complete each task – it keeps growing stronger. And with a strong brain, what can you not accomplish?
It Helps You Relax.
Relaxation is essential for your well being in so many ways. And science has found that meditation is one of the most powerful tools to experience it. Studies also record the effects of meditation-induced relaxation on the body and mind. Its physical benefits include better healing, higher “feel-good” hormones, slower heart rate, and higher stamina. Mentally, you’d feel more clear and active. Emotionally, relaxation helps you feel stable, calm and more confident. In fact, several doctors and psychologists now recommend meditation to help patients heal through relaxation.
Bringing the Benefits of Meditation into Your Life
There are so many resources to learn about meditation as well as its benefits. Reading science of meditation books is a good way to start. Ultimately, meditation must go beyond your daily practice. It becomes a part of your life. The effects are profound and worth experiencing – now, even science agrees!
Read more about living life, the Ayurvedic way: 7 Essentials of Ayurveda Living
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