Are you burdened by life’s many problems? If you are then you may find it useful to take a moment or two to read up about meditation benefits.

Man has used mediation since prehistory and for a wide range of reasons. Do not think of it solely as a new age practice which has very little relevance in the modern world. It is for good reason more people are developing an interest today.

There are actually many benefits of practicing meditation on a regular basis. These can be split into three areas – spiritual, physical as well as emotional. The information discussed below will help to present a clearer picture on just why it is more people are choosing to take up meditating as a way of coping with their problems.

Spiritual benefits: To start with let’s examine the spiritual benefits of mediation. It is important to understand that there is no religious connotation with meditation. It is practiced by people of every faith, belief and walk of life; this includes Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists. Through practicing meditation you can develop a greater understanding of your inner self and the power of the soul. It is a simple way to detach yourself from trivial strife that can often plague your days.

Physical benefits: There are an equal number of physical benefits to meditating as there are spiritual. Those who practice on a regular basis have found that their bodies become more relaxed as hypertension is removed and metabolic rate slowed down. It is also thought that our immune systems can be given a boost as lung capacity and energy levels can be improved. All of these factors would help us to rest more soundly at night and generally feel less tension.

Mental benefits: Apart from the above mentioned spiritual and psychical benefits there are also the positive mental changes that can be had with meditation. You should feel far less anxious and restlessness and therefore be in a much better state of mind to cope with whatever life throws at you. The mind and body will become more harmonious and allow for a greater creativity and less confusion and depression. It is even possible to enhance concentration and memory skills as the mind should be easier to focus. This is more important today as we often have a lot we need to achieve in a short space of time.

Nobody can deny that modern living takes its toll at an early age on many people. By practicing mediation often you will feel like you have a new lease of life.

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Meditation is known for its health and spiritual benefits. Traditionally it has been used for spiritual growth. As we meditate, we become more conscious; able to unfold our inner Light, Love & Wisdom and become more aware of the guiding Presence in our lives, thus accelerating our journey home to our True Self…our Spirit.

Meditation focuses on maintaining quietness of our busy mind. The effect is to direct our concentration to one healing element – one sound, one word, one image, or one’s breath. When our mind is “filled” with the feeling of calm and peace, it cannot take off on its own and worry, stress out or get depressed.

The meditative state allows our nerves and tired muscles to relax, calm heart rates and ease blood pressure. The effect is so restful and peaceful that you will look forward to do it daily.

How Does Meditation Work?

Studies have shown that meditation can bring about a healthy state of relaxation by causing a generalized reduction in multiple physiological and biochemical markers, such as deceased heart rate, decreased respiration rate, decreased plasma cortisol, decreased pulse rate and increased EEG alpha, a brain wave associated with relaxation. Our body gains a state of profound rest.

During meditation, our blood pressure stays at “low level” but falls significantly for persons on medication with abnormally high levels of blood pressure.

Meditation reduces activity in the nervous system. Through meditation we can learn to access the relaxation response and to be aware of the mind and the way our attitudes produce stress. In calming the mind, meditation can also put one in touch with the inner physician, allowing our body’s own inner wisdom to be heard.

Meditation is part of my yoga practice. When I meditate, I feel my life changes for the better. it calms me down and I manage my life better. I have the insights I want to solve problems and a clearer viewpoint even when I feel stressful. Through all these years of practicing meditation, I have been able to reap the positive influence on my life.

How To Meditate Effectively?

Ideally you should meditate in a quiet place, or a room with no distraction. Wear simple and comfortable clothes and remove your shoes when meditate. Try meditating in the same place every time because that will build up a calm meditative energy, making it easier each time to go within.

Guide to Meditation:-

1. Sit upright on your meditation mat with legs folded. Although you may feel rather uneasy initially, after a few sessions, you will feel at ease.

2. Straighten up your spine and close your eyes.

3. Using both your thumb and forefinger touching each other, place your hands on your knees, one on top of the other.

4. Take three full breaths through your nose, filling up your lower diaphragm and slowly letting it out, again through the nose.

5. Repeat your breath, always through the nose, feeling your breath go in and go out.

6. Feel your breath enter your body and where it goes inside, then feel it go out of your body again.

7. If your are distracted by a thought, gently bring back your mind to your breathing and start once more to feel the breathing, then the exhaling.

