August 8, 2013

 

Meditation

 

Spending most of the day researching more in depth information regarding the prenatal vitamins and also overdosing on vitamins, yes, it is possible and does have some very bad effects on your body and of course the baby, if you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant. Having found so many contradicting information and dead ends, I got myself so worked up that I needed to take a moment and relax. Having tried meditation before and with wonderful calming results, I’ve experienced it again today and after only a few minutes.

 

I decided to investigate what happens when we meditate and why does it work? Various researchers, although limited in nature, have found positive effects of meditation on various conditions such as, dealing with cancer, high blood pressure, immunity and stress release.

 

Researchers in Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School have conducted testing to determine the effects of mindfulness practice or meditation on a human brain. The results have shown that the subject’s participation in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for eight weeks was found to be associated with “changes in gray matter concentration in the brain regions involved in learning and memory processes, emotion regulation, self-referential processing, and perspective taking.”[1] The eight-week program consisted of weekly 2.5-hour group meetings, plus 1 full day (6.5hrs) during week 6. The meetings consisted of mindful yoga, sitting meditation and body scan. The subjects also received a 45 minute guided exercises to be practiced daily and to implement mindfulness into their daily activities. The increase of the gray matter suggests that the mindfulness has positive effects on stress, depression, anxiety, sleep, and circadian disorders. Although the researchers concluded that since the program included yoga stretching and suggestions on how to better deal with stress this may have effects the results of the study, however, these results coupled with the multitude of results achieved by individuals in their lives suggests that these are actual physical changes that can be derived from the practice of meditation. For further information see the link below.

 

My personal very limited experience with meditation has been very positive. And perhaps, the science is too limited to test the matters of the mind? After all, many ancient philosophies and new age books teach us that our mind is an amazing creator and the powers of the mind are limitless.

 

And on that note, I am off to play my Zen Garden Pandora station and try to quiet my mind and just breathe! Good evening and good health to all of you!