Benefits of Meditation
The single greatest benefit of meditation is peace of mind. Long term practitioners of meditation have lower levels of stress, less anxiety and have learned to live life in a more balanced way. Many meditation practitioners also find the practice helpful to their spiritual goals.
There is, however, another side to meditation: health and healing. Thousands of years of practice and benefit have demonstrated the link between meditation and healing. From medical and psychological conditions such as stress, to assisting in personal development, meditation has been an effective tool. Even the most mainstream, conservative Western medical experts are beginning to recognize the health benefits of meditation.
On a physical level, meditation has been clearly shown to reduce cholesterol levels, improve breathing for asthma sufferers, ease digestive problems, assist in the management of chronic pain, increase healing, and improve the immune system.
Meditation is also effective for easing a wide range of mental and emotional complaints, including stresses and anxieties (which, in turn, are also known to exacerbate physical problems), depression, addictions, anger, and compulsive behaviors.
Meditation and Cancer
The calm and relief from stress that are part of a regular meditation practice are extremely important to cancer patients, helping to develop the positive attitude that assists healing. Meditation is taught and used in cancer centers the world over, and a growing body of research is confirming the experience of clinicians: meditation and healing work together. Meditation cannot heal cancer, but it brings peace of mind and emotional health, important elements in any cancer treatment strategy.
Meditation and HIV/AIDS
Meditation helps the mind and the body find greater calm and relaxation, and helps to obtain focus and quiet amidst our stressful and busy lives. This is an important part of health and healing for people with HIV and AIDS, where stress can play a powerful role in the function of the immune system. There is a great deal of stress involved in this illness, and meditation can help to calm feelings of being overwhelmed and helpless while gaining perspective. Studies have also shown that meditation improves immune function for HIV and other patients. While meditation cannot lengthen life for those with terminal diseases, it can make considerable improvement in the quality of life, an important factor for anyone.
Meditation and Cardiac Patients
In medical studies, meditation has been shown to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Further study continues to measure the impact and benefit of meditation on the risk factors to cardiac problems, as well. These include high blood pressure (hypertension), high cholesterol, obesity (specifically abdominal obesity), and insulin resistance. In a study published in the Winter 2007 Ethnicity & Disease medical journal, transcendental meditation positively impacted patients who suffer from congestive heart failures.
Meditation and Sports
Meditation and visualization have been used by athletes on a regular basis. During the 1970's and 1980's, the U.S. became aware that Eastern Block Olympic and other amateur competitors were using meditation and visualization techniques in training. Polish, Soviet and other athletes were trained in highly structured meditation systems that resulted in measurable improvements in athletic performance. The United States quickly followed as did other countries and meditation now plays a role in nearly every amateur and professional sport.
Meditation and Pain
While the causes of pain are physical, the experience of pain is entirely in the mind. Meditation techniques have been used with success to control both acute and chronic pain. In fact, meditation techniques are employed by soldiers around the world to manage the pain of battlefield wounds and to resist torture. Through meditation, the mind experience of pain can be controlled and even eliminated.
Meditation and Stress
We live in a stressful, fast-paced world. We are pressed to multitask, and accept information and emotions from a dizzying array of sources. Stress at home, at work, on our commute: we have become a culture addicted to stress, driven by coffee and other stimulants. Meditation is a key to managing stress, bringing peace into a noisy, conflicted mind. Through quieting the mind each day, you can gain perspective over stress. Meditation also improves creativity, sleep, and self-confidence, all useful states of mind from which to approach our busy lives. Many people, from Fortune-500 executives to students, from overwhelmed stay-at-home mothers to over-committed healthcare workers, rely on meditation to find sanity and peace.