Meditation
The term “meditation” derives from the Latin “meditatum”, which can be translated as “to ponder.”
What is Meditation?
Meditation is a practice that involves quieting the outside world and training your mind to focus and achieve a state of mental clarity, calmness, and tranquility. Meditation is used as a tool for stress reduction, relaxation, pain management, healing, and spiritual growth.
There is a wide variety of different types of meditation. During meditation practices, the goal is to focus attention and eliminate the normal stream of thoughts to quiet the mind. Considered a mind-body complementary practice, meditation may result in enhanced physical and emotional well-being.
History of Meditation
The beginnings of meditation are difficult to pinpoint, as spiritual reflection and fire gazing (ancient practice in which humans gazed into fire) are believed to date back as far as 200,000 years.
The first documented mentions of meditation are included in the Vedas, ancient spiritual texts from India dated around 1500 BCE. Meditation was practiced through the ages in Hinduism, Judaism, Taoism, Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism, spanning the globe in countries such as Greece, Egypt, India, China, Japan, and throughout other indigenous communities across the world.
Though meditation has existed for centuries in indigenous and ancient civilizations, it wasn’t popularized in the West until the 20th century, with the first major Western physiological studies being in the 1960s. Also contributing to its soaring popularity was the founding of Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Stress Reduction Clinic at UMass Medical Center in 1979, and Deepak Chopra’s Center For Wellbeing in 1996.
Today, meditation is accepted in many therapeutic, medical, and even workplace and school settings as an evidence-based technique for calming and quieting the brain. Meditation today is available through apps, programs, groups, and educational content that make meditation more accessible than ever.
Benefits of Meditation
There are many potential mental and physical benefits to meditation. It is considered a complementary medicine and not to be used in place of medical care. Some of them include:
Reduce stress and anxiety
Increased feelings of well-being
Increased self- awareness
Improved immune system function
Improved sleep
Lowering resting heart rate
Lowering blood pressure
Increased creativity and imagination
Increased patience and tolerance
Deepening faith or spiritual growth
Conditions Meditation May Treat
Meditation may be used to treat a variety of conditions as an integrative and complementary therapy. Some of them include:
Chronic pain
Asthma
Depression
Anxiety
Stress
Memory Loss
PTSD
Fibromyalgia
Heart disease
High blood pressure
Insomnia
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Evidence Meditation Works
There are a number of recent studies that have found meditation can be a powerful tool for mind and body health.
Journal of Psychosomatic Research: People who practiced mindfulness meditation for eight weeks had significantly reduced levels of stress and anxiety compared to those who did not meditate.
Mindfulness Journal: People who practiced mindfulness meditation had significantly higher levels of positive emotions compared to those who did not meditate.
Annals of Behavioral Medicine: People who practiced mindfulness meditation had higher levels of antibodies compared to those who did not meditate. Antibodies are proteins that help to fight off infection, so this suggests that meditation could help to boost your immune system.
Journal of Sleep Research: People who practiced mindfulness meditation had improved sleep quality compared to those who did not meditate.
Tips for Starting a Meditation Practice
Set aside some time each day at the same time to practice meditation. Either before bed or immediately after waking, your mind is likely to be more prone to entering the meditative state.
Find or create a calm, quiet space to meditate.
It is normal, and even expected for thoughts to wander during meditation. Simply call your thoughts back to center.
You can find guided meditations or video recordings on YouTube, or apps like Headspace and Calm. Having a guided voice will help ease you into meditation.
Find a meditation group or buddy that you can meditate with. While individual meditation is important, it can also be beneficial to benefit with others. This can keep you accountable and help foster a sense of community.
