There are many different styles of Meditation.
Some are traditional and have very exact requirements about how they should be practised while some Meditation styles are more contemporary and more flexible when it comes to how and when they can be practised.
Some Meditations are associated with specific religious beliefs or spiritual paths and some are not focused on spirituality or religion at all.
Basically, Meditation is as individual as we are and there is a Meditation style that is perfectly suited to everyone.
The style that is right for you will depend on your personal learning style (whether you are a visual, auditory or kinesthetic/tactile learner.) It will also depend on your own spiritual or religious beliefs and what you are wanting to gain through the practice of Meditation.
A good Meditation teacher can assist their students to identify the Meditation style that will best suit them, fairly quickly. While an untrained Meditation teacher may think a particular style of Meditation (like creative visualization for example) will suit all people. This is incorrect and can have the very sad outcome of turning a student away from Meditation (and all its wonderful benefits) for life.
Practising Meditation is enjoyable, relaxing and even fun!
If you have tried to meditate and found it difficult or boring, you are most certainly trying the wrong Meditation style for your individual self.
Take heart! There are many, many styles and one is guaranteed to be perfect for you.
You can meditate to music, you can dance in Meditation, walk while you meditate; you can even meditate in the shower!
Meditation is suitable for people of all ages, both sexes, all cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds
and the benefits of regularly practising Meditation are truly life changing!
WHY MEDITATE?
Whenever you practice Meditation you will recognize benefits on some level.
The size of the benefits will always be in direct proportion to the amount of time and regularity of your Meditation practice.
If you practice Meditation for at least 20 minutes every day, you will soon discover life-changing benefits on many levels.
Some of these benefits will include:
A significant reduction in how much you are affected by stress.
A greater sense of calm and peacefulness.
More clarity of thought.
Greater self-confidence and improved self-esteem.
A sense of physical, mental & emotional wellbeing.
Better sleep.
More physical energy.
Increased motivation.
Improvements in your general health.
Noticeable assistance in the treatment of illness and disease.
Normalizing of blood pressure.
Healthier digestion.
Meditation can even help you lose weight, improve your sex life, cure skin conditions, reduce wrinkles and improve your eyesight!
Clinical research over the past two decades has now proven that Meditation is not only an ancient spiritual practice but a powerful healing tool that, with regular practice, can significantly improve every aspect of your life.
Once you find the Meditation style that is perfect for you, you will not only marvel at the difference it makes in your life on so many levels, you will fall in love with the experience!
The Stress Response Explained.
Stress is a major cause of poor health, disease and premature death in our modern world.
It is also responsible for relationship breakdowns, accidents, addiction and domestic violence as well as suicide and depression.
Meditation is a proven method for reducing stress and thereby contributing to optimum health and increased satisfaction with life.
Please watch the short video below for an explanation on how stress affects your health.
Decades of increasingly growing research confirms the immediate results of regular meditation practice.
We know meditation reduced stress and anxiety levels, lowers blood pressure, develops a higher functioning immune system, improves digestion and enhances happiness and these are just a few of the clinically proven benefits. Studies have shown many of these effects are common in as little as eight weeks.
While these immediate bonuses are reason enough for us to practice Meditation regularly, the positive impact appears to be even more far-reaching, potentially adding years to our lives and improving cognitive function well into old age.
Meditation appears to affect the longevity of the physical body in a handful of different ways, starting at the cellular level.
Our cells contain chromosomes or sequences of DNA. Telomeres are “protective protein caps” at the end of our DNA strands that allow for continued cell replication.
The longer the telomere, the more times a cell can divide and refresh. Each time a cell replicates, its telomere length, and therefore its lifespan, gets shorter in a natural aging process.
Telomerase is an enzyme in the body that prevents telomere shortening and can even add telomeric DNA back to the telomere and help our body’s cells live for a longer period of time. Scientists have isolated length of telomeres and telomerase as indicators of cellular aging. So, the longer your telomeres are the slower the aging process.
In 2013, Elizabeth Hoge, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, investigated this idea by leading a study comparing telomere length of experienced Meditation practitioners with that of non-meditators. Results revealed that those with more years of meditation practice had longer telomere length overall and that women meditators had significantly longer telomeres as compared to women non-meditators.
These findings further support Meditation’s positive effect on healthy cellular aging and provide fodder for future longitudinal research that could track the change in telomere length over time.
Another way meditation may help slow aging is through its effects on the brain.
Typically our brains’ grey matter volume, which is made of brain cells and dendrites that give and receive signals to help us think and function, decreases beginning at age 30 at different rates and locations, depending on the individual.
Concurrently, we also begin to lose white matter volume in our brains, which is comprised of axons that carry the actual electric signals between dendrites in the brain.
A small but growing body of research indicates we may alter our individual brain structure through meditation and potentially slow structural degeneration.
Meditation may capitalize on the brain’s undying hunger to be preserved and thrive.
What exciting times we live in!