I personally feel that the best time for meditation is the quiet early morning hours – between 6 A.M. to 6.30 A.M. However some people may prefer to meditate in the evening before they go to bed. The choice is yours, as long as you find it comfortable and effective.

It takes an experienced person to explain the wonderful, positive effects of meditation. Through the years of experience I had with meditation, I must say that it has uplifted me and changed my life positively. If you think of meditating, ten or fifteen minutes a day for a start can have a powerful effect on you. You will realize how smoothly your day flows and how it transforms you over a period of time.

To improve your meditation atmosphere, you may light incense or a candle. Incense creates a sensory memory that helps draw you inside. You may also sit on a small woolen mat that is only used for meditation and this helps to hold energy.

If you love to have some light incense for your meditation, I have some details; some scents encourage calm, while others promote vitality and energy. Sandalwood and frankincense soothe us and pull us inward. Tibetan monks are fond of using these for meditating and for religious events too. Rosewood, geranium, and lavender calm our fears and ease our anxieties.

The goodness of citrus scents like orange, lemon and lime is its great stimulation after meditation session. For a quick effect, place a few drops of orange blossom oil on a cotton ball and inhale. Peppermint and spearmint can be stimulating too.

Take the first step to meditate today for better health and younger you!

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Janice H. is an accountant, nutrition expert cum author. She shares with people around the world oon HOW to live fully to achieve: Health and Beauty. Her mission: ” Leading People To Ageless Living”. Visit Janice’s Blog at: www.stayyoungsecret.com/blog for FREE e-Report to immediately stay and feel younger.

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Would you like to learn how to sleep better through breathing meditation? Could you do with more energy at the end of your week? Do you ever wish that you could keep your cool in a stressful situation? You can get all these, and countless other benefits through meditation.

And that’s before you even start looking at the deeper spiritual benefits that you can really only get through meditation. Peace descends on your everyday life and allows you to really live and experience your life. It starts to peel back the illusions that bind us to society and liberates our soul to soar. And that serenity will stop that endless thinking that keeps you awake at night.

Many spiritual traditions teach meditation and prayer as a vital component of their training. It’s no accident that such diverse philosophies as kung fu, yoga, Islam, Zen, Taoism and Christianity all share a similar observance to quiet the mind and look inwards towards the self. Though it may not be called meditation by every tradition, that doesn’t change the fact that whether you are focusing on a candle flame or your love of Christ, it is an all consuming focus that stills the everyday mind and puts your attention on the divine.

Physically all these things will improve our ability to deal with stress. Also research has shown that the immune system is strengthened, so we are much more able to fight off disease and even cancer.

Breathing Meditation And Athletes

There are monks who practice a breathing meditation as they place their full attention on the experience of breathing, to the exclusion of all thoughts. We may do it all day every day, but most of us are completely unaware that we are breathing at all? Just think about how often athletes talk about being “in the zone” what does that mean? It is complete and absolute focus to the exclusion of everything else. Athletes are more aware of breathing as it contributes to their performance. Often the breath is all that they will focus on while the rest of the body works automatically.

By training yourself through regular breathing meditation, you can bring this sort of focus to everything that you do. Get through an hour’s work in ten minutes, and enjoy it more!

It’s a popular misconception that you need to be sitting with your legs crossed and your feet in your ears before you’re really meditating! Not necessarily so, any time you focus all of your attention on something, your everyday thoughts cease and brings about a form of meditation.

In the search for meaning in our society today many are finding it unknowingly in the sweat of a long bike ride, or the thrill of flying down a snowy slope. The focus required in these activities brings you into the moment you’re in, you can’t be thinking about what’s for dinner!

If you learn the breathing meditation techniques, you’ll sleep better automatically. Dealing with difficult workmates, coping with stressful situations, basically you’ll have the power to put everything into it’s proper perspective. The physical and mental benefits have been thoroughly proven, so why not take advantage of them for yourself?

If you want to find out how to sleep better using breathing meditation, check out this site www.howtomeditate.biz You ll find out how to clam your mind, increase your energy levels and enjoy your life more than you ever thought possible

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Why Meditate?

