Meditation is beginning to gain acceptance in integrative medicine. This is an approach to combining traditional medical treatments with complimentary medicine. In essence, the medical community may finally begin to accept the treatment of the whole person. The mind, body and soul need to be treated together for health and healing, and not just the disease once it occurs.
Meditation is usually associated with a spiritual or religious affiliation. Meditation techniques do include backgrounds in Eastern religious or spiritual traditions. It is still a young concept in the medical community for health benefits, including treatments of illnesses.
Meditation is a focus on breathing, repetition of a word, phrase or sound. This is done in order to temporarily bar any conscious thoughts. The goal of meditation is to bring about a state of physical relaxation, mental calmness/alertness and a complete balance psychologically.
The use of meditation can bring about changes in the way someone relates to their flow of emotions and thoughts. This can have beneficial effects beyond the spiritual. Meditation can bring about positive physical and mental changes from a medical prospective.
Meditation can be used alone or as part of other therapies, such as yoga or tai chi. Many individuals don’t know how or where to begin meditation techniques, especially when it has not been a part of their culture or religion. Classes are even available to help with the learning process in the various types of meditation. Many yoga facilities teach meditation as well as other local spiritual groups.
It will require understanding and practice for newcomers to the technique. If the medical professionals are realizing the possible health benefits in conjunction with their own traditional treatments, then it just might be worthwhile to put meditation into practice in our lives. The benefits might be just what is needed to help with the stress of a busy lifestyle.
Medical benefits on the nervous system:
The use of meditation has been shown to cause changes in the body’s autonomic nervous system. This system is commonly referred to as our “fight or flight” automatic response system during stressful or crisis induced moments. This involuntary nervous system helps to regulate our breathing, heartbeat, perspiration and digestion.
This automatic part of our nervous system is divided into two parts: the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous systems. Meditation is being researched to study the effects on the brain and how we can use it to improve the nervous system. The sympathetic portion of the nervous system is what cause our bodies to begin reacting to stress, thus the “fight or flight” response begins. Our heart rate increases and breathing becomes more rapid. It also causes muscles to become tense and the blood vessels to narrow.
Meditation can be used to decrease the effects of the sympathetic nervous system that can be over-active in many individuals, such as those suffering from extreme anxiety attacks. On the contrary, the parasympathetic part of the nervous system is the “rest and digest” response. It allows the body’s heart rate to decrease and for breathing to slow down as well. The blood vessels begin to dilate which improve the blood flow and the digestive tract begins to resume normal activity. Meditation can play an important role is reducing the negative effects of the sympathetic part of the nervous system.
Beneficial for pain and illness
Meditation has been shown to be useful for several health problems. The only reason to not consider meditation safe would be using it to delay medical treatment. Various types of meditation have been shown to be effective in the reduction of stress and anxiety related health issues. The anxiety can also be the effect of other diseases or illnesses. Any time that stress and anxiety can be reduced during an illness, it can help the body to work more efficiently toward the healing process.
Beside the health benefits of treating the symptoms of stress and anxiety, meditation has been shown to have some benefits to decrease pain in patients with cancer and fibromyalgia. Researches are underway on the use of meditation in asthma patients. It is already showing some positive results. It is also shown to have significant medical benefits for patients with high blood pressure.
There are several ways to do meditation. The kind of meditation used is an individual choice and all types can have healthful medical benefits. Meditation can be a combination of various techniques including breath meditation, mindfulness meditation, analytical meditation, transcendental meditation, visualization (guided imagery) and walking meditation.
Breath and mindfulness meditation
Breath meditation will require focusing on breathing and the conscious observation of every breath taken in and each time it is exhaled. Every aspect of the breath is to be fully noticed during this type of meditation. The breath is to be felt slowing coming in through the nostrils and observe the air leaving through the mouth. Every breath detail will be focused upon, including the rising and falling of the chest.
Mindfulness meditation is based on the concept of having an increased awareness and complete acceptance of the present moment. The breath flow is also used during this meditation with the primary goal to be a complete lack of reaction to or judgement of the present. The goal instead is to experience the present to its fullness. This meditation is useful in learning a healthful response to the emotions and thoughts of daily life.
Transcendental
Transcendental meditation is the focus on a sound, a word or a phrase repeated over and over. This can be done silently or aloud. This general reason behind this type of sound repetition is the ability to keep out distracting thoughts while coming to relaxed awareness.
Visualization meditation
There is also visualization meditation which involves focusing on a specific place or object. This is also sometimes known as guided imagery. This technique has been used as a healing tool for by various cultures throughout the ages. This meditation uses thoughts and senses to evoke pleasant mental pictures or even aromas with wonderful memories. It uses memories, dreams, fantasies and visions to allow connection between the body and mind.
Medical research shows that visualization actually bring about changes in the body that effect health. These changes can include biochemical and physiological aspects. Studies have shown that visualization can bring about specific immune system responses. This can even include changes in the white blood cell count. This type of change can be beneficial when cancer or other diseases are involved.
Walking meditation
This is a Zen tradition and a form of meditation known as kin hin. It focuses movements in which we stand and walk. Obviously, this type of meditation requires more focus on the surroundings for safety concerns. This type is meditating on the movement of the soles of the feet. The concentration will remain on the soles of the feet from the act of standing and then as walking begins.
