If you’re looking for information about why meditation is important and want to know about meditation benefits you’ve come to the right place. In this new article, we will discuss topics about why meditation is important and its benefits.
Have you experienced sometimes when you feel like a person was not listening when you were talking to him, had no awareness of what he was eating, and was not aware of what he was thinking when he was going around? This is a trick our minds play on us. The mind always focuses on either the past or the future. That is how he is trapped in an endless hurry. With your worries, worries, and dreams, the mind is an organ that we can not control and that works apart from our body.
This loop is bad as a result of the plenty of stimuli of daily life. Every minute of the day is full of incentives thanks to the TV, the internet, social networks, the news, our friends, and dozens of messages. As a result, our constitution is always stimulated and we experience things like stress, worry, and concerns. The relationship between the body and the mind is broken and we begin to live without sense.
It is possible that you did not try to do meditation or that you thought you could not do well. This is not a problem. With the passage of days, you will realize that meditation consists of very easy techniques. Meditation is one of the most effective techniques to focus on our bodies, emotions, and breathing. Through doing so, we can move away from a worried and tired mind to a calm and focused one.
There is no miraculous world that we can access while meditating. Everything happens in our bodies and minds. Thus the application of Meditation is a way to experience a practice that has existed for hundreds of years in our daily lives.
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WHAT IS MEDITATION?
when you looking for why meditation is important, first we have to know what is meditation. Meditation is a training for the mind and heart that leads to greater mental and emotional freedom. It is normally associated with the most important spiritual traditions, especially with Buddhism, but more recently in the West, it has adapted to secular contexts including healing.
Why meditation is important? 7 BENEFITS YOU SHOULD KNOW about Why Meditation is important
1. IT HAS ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECT
Perla Kaliman, a doctor in biochemistry and neuroscientist, says that meditation modifies the activity of genes, that is, that genes work to a greater or lesser extent. For example, if the activity of a certain gene causes an “undesirable” effect -like inflammation- “it is important to turn it off”. This is what anti-inflammatory drugs do and what, according to the scientist’s defense, causes meditation.
“More studies are still needed to determine if the magnitude of the effect of meditation can be compared to that of drugs and to what extent it can represent a therapy in inflammatory diseases,” he says.
2. POSITIVELY MODIFIES GENES
“We still do not know if reducing an individual’s stress can improve the health of their descendants, we do know that suffering stress during pregnancy has the opposite effect,” says Kaliman. It has been shown in animals that “exposure to stress hormones during pregnancy leads to changes in genes that remain at least two generations.”
Neuroscientist Richard Davidson and (University of Wisconsin), investigated the effects of a day of meditation practice based on mindfulness technique (known as mindfulness). To do this, they compared a group of people who performed non-meditative activities in a relaxing environment, with another group of experienced mediators who performed care activities. In eight hours, the second group showed positive differences in the expression of the genes that were not observed in the first.
Biochemistry, which is currently developing a study on the impact of meditation, also states that mindfulness improves cardiovascular health and preserves the integrity of some areas of the brain to age, so it suggests that “meditating benefits the general well-being and promotes healthier aging. ”
3. REDUCES FEAR, STRESS, AND ANXIETY
Marta Portero, a doctor in neurosciences and specialist in learning and memory processes, confirms that meditation decreases “the expression of pro-inflammatory genes” and “the activity of the amygdala”.
In this way, people manage to reduce fear, stress, and anxiety, achieving greater emotional and cognitive control. Kaliman adds, “8 weeks of training” is enough to notice these changes in the structure of the brain. Meditation moderates cortisol release and increases that of melatonin and serotonin. This translates, among other things, into a decrease in the “alarm response in stressful situations”.
4. INCREASES MEMORY, CONCENTRATION AND CREATIVITY
“There are more recent studies, from 2012, which prove that meditation achieves an increase in the concentration of gray matter (neurons), in brain regions such as the left hippocampus, related to learning, concentration, and memory,” adds the expert. This facilitates all those processes.
Goalkeeper also stresses that meditation modulates brain rhythms. But what does this mean? “Depending on the state we are in awake, sleeping … We have different brain rhythms when we are very active, Beta waves are detected in our brain If we have drowsiness, the waves will be Theta or Delta.
In childhood, a large number of Alpha waves are recorded, closely linked to creativity and relaxed concentration. As we grow, Portero explains, there is a decrease in Alpha waves. The practice of meditation manages to recover hours of this Alpha rhythm and, in this way, favors and improves the processes of attention, relaxation, and creativity.
5. THE PERSONALITY CHANGES DEEPLY: AND THAT OF THE CHILDREN?
Hector Grijalva, doctor and psychotherapist, complains that meditation causes “deep” changes in personality. “The violent becomes calm and the suffering becomes peaceful,” he explains.
