Meditation is defined in very different ways. This is because it has multiple benefits. You may like walking and listening to music, this includes all of them. The benefits of meditation are numerous which includes transformation of the brain and even physical changes. Apart from that it can be a mood elevator. This can also help you in becoming focussed. Meditation helps to reduce stress as well.
What is Meditation?
Meditation is a phenomenal power that empowers you to do whatever you want to do. It remains untouched by the process of the activities that we need to conduct in the world. According to Sadguru, ” It’s all about balancing your mind and body, your mind is somewhere and your body somewhere else. The English word meditation doesn’t mean anything, in a way it doesn’t say anything specific. It is assumed that if anyone sits with their eyes closed, we simply call that this person is meditating. One can sit with eyes closed and do many things like japa, tapa, dharana, dhyana, samadhi and shoonya. Sleeping in vertical posture is also a way to meditate. Generally people assume that meditation means dhyana. There are various names for this word and all of them mean the same. If you ask any monk he may use Zan. Ayurvedic doctors might use the word dhyan. So what is this dimension that we are trying to describe with this word, is a very basic question asked by many people. One fundamental thing we need to understand is that you cannot do meditation because it is a quality. Quality is a consequence of a certain process. You can initiate a process, conduct a process but you cannot conduct a quality because it’s a consequence. If you need flowers, you have to think about manure, soil and sunlight. If you gather this then flowers and fruit are consequences. But today the world has become so goal oriented, they are not interested in the soil. The dimension and process that ayurveda defines about meditation is very life oriented. Today people are largely mind and material oriented. Largely life has become like this and the idea of life is what is throbbing inside you. Whether it’s education, career, relationship, marriage, children and wealth. Everyone one is hoping that it will enhance our lives.
What does Meditation do ?
Meditation is the second most used word apart from covid during pandemic! People who have not meditated for their whole life have suddenly considered meditation. People want to meditate and feel the power of it. Most of the people get tangled with education, marriage, children and wealth. Instead these are accessories of life. Accessories have become larger than life processes but that’s cruel in a way. The covid virus brought focus to life. There are many benefits of meditating daily. This can slow down your ageing process. It is studied that as you age your brain starts ageing which leaves an impact on your body as well. Long term meditators are healthier than non-meditators. We have found significant changes in their brain volume. Meditating regularly can develop more grey matter. This increases your productivity as well. Structural transformation is another change that can bring out physical changes in your brain. They can transform two structures in the brain Amygdala and hippocampus. They play a critical role in memory and learning. Amygdala is responsible for stress and anxiety. It is proven that the amygdala will shrink the size of the areas which are related to stress. Your brain is full of networks and certain connections. It even covers the theory of mind! But sometimes one can get caught up in worries, which is also called mind wandering. Your ayurvedic general physician might suggest meditation before, so that you are not unhappy. This might help you focus in the moment and live for the best.
Yogic specialists might tell you the way to practise meditation to achieve the desired goal. If you meditate regularly, this can improve your mood too. Generally people believe this can only reduce your mental pain but ayurveda general physician might advise you to reduce the physical pain as well. This directly impacts the pain mechanism of the brain as well. If you have pain in your legs don’t forget to book an online consultation with your ayurvedic general physician.
Best ways to Meditate
You can meditate anywhere, anytime and in any circumstances. It is all about awareness. So the essence of meditation is awareness. Awareness means knowing what you are thinking, feeling and doing. Many people think that meditation is very difficult and don’t think about anything. Just concentrate! But all of this is mere presumption. Yoga specialists have altogether different ways of describing this. Generally people misinterpret it by thinking that they have to create a thought or create a special state of mind or be peaceful. As long as you are aware about something and you maintain that awareness that is meditation. It’s true that when we meditate a lot of thoughts pop in our mind. Especially about work and people. Am I wasting time? Am I doing it wrong? These are the questions that will certainly come to your mind. When you are young these thoughts will definitely come to your mind. There are various types of meditation. Sound meditation is one type and includes listening to sound and then forget, listen to sound and then forget again repeat this cycle. Initially it’s tough for new meditators as it’s a new habit and needs regular input and effort. So go slow! Take time and make short term plans. This includes not making heavy promises like I’ll do it forever. Just think about 30 days! Don’t meditate for 1hr, reduce the volume. Maybe in the beginning 4-5 mins is enough. Ayurvedic general physicians say that meditate slowly in the beginning for a shorter duration as this will help you in the longer run! Yoga specialists suggest that morning is a suitable time as this will leave an impact for the whole day. In case sitting is difficult for you, do walking meditation. There are other types of meditation as well. The formal and informal type. If formal meditation is difficult for you that means if you find it tough to concentrate for a particular period of time then switch to informal. This means that you can lose your concentration while you are meditating. In Fact it is believed that you can meditate anytime, anywhere and with anything! Here is a small routine that you can follow to relieve your anxiety. First, I would like to invite you to gently close your eyes. Take a nice, slow and deep breath. Try to breathe deeper than usual. As you exhale, concentrate on any sound around you or play a sound. This will allow you to ground you for the present moment. This will help you to focus on yourself. Make yourself the first priority. There is nowhere else you need to be. You should do nothing apart from this. For the next several minutes your wellbeing is your focus. Continue to take deep, slow breaths and inhale even deeper. Feeling of your lungs expanding as you inhale.
