Benefits of Meditation: A Historical Perspective

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Benefits of Meditation: A Historical Perspective

Regular practice of meditation has many positive effects on the mind and body. Today, there are many opportunities to practice meditation. It is being offered in fitness centers. There are even establishments that only offer meditation for people. There are countries in Indonesia that are famous for meditation houses. With the help of a facilitator, meditation can be practiced as part of a group. On the other hand, a person who prefers to meditate in the comfort of his own home is welcome to do so. There are some videos that can teach people to meditate. He can do research on the topic and find out which approach suits his needs best and learn it systematically. The option to ask a teacher or expert for help is available as well. Incorporating meditation into one’s lifestyle is a popular practice nowadays because meditation is proven to change the mind the body for the better.

Universal benefits of meditation

Since the advent of civilization, man has been striving to better himself and searching for ways to attain success in life. Man’s realization that he is capable of thinking and acting for himself led to the never ending search for ways to improve and change for the better. Awareness of one’s thought processes is one of the universal benefits of meditative practice, no matter what technique or approach is used.

There are some people who practice this in a hope to achieve mental state of being. Meditation is a recognized method of altering the mental state, resulting in emotional balance and physical health. Therefore, people who devote time to meditate are also better equipped to handle the challenges that modern living throws at them. It is a way to get by the problems that life has to offer. Meditation is a practice that takes away negative thoughts and emotions in order to reduce stress and anxiety. A person who meditates is better equipped to handle current situations because their thought processes are uncluttered and focused on the moment, instead of wallowing in the future or the past.
The attainment of a calm, focused, and quiet mind is not the only benefit of meditation. There are physical benefits as well. For instance, meditation can effectively lower blood pressure to a baseline value that promotes healthy bodily functions. Perhaps one of the most prominent physical improvements of meditation is on a person’s breathing pattern. The relaxed pace and greater depth of breathing promoted in meditative practice leads to changes in the person’s physiology. The amount of oxygen required is reduced. The body is more relaxed and the balance shifts more towards conservation of energy.

Where did meditation originate?

Meditation is recognized in many cultures and traditions as a means to attain a higher state. Evidently, civilizations that thrived thousands of years ago were already aware that meditation is a practice that brings forth numerous benefits. The prehistoric cultures that emerged in the Indus Valley thousands of years ago left clues for modern archaeologists to find—clues as to how they lived in those times, what they believed in, and the activities that they engaged in. Their ancient Hindu scriptures already described meditation (tantras). These are some of the earliest documents mentioning people practicing meditation.

Leo Gura has a video on Learning the benefits of meditation in 15 minutes.

and if you can spare some time

Russell Simmons: “Success Through Stillness: Meditation Made Simple” | Talks at Google   This is about using meditation to further your personal development.

Author: Ericka Bates

Hello! I'm Ericka Bates. I am a wife and mother of 2. Totally nosey with the ability to read. Therefore a great researcher. Things I like to look into autism treatments, health, meditation, and personal development. In much of my findings with autism, stress came up a lot. Stress turned out to be the cause for most health problems. Know what can defeat stress? Meditation! Meditation is not only a great way to get rid of stress, but it's also used to reduce anxiety, depression, anger, lower blood pressure and increase your creativity. There are many forms of meditation and right now I am actively practicing 4. I sit quietly and watch my breath. At first this was hard. My mind kept wondering, I was sitting in thought. Now my mind still wonders some, but I think that I'm getting the hang of it. Hey, practice makes perfect right. Walking is my favorite form of meditation. I listen to a podcast while walking and when I'm done I feel relaxed. Gratefulness or Gratitude is another good one. When I get upset, I stop and think okay, what's five things that's good about this situation. This calms me down and makes me feel better. Like the saying goes happiness is a choice and I wanna be happy. Happiness just doesn't show up you have to produces that kind of energy for yourself. Visualization is the fourth form of meditation I practice. I have a vision board with pictures of the things I want and the things I want to do. The pictures are fun to find, cut out, arrange, pin up and their nice to look at every day. Because your only choosing the things you like and want to do makes this form of meditation a joy to have in your life. It wasn't hard making meditation a part of my every day life. Now I feel that meditation is the foundation to anyone's personal development. Hopefully you'll find a form or forms of meditation that's just right for you too.

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