Does Meditation Work?

Therapists, counselors, self-help gurus, and religious leaders have long suggested or recommended meditation for those people in need of improving their life, improving self esteem, healing from emotional wounds, reducing anxiety, or simply reaching higher spiritual places.

Center the Body, Heal the Mind

The actual act of meditating is both a physical and a mental one; for example, one must use certain positions or breathing patterns along with particular thought processes and mental exercises. In order to center the spirit, the body and mind must both be controlled effectively. There are a variety of techniques that people can use while meditating to achieve this "centering."

Using relaxation techniques, repeating mantras (a repeated word or phrase that help a person concentrate during meditation), and focusing your thoughts can bring inner peace and advance your personal and spiritual growth. People have been meditating for over 5,000 years and achieving significant results. Research is now showing changes in brain wave patterns for those deep in meditative states.

Changes in physical and mental state cannot be guaranteed, because nobody can guarantee that you will use the techniques properly. You will know when meditation does work for you, because when you finish you will feel mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally refreshed. Often, the post-meditative state is described as very powerful and clear, people report feeling as if they can now handle problems and issues and also tackle new tasks with greater confidence and ease because of the control they have gained over their inner self and their ability to avoid negative thinking. Productivity is increased, anxiety is lessened.

Physical Proof

Researchers have long been interested in the specific physiological changes that occur during meditation, and they have attempted to measure the effects of these changes on a person's consciousness. During meditation, blood pressure and pulse rate are lowered. The body's typical autonomic "fight or flight" response is suppressed, allowing the rate of respiration to decrease along with the release of many "activating" neurotransmitters in the brain. Reducing these physiological processes allows the body and mind to slip into a more aware state, and allows the mind to process and focus in a calm, centered way. Deep knowledge of a person's self and self conscious can be revealed and examined. Control over thought processes allows an individual to erase negative thinking and reaffirm all things productive and positive in life.

Meditation can awaken a person's inner potential and make them realize just how much they are capable of handling and accomplishing. Finding meditative techniques that work can benefit self development, build self esteem, increase positive thinking, and open a person's mind to greater things. For many, this is a new way of thinking. For those that already know the power of meditation and how it truly works, a quiet, contemplative smile will be seen.