Vonda Martin, TCM, Reiki Practitioner
Some of the most beneficial advantages of meditating every day are well-known to many. Di you know that medication can:
Stop stress from stealing your energy.
Boost your endorphins.
Improve your quality of sleep.
Improve your brain function.
Improve your mental health and wellness.
Reduce inflammation related to headaches and migraines.
Reduce muscle tension.
Reduce your dependency on medical care and puts you in charge of your body.
So, let's go a little deeper and find out evidence-based benefits of daily mindfulness or transcendental meditation.
MEDITATION IMPROVES ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY IN THE BRAIN
Meditation changes the brain waves that are associated with wakeful, relaxed states of mind. (Norwegian Institute of Science and Technology, 2010).
Meditation can raise serotonin production and levels.
Meditation can also increase your willpower to break addictions. (Scripps Integrative Health).
Binaural beat meditation is good for brain synchronicity (having both hemispheres of the brain communicating well). The right side of the brain is for creativity and the left side is for logical cognition.
Meditation with binaural beats (an imaginary tone created in the brain when it is presented with two different frequencies at the same time--https://blog.mindvalley.com/binaural-beats-lucid-dreaming/)
leads to a balance in brain activity, communication in the corpus callosum, between the two hemispheres, and improves mental balance and better overall cognitive function.
MEDITATION REDUCES SYMPTOMS OF ANXIETY
Dr. Elizabeth Hogue at the Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders at Massachusetts General Hospital tells us that "meditation is one of the best ways to reduce symptoms of anxiety. People with anxiety have a problem dealing with distracting thoughts that have too much power," Dr. Hogue
explains. ";They cannot distinguish between a problem-solving thought and a nagging worry that has no benefit."
MEDITATION IS ONE OF THE BEST WAY TO PREVENT AND TREAT DEPRESSION
In a study by the University of Exeter, doctors took a look at mindfulness meditation and stated that meditation and mindfulness are more effective than drugs at treating depression. (Of course, you must consult with a physician and continue to take your medications as she recommends.) Meditation is also effective in treating post-partum depression. In 2015, Dr. Donna Dimidjian, in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado, published an article in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology in which she states that mindfulness meditation can
significantly reduce the risk of post-partum depression.
MEDITATION CAN SLOW THE AGING PROCESS
Stress, anxiety, tension, poor nutrition, lack of exercise, pollutants, chemicals and substance addictions are the main causes of aging in the human population. These all increase the aging of our cells. A study published in June 2016 by Dr. Melissa A. Rosencrantz, et al, stated that as little as 15 minutes per day of meditation IMMEDIATELY increases the activity of the gene that creates telomerase, reducing cell aging, and increasing the production of new cells.
The aging process is largely caused by the breaking down of ALL cells in our body. Skin cells particularly, grow old and are replaced by new cells, but it is difficult for your body to reproduce cells quickly enough. This is caused by stress, lack of exercise and a lack of nutrient-rich whole foods. This will gradually make your skin less flexible and weaker, making you appeared more aged. When you meditate, you give your mind and body a break from stress, so that it can focus on working on its various operations, like cell
production.
MEDITATION AIDS IN HEALING
When you enter a meditative state, you enter a state of enjoyment and relaxation. This in turn, can lower heart rate, lower blood sugar, lower blood pressure, lower cortisol and adrenaline secretions and provides your lungs with much-needed oxygen. Under stress, your blood vessels CONSTRICT, allowing less blood flow, and causing high blood pressure. When you meditate, breathe and relax, your blood vessels DILATE, allowing oxygen-rich blood to travel with less constriction, and flow freely throughout the body, helping ALL parts of the body to function properly, (Division of Cardiology at Cedars Sinai Medical Center).
Meditation also reduces inflammation in arthritis. In 2010 Dr. L. Rosenweig of Drexel University studied the effect of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on arthritis and other chronic pain. In the study, the 1000 patients that participated in mindfulness meditation or transcendental meditation every day for three months ALL had reported decreased arthritis pain. Meditation also improves mood and helps the body to relax, which helps to treat arthritis psychosomatically.
So you can see, just from this list, and there are dozens and dozens more benefits, MEDITATION IS A POWERFUL THING, that you can learn and do every day and it costs nothing, but your focus and time.
If you're ready to make a positive change on YOUR life, I'd love to help guide you! Contact our office today, 606-401-2966 to learn more about opportunities near you!
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