One very powerful practice that can increase the quality your life substantially is meditation. Meditation used to be thought of as something only Buddhist monks and new age hippie folks did. Fortunately, it has now become more mainstream and accepted in scientific and medical communities, for good reason. Solid research over the years has shown it to not only improve physical, mental and psychological well-being, but it has now been proven to literally change the structure of your brain.
Here are a just few benefits:
• Studies have shown meditation can increase the grey matter in the hippocampus of the brain, which is associated with memory and learning. Stress and aging actually decrease the functioning of the neurons in this part of the brain. See, your brain shrinks as you stress and age unless you do something about it, and meditation is just the antidote (exercise prevents this from happening too).
• If you are having trouble focusing, studies also show meditation can greatly increase cognition and attention as well. You may want to seriously consider meditation if ADHD is an issue for you at all. Research has shown as little as 20 minutes of meditation after only 4 days improved attention and cognition in subjects. You don’t need to meditate for hours every day. Just do it consistently.
• Regular meditation practice will also not only increase your resistance to stress, but it will decrease the anxiety and depression byproducts of chronic stress. Meditation has been shown to decrease the grey matter in the amygdala, the part of your brain associated with anxiety and stress.
• Meditating during the day will improve your sleep at night.
• You may also want to consider meditation for a longer life. Research has shown that the improved psychological well-being resulting from meditation practice can increase the enzyme telomerase. Telomeres are sequences of DNA at the end of our chromosomes. Every time a cell divides (our cells are constantly dividing), these telomeres get shorter until they eventually die. Telomerase is an enzyme that can rebuild and lengthen telomeres, potentially increasing our longevity. A regular meditation practice will also enhance immune function, leading to less colds and flu’s, as well as chronic illness. It also has been shown to lower blood pressure leading to decreased risk of cardiovascular disease.
• If you are experiencing chronic pain at all, try meditation. It has been shown to sharply decrease the sensation of pain, more than placebos and painkilling drugs.
I would like to share with you how meditation helps me in my life….
I love what I do. I see patients, run a business, teach, write and read research articles on a daily basis, while trying to eat healthy, maintain some sort of social life, regular exercise, yoga and 7-8 hours of sleep every night. Like many of you, I have a lot on my plate and although I love what I do, I wouldn’t be able to do it if I didn’t hit the pause button on my brain everyday with meditation.
There are certainly some days my stress hormones creep up on me and compromise my mood, concentration and energy. That’s when I stop everything, close my office door, shut my eyes and focus on my breath for about 15-20 minutes. Then I open my eyes and see things a little differently than I did before. I also like to set aside some time for meditation when I get home from the office as a sort of mental reset before I do anything else.
Meditation has also been extremely useful for me when I am trying to find a solution or answer to something. I ask my question and then just close my eyes and focus on my breath. After a while the answers come. You could say it’s just my brain working better because it’s more relaxed. Some people would also say that when you meditate you are more in tune with your intuition and higher self. Whatever the reason, it works and can be quite profound. Try it next time you need some answers or inspiration.
If you have never meditated before, you may find it challenging to sit still at first, but that’s why it’s a practice. Stay with it. If you do it consistently, it gets easier and you will not only enjoy it, but you’ll eventually crave it. The thoughts will come and that’s ok. It isn’t about stopping your mind. It’s about watching your mind and your thoughts. When you have a thought, just acknowledge it, let it go and bring your attention back to your breath. In doing this you realize you are not your thoughts, but you are greater than your thoughts. Eventually the space between the thoughts becomes bigger and you find peace within those spaces. And with inner peace, you find health and happiness.
Wishing you much love, health and happiness,
Dr. Sandra Olic, NMD
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