“There are very strong bases to suppose that if a person modifies his personality through meditation, his son will also experience these changes, but the reality is that it is not yet proven,” says Grijalva, who focuses on demonstrating that meditation can be, really, a “therapeutic” tool. To better explain this effect, he talks about a study directed three years ago on children with attention deficits in Aguascalientes.
“To begin with, the children were divided into three groups, each of which was given a different treatment for one year: one medication, another psychotherapy, and, last, meditation, the three groups improved the same, they had the same results, “says Grijalva. One of the conclusions of the investigation was that “if two of the therapies are combined, even better results can be achieved”, according to this doctor.
6. IMPROVES THE IMMUNE SYSTEM
Another one of the approaches that Grijalva, also an ex-coordinator of Mental Health of the Mexican state, is that if children are taught to meditate, they could improve both their attention deficit and “other” problems.
In his opinion, meditation can become a “public health resource” in general, which also helps reduce the use of drugs. The so-called Davidson study demonstrates, in this sense, that the practice of meditation improves the immune system.
7. It helps you to help others.
Many of us are regular helpers. We put the needs of others ahead of ours, sometimes at the expense of ours. When we take the time to cultivate our inner peace, we can see that this benefit is transmitted to those around us. We are calmer with our partners and children, more friendly with our friends, and in general, we are more pleasant.
TIPS TO START MEDITATION
- THE RIGHT PLACE
If we have the opportunity to do so, we can reserve a space in our exclusive house for our meditations. The important thing is that it is a bright, clean place and that we decorate it according to our preferences to, above all, feel comfortable. Some of the main ideas can be to paint the walls of light colors, that do not disturb us at the moment of concentrating. Put elements related to philosophy as stones (elements related to healing), candles, objects that can fill the space with aromas, and specific music for relaxation.
Even so, without our recommendations, the important thing is that our space, only for ourselves, has to respect absolutely all our preferences. Perhaps still, we feel more comfortable in an environment with more vibrant colors, and more penetrating or more austere aromas of objects and elements. But the main premise and that should not be forgotten, is that every corner and space must reflect that it is dyed purely and exclusively from our creativity and preferences to achieve a sense of containment and belonging.
If we can, we should always dedicate some time to this corner: clean it, accommodate it, and organize it. For our comfort in the act of meditation, we may prefer a mattress, a mattress, or a comfortable armchair.
- THE CORRECT TIME FOR MEDITATION
In this respect, there are many opinions and theories about what is the best time to dedicate ourselves to our meditation routine. Generally, it is recommended for meditation in the morning or at night because it is considered that one is just about to start their activities or has just finished them. It is good to take advantage of any of the two moments depending, of course, on how our daily work is, with whom we share our home and others.
It will not be the same to share the house with a large family with children than to live alone. What will be important to keep in mind is that any type of distraction should be left aside: silence or turn off our cell phones, and avoid a climate of noise that allows us to manage better.
On the other hand, and as a routine, if we want meditation to be part of our life, it is pointful to always meditate at the same time. Also, be aware that both for yoga and meditation, it is always helpful to perform them about two hours after eating or on an empty stomach to have better concentration.
- POSTURES TO MEDITATE
This is also one of the most talked about topics. In reality, we can not only consider a posture to perform our daily meditation, but many exist. The transcendental or the one that will serve us much more, is where we feel comfortable. We can meditate by sitting on a chair, with legs crossed on a mat, or lying flat on the floor. Each one will respond to our preferences of that moment or instant and must be respected.
- MEDITATION IN A MINUTE
Also, to break certain preconceptions, we remind you that meditation can be taken anywhere and that it is a philosophy of life that manages our internal wisdom and the power of control over our worried and nervous states.
To carry out the meditation in a minute, it is important, firstly, to warn that no one should interrupt us and detach ourselves from those objects that may cause an interruption, but with some alarm that can be used to mark the minute. We should sit in a comfortable chair, with our feet on the floor and our hands in a comfortable, loose place. It is also important that our back be straight, not rigid but comfortable, and head up.
Once the alarm is set, we will close our eyes and we will be guided by our breathing. When these appear, it will depend on our internal capacity to evade them and to place even more emphasis on the rhythm of breathing. We must keep as much as we can in this state.
At the end of the minute, we should not repeat this practice during the day, or add more time. The idea of a basic minute is based on the fact that more and more we can reduce the time and be aware that we can apply meditation at any moment of our life and control ourselves and feel happy until we reach directly into the moment.
Well, my friends, I am very sure this article was of great help to you, and I know you found the answer to your question about meditation. If you still have any doubt about why meditation is important don’t forget to comment.