The Life-Healing Power Of Meditation

Meditation is one of the most accepted alternative therapies in western medicine. It gained serious attention in Western cultures in the 1960s. As word spread of Eastern masters able to perform remarkable feats of bodily control and achieve altered states of consciousness, people in Western countries became increasingly fascinated by meditation. Health practitioners and researchers became interested in understanding how the mind could evoke physiological changes in the body. Meditation's ability to achieve physical benefits gave way to the beginning of the curiosity and research activity that continues to this day.

Meditation has been described in varying, often extreme terms. Viewed by some as a means of maintaining attention and awareness in the present moment, it has also been categorized as a symbol for world peace. As emphasized in most Asian traditions, mental control is the foundation of meditation, and mental control also lies behind meditation's application as a complementary healing technique. Mental mastery is believed to be capable of producing physiological and emotional change. The goal is to improve health in general and facilitate the healing of certain illness.

The practice of meditation includes certain common procedures. The meditator sits or lies quietly, usually with eyes closed, in a peaceful environment devoid of distractions. Mental exercises geared to channel concentration and relax the body are performed. The aim is to stay relaxed yet alert. Typically, a focal point of concentration is selected. This can be an object, a word, or a sound, a mantra or action, or the rhythm of one's own breathing.

Meditation is believed to promote the body's self-healing mechanisms. It is also a method of managing stress. Stress is now widely acknowledged as contributing to and exacerbating many health problems. Therefore, therapies such as meditation are greatly advocated, because these approaches provide effective relaxation techniques that help patients deal with stressful situations.

During meditation, people learn to redirect their attention to the present, reacting neither to experiences of the past nor thoughts of the future. Preoccupation with past and future is believed to be a major source of chronic stress. Meditation provides a mental training that teaches individuals to be aware of what causes their stress, thereby giving them a sense of control.

The benefits of relaxation and stress reduction, in turn, appear to reduce levels of stress hormones, improve immune functioning, diminish chronic pain, improve mood, and enhance fertility. Quieting the conscious mind is believed to allow the body's inner wisdom to be heard. That is, meditation promotes the body's ability to heal itself.

Further benefits attributed to meditation include enhanced immune functioning in individuals with chronic diseases such as cancer and AIDS. Practitioners also claim success with meditation included as part of the treatment of patients with hypertension and heart disease. It is also considered useful in assisting rehabilitative therapies for addictions such as alcohol and drugs.

With regular, long-term meditation, one can experience personal and spiritual growth, obtain richer sensory experiences, greater alertness, and increased mental efficiency, as well as the ability to access deeper levels of awareness. Some practitioners even attest to a mystical sense of oneness with the universe or the higher being.

The major foundation for meditation's popularity, especially as a benefit to personal health, is the belief that the mind can cause changes in the body. Many cultures, particularly those in Asia where meditative strategies have long been included in health regimens, have relied on this idea for centuries. A more recent underlying belief is the idea that stress induces harmful effects on the body. Because meditation emphasizes mental training and relaxation and imparts a sense of control, it is considered a potent agent against stress and anxiety, and therefore has gained widespread acceptance as a valid medical therapy.

Many studies have documented the relationship between meditation and the reduction of stress, anxiety, and panic states. Research has documented the relaxation response produced by meditation and prayer, a response involving decreased heart and respiration rates and eased muscle tension. Meditation has been shown also to help control negative thinking and assist people in managing potentially stressful situations in a calm manner.

Frequent meditation may reduce anxiety, depression, and pain among patients with cancer as well. A 1996 study reported in a journal published by the American Heart Association found that Transcendental Meditation (TM) reduced hypertension in African-American patients.

The relaxation and stress-reduction benefits of meditation are well documented. It has been found to reduce lactic acid levels (high levels of which are associated with anxiety). Mainstream medical practitioners often recommend meditation in conjunction to conventional treatment or as a preventive health measure. Meditation can ease muscle tension, lower oxygen consumption and heart rate, and with practice decrease blood pressure.