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How To… Why To… Meditate By Genevieve Gerard
Meditation is an activity that is often a mystery to the Western mind. It is often associated with yogis laying on a bed of nails or the Beatles and the Transcendental meditation of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It may seem strange or associated with Buddhism or the wandering Sadus of the Hindi religion. Misunderstood and misrepresented, it can appear to be strange of foreign. However, meditation has been a part of the human experience for over five thousand years. In the tradition of the Vedas of Hinduism to the many variations of Buddhism and throughout the history of Christianity, meditation has been a rich part of a spiritual life.
Then with the advent of medical equipment that could measure the subtle physiological reactions of the body, such as biofeedback and MRI technology, meditation was found to have health benefits. Research on the measurements of the brain wave activity of people in meditation, the response of the body in terms of blood pressure, pain control and other similar conditions leave people feeling that it would be good for them to meditate. But, what really is meditation? How do you do it and more importantly, why do you do it?
There are many different types of meditation. There are many different methods of meditation. However, they all work to create harmony and balance between the body, the mind and the spirit. All forms of meditation work to quiet the chatter of the mind and bring about a sense of peace and well being. Ideally, meditation increases your awareness of your self and the world around you from the dense to the subtle levels. And, hopefully it connects you with your higher self and enables you to gain greater perspective and insight in your daily life. Over time and with discipline it can free you from the ravages of fear and other difficult emotions. It can bring greater clarity to your mind. It can bring you to greater understanding and compassion in your interpersonal relationships. It can enable you to “be the best that you can be.”
Often through the experience of meditation one is brought into a sense of harmony and oneness with all of life. Through the meditative experience you can transcend the limiting thoughts and beliefs that have colored your existence. You are able to experience being centered in a very deep and personal way that alters your perspective. Many report feelings of having touched a deep divine love that transcends the sense of loneliness and alienation.
There are many different ways to meditate. What form of meditation is best for you is highly individual and it may change as you grow and change. Many experienced meditators find that different techniques work better at different times. Each technique works to bring one into the state of balance of the mind, harmony of the body, peace of the emotions and awareness and connectedness to the higher self.
Among the various schools of mediation there are many techniques to bring about this state. Control of the breath is often an important element in entering a meditative state. Quieting the mind is accomplished by many different methods. Chanting, repetition of a mantra, intense focus on an object, sitting and repetitively quieting the mind by discipline, focusing on the breath, visualizing, special music meditation, combining breath and awareness of the chakras, activity meditations and combining prayer with meditation are the basic formats. Quiet and receptivity are a part of all of these techniques.
Whatever form of meditation you choose, regularity of the practice is important. By meditating you will find within a few months that you are in more control of yourself and your life. You will find yourself slowly becoming more aware and with that awareness increased harmony, balance, perspective, clarity and purpose.
© Copyright 2008 Genevieve Gerard, All Rights Reserved www.HowToWhyToMeditate.com www.SpiritualAwarenessWorkshops.com GG @ SpiritualAwarenessWorkshops.com
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A Preview Of Our Why Stress Out Articles The Physiology of Stress By Genevieve Gerard
Stress is a physiological response to the events of our lives. How we respond to that stress and what happens to our bodies when we feel threatened dates back to times when life was more primitive and the responses to life events was simpler. When we feel threatened or endangered our body responds by producing adrenalin. Blood pumps away from the extremities into the muscles. This is why when you are feeling frightened or stressed your hands and feet are often cold. The heart rate accelerates, and the blood pressure increases. Muscles bunch preparing the body protect itself from the perceived danger by either fight or flight. This is called the fight flight response.
Prior to the industrial revolution fighting or fleeing was an appropriate response to most risky life situations. Threats were clear and involved survival. The natural selection process of survival of the fittest worked well. If you were the strongest or the fastest you survived. This was accomplished by either overcoming your adversary physically or by fleeing to a safe place away from your adversary. It has only been since the industrial revolution and the development of modern society that this fight flight response became a part of the problem, rather than the solution.
Today, when a boss or a co-worker threatens you, it may be very subtle, but your body responds to the time honored response of generating the fight flight response. However, there you sit with your body primed for a physical fight or a survival flight and that is not appropriate to the situation. And you cope with the perceived threat by swallowing your anger and perhaps creating a pithy remark and go on with your day. But, your body still has that energy stored up for the fight or flight from the situation. That physiological response creates health problems if not released. Chronic high blood pressure, tension headaches, muscle cramping and pains are just a few of the body’s responses to unreleased stress.
Because the body creates the fight flight response as a part of the autonomic nervous system, you must use signals that the body recognizes to turn the fight flight response off. Walking away from a confrontation calmly but the reviewing the issue in your mind throughout the day then telling your friend or spouse about the threat only keep the body in a constant state of readiness to fight or for flight.
In order to relax this response you need to use signals that are recognized by the autonomic nervous system by the body. One of the reasons that running or aerobic exercise work well as a stress relief is that exercise is interpreted by the body as fulfilling what it prepared to do. Another way of signaling the body’s autonomic nervous system is to consciously to control your breath. By doing a deep breathing exercise you signal your body that the threat is over and it is time to stand down. This is one of the reasons that regular use of relaxation exercises or meditation work to improve ones health and well being.
A simple exercise that you can use is to breathe deeply into the diaphragm and count your breath slowly by a count of ten. Begin by exhaling sharply and completely, then breath in slowly filling the lungs from the diaphragm up into the chest fully as your slowly count to 10; the release the breath slowly over a count of 10. Repeat this slow full count breathing for about 10 minutes. You will notice that this very simple exercise relaxes you and releases the body from the edge of the fight flight response.
© Copyright 2008 Genevieve Gerard, All Rights Reserved www.SpiritualAwarenessWorkshops.com GG @ SpiritualAwarenessWorkshops.com
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