There are numerous health benefits to a regular meditation practice. Some doctors are recommending meditation because it helps with so many health and psychological issues. Therapists have come to realize that meditation can alter reactions to daily experience at a level that words can not reach.
These health benefits come from triggering the relaxation effect and were found to increase with regular practice: the more people practised relaxation methods such as meditation or deep breathing, the greater their benefits. The state of relaxation is linked to higher levels of feel-good chemicals such as serotonin and to the growth hormone which repairs cells and tissue. Indeed, studies show that relaxation has virtually the opposite effect, lowering heart rate, boosting immunity and enabling the body to thrive.
While relaxation techniques can be very different, their biological effects are essentially similar. When you relax, the parasympathetic nervous system switches on. That is linked to better digestion, memory and immunity, among other things. What you're looking for is a state of deep relaxation where tension is released from the body on a physical level and your mind completely switches off. The effect won't be achieved by lounging round in an everyday way, nor can you force yourself to relax. You can only really achieve it by learning a specific technique such as self-hypnosis, guided imagery or meditation.
- Strengthens our immune system
- Helps chronic pain
- Decreases insomnia
- Decreases immune deficiencies
- Lowers anxiety
- Reduces chronic back pain
- Alleviates asthma symptoms
- Lowers blood pressure
- Assists with depression and obsessive-compulsive disorders
- Increases fertility
- Helps with rheumatoid arthritis
- Relieves irritable bowel syndrome
- Decreases negative emotions while increasing positive ones
- Increase in disease-fighting genes
These health benefits come from triggering the relaxation effect and were found to increase with regular practice: the more people practised relaxation methods such as meditation or deep breathing, the greater their benefits. The state of relaxation is linked to higher levels of feel-good chemicals such as serotonin and to the growth hormone which repairs cells and tissue. Indeed, studies show that relaxation has virtually the opposite effect, lowering heart rate, boosting immunity and enabling the body to thrive.
While relaxation techniques can be very different, their biological effects are essentially similar. When you relax, the parasympathetic nervous system switches on. That is linked to better digestion, memory and immunity, among other things. What you're looking for is a state of deep relaxation where tension is released from the body on a physical level and your mind completely switches off. The effect won't be achieved by lounging round in an everyday way, nor can you force yourself to relax. You can only really achieve it by learning a specific technique such as self-hypnosis, guided imagery or meditation.
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