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Health Benefits of Meditation

 

■ The main objective of the meditative experience is to shift the focus of the mind away from the frenzied thoughts of everyday living, such as worries about work, family, finances, or simply

the “to-do list” of the day.

 

■ Personal experience with meditation is required in order to accurately and sincerely communicate expected benefits.

 

How to Meditate

• First, scheduling time to meditate is of the utmost importance.

 

• We all lead busy lives and, despite the best of intentions, without a dedicated time for an activity, life oft en gets in the way and the activity never happens. (Think of the difficulty most people have finding

the time to exercise unless they commit to a certain schedule.)

 

• Therefore, a meditation practice starts with finding the time on a daily basis. The good news here is that not a lot of time is required.   A beginner can start with just a few minutes a day, eventually getting to 20 to 30 minutes a day as the benefits to the meditator become so obvious that

it becomes the most important part of his or her day.

 

Benefits of meditation

Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that can benefit both your emotional well-being and your overall health.

 

And these benefits don't end when your meditation session ends. Meditation can help carry you more calmly through your day and may help you manage symptoms of certain medical conditions.

 

Meditation and emotional well-being

When you meditate, you may clear away the information overload that builds up every day and contributes to your stress.

 

The emotional benefits of meditation can include:

 

Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations

Building skills to manage your stress

Increasing self-awareness

Focusing on the present

Reducing negative emotions

Increasing imagination and creativity

Increasing patience and tolerance

Meditation and illness

Meditation might also be useful if you have a medical condition, especially one that may be worsened by stress.

 

With that in mind, some research suggests that meditation may help people manage symptoms of conditions such as:

 

Anxiety

Asthma

Cancer

Chronic pain

Depression

Heart disease

High blood pressure

Irritable bowel syndrome

Sleep problems

Tension headaches

 

Meditation is an umbrella term for the many ways to a relaxed state of being. There are many types of meditation and relaxation techniques that have meditation components. All share the same goal of achieving inner peace.

 

 

One minute video:  

Mayo Clinic Minute: Meditation is good medicine

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