Meditation
Meditation is an activity in which an individual goes under the deeper state of relaxation or awareness. In this activity, the individual tries to get beyond the reflexive thinking. During the activity the person attempts to turn the attention to a single point of reference.
Meditation has been followed since antiquity and it is also considered as an important component of many religions. However, meditation is not only followed from religious point of view but it is also practiced for other purposes. Meditation generally comes under the spiritual and psychological practices.
There are different goals of meditation like its main goal is the achievement of the higher state of consciousness. Secondly, it enhances the focus of the person to a single point. Thirdly, it is considered as an important tool to create self-awareness and creativity. Moreover, it is a way to feel relaxed and to get peaceful frame of mind.
There are many stressful and depressing events which the individuals face throughout their lives, therefore, activities like Meditation is considered as an effective way to find peace within ourselves.
The term meditation was originated from Indo-European and it was derived from two English words, ‘med’ meaning ‘to measure’ and ‘mete’ meaning ‘modest or medicine’. In Latin, it is known as ‘meditatio’ meaning a physical or intellectual exercise’. In the recent years, meditation is widely practiced in Western culture.
According to the scientific studies conducted on meditation, it has various benefits in our body. It changes the metabolism rate of the body, heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration activity of the body. Because of its benefits in psychology, it is also applied in the clinical settings for reducing the stress and mental pain.
In 2007, the researchers of University of Alberta in United States National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine studied the meditation. They conducted 813 reviews in five broad categories including; Mantra, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Yoga and Mindfulness meditation. They also found many positive effects of meditation.
Meditation is not a simple technique which can be quickly followed but it includes the right postures of the body like spine position, movements of hands and legs, position of the eye etc.
There are various organizations which are providing special training classes to learn meditation. Therefore, we can say that relaxation of the mind and body is very necessary for all of us and the meditation techniques really help us to attain peace of mind and body.
March 28 2009 02:03 am | Meditation
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