Beginning Your Meditation Practice

The Benefits of Meditation

Studies on mediation are vast, but to put it simply, relaxation is certainly a result, if not the goal. In the 1970s, Herbert Benson, MD, researcher at Harvard University Medical School, coined the term "relaxation response" after conducting research on individuals that practiced transcendental meditation. The relaxation response, in Benson’s words, is “an opposite, involuntary response that causes a reduction in the activity of the sympathetic nervous system.” Since the, studies on the relaxation response have discussed the following as short-term benefits to the nervous system:

• lower blood pressure

• improved blood circulation

• lower heart rate

• less perspiration

• slower respiratory rate

• less anxiety

• lower blood cortisol levels

• more feelings of well-being

• less stress

• deeper relaxation

Consequently, mediation and it's associated relationship with relaxation can assist in helping manage: heart disease, diabetes, stress/anxiety/phobias, boosting one's immune system and the like.

While the research continues and the benefits are certainly there, it is important to remember that the goal of meditation should not be to achieve the associated benefits, but rather to realize that the goal of meditation is not to have a goal---just be present.

Buddhist philosophy discusses how the ultimate goal of mediation is to liberate oneself from attachments, understand that one has control over oneself and not over external situations and circumstances. The individual who becomes 'enlightened' will find freedom from following desires but rather, will bring calmness and inner balance to his/her life. So how does one start to meditate, you ask? Below is a simple meditation to get you started.

Beginning Meditation:

Tips: Breathe, pace your breathing (often counting 3, 5 or 7 counts/beats to inhale and exhale can help with centering and calming yourself down), try to set aside a specific time or times throughout the day for meditating. I recommend to start with meditating 3 minutes a day---take the three minutes and meditate for 1 minute, 3 times daily or, meditate for 3 minutes, 1 time a day. You will eventually see that the 3 minutes will turn into 5 minutes, 10 minutes, etc., without you even noticing---but more than anything, commit to the time--for yourself---to heal, to rejuvenate and let go of all that is going on around you.

Getting Started:

1. Sit or lie comfortably. You may even want to invest in a meditation chair (for longer meditation sessions)

2. Close your eyes.

3. Make no effort to control the breath; simply breathe naturally. If you choose to pace yourself, commit to inhaling and exhaling for 3, 5, or 7 counts.

4. Focus your attention on the breath and on how the body moves with each inhalation and exhalation. Notice the movement of your body as you breathe. Observe your chest, shoulders, rib cage and belly. Focus your attention. If your mind wanders, simply return your focus back to your breath. Maintain this meditation practice for 3 minutes to start, and then try it for longer periods.

Concentration Meditation

Conentration Meditation involves focusing on a single point. Often, focusing on breath, focusing on a candle flame, concentrating on a specific word, or repeating a mantra, and/or using a rosary to do so is utilized for this type of mediation. This form of meditation allows one to refocus one's awareness on the chosen object, which helps when one's mind wanders. Here, you let go of random thoughts and refocus on the object of meditaiton. This type of meditation helps improve one's concentration.

Mindfulness Meditation

This type of meditation encourages the one to observe wandering thoughts as they drift through the mind. Here the purpose of mediation is not to get involved with one's thoughts or judge them but rather, be aware of them as they arise. Through mindfulness meditation, one has the opportunity to become aware of one's patterns of thoughts and how these thoughts lead to certain tendencies. With practice, an inner balance will develop.

Other Meditation Techniques

Other forms of meditation can include focusing directly on cultivating elements of life, for example, the cultivation of compassion. This involves envisioning negative events and recasting them in a positive light by transforming them through compassion. There are also moving meditations techniques, such as tai chi, qi gong and walking meditation.