Scientists and doctors study meditation and recommend it. Meditation is now proven to be more than just a ‘warm and fuzzy’ feeling. It works. So there are many reasons why people begin to meditate. Some learn meditation to become more relaxed, for improvement in health, to reduce stress, for clearer thinking, to become more creative, to sleep better and to improve mental strength. There are physical, emotional and spiritual Benefits of Meditation. It’s safe, it’s simple and it’s free.

People who are not familiar with meditation may consider it to be prayer or worship, but this is far from the truth. Meditation can be described as concentrated awareness, so as you overcome distractions and focus your mind on something you are becoming aware; you are meditating when you maintain a continued state of awareness. There are a wide range of disciplines taught for bringing your attention on to some object or thought or awareness. In fact what happens in the process is that meditation moves your brainwaves into an alpha state. This is a relaxed state with a level of consciousness where you are still aware. In the alpha state learning and healing are promoted.

Brainwaves Brainwaves are electrical activity emanating from the brain. There are four categories of brainwaves as shown below: Beta (alert/working): 15 to 40 hertz, Alpha (relaxed/reflecting): 9 to 14 hertz, Theta (drowsy): 5 to 8 hertz, Delta (sleep/dreaming): 3 to 4 hertz, Delta (deep dreamless sleep): 1.5 to 3 hertz *Hertz = cycles per second.

In the alpha state your brainwaves run between 9 to 14 cycles per second or hertz, compared with your normal waking state beta: of 15 to 40 hertz. Deeper states of relaxation move through theta, delta to the deepest delta, which is a highly creative state of relaxation.

In fact you are meditating when you focus on birds singing, to the exclusion of all other thoughts, or staring into the fire, just focusing on that, or concentrating on your breath coming in and out, thinking of nothing else.

Traditionally Eastern cultures have practiced meditation for centuries as part of their spiritual teachings, and until recently, say the last 30 or 40 years, Westerners viewed meditation with a bit of suspicion. Now, the benefits are so well documented and experienced by so many that it has become common practice for many doctors and health practitioners to recommend meditation as part of their healing plan.

There are two basic techniques of meditating and the different practices fall in to either of these two categories, with some variations possible. In mindfulness meditation the meditator sits in a comfortable position and focuses his attention and awareness on an object or activity; such as a candle, breathing, a visualization or a mantra, keeping an open focus and awareness of the present moment as he does so. This method allows for free flowing and observing of his thoughts while using the focus as an ‘anchor’ he constantly brings his mind back to the focus, when he starts to wander off in to different thoughts.

With concentration meditation which is used by most spiritual and religious traditions, the meditator keeps his attention on a particular object like repetition of a prayer or a mantra to minimize distractions, and continually brings his mind back to the chosen object. Lawrence LeShan defined meditation in ‘How to Meditate’ as “doing one thing at a time with your whole being”.

In some traditions both mindful and concentration meditation are combined.

It is possible to practice meditation even while walking or doing simple repetitive tasks. It is in moments when your mind is clear that you get that ‘realization’, ‘inspiration’ or ‘BFO’ (blinding flash of the obvious). “AHA” you say, as something miraculously pops in to your head.

Learn How to Meditate You can attend sessions somewhere in your city, usually free, to learn how to meditate. There are many books and tapes to help you, most of them excellent aids. It is easy and simple to learn. There are many tools to help you move into a meditative state. The one I absolutely love is the Holosync audio tapes from Centrepointe (centerpointe.com) (I don’t lightly recommend products, but this advanced Neuro technology is light years ahead of anything else I have tried and read about. I use it daily).

When you practice meditation regularly you begin to liberate the energy in your mind and the quality of your consciousness will expand. You will become more relaxed and happy, experiencing a sense of control of your life. You tend to approach life in a much more peaceful manner, not stressing in ways you might have done previously. This is not just a generalized statement, but is now being proven by empirical research.

I maintain wholeheartedly that meditation is truly beneficial. Do try it.

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Winsome Coutts is co-owner of Global Secrets International and writes stories and articles for personal development, The Law of Attraction and The Secret Movie. Visit her website for heaps of info, free downloads & self-help tools. www.the-secret-dvd.net/

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