Observing Zen Monks meditating for hours may make you believe that living a more balanced life filled with joy, happiness, and focus takes years of practice, sacrifice, and was not obtainable for the vast majority of people.
This is actually a widely held misconception — as the powerful benefits of meditation can be felt by everyone, with as little as ten minutes a day. Recent research has shown that meditating has dramatic positive effects in as little as a 10-minute session. Several studies have demonstrated that subjects who meditated for a short time showed increased alpha waves (the relaxed brain waves) and decreased anxiety and depression.
Researchers studied participants with MRI brain scans while they meditated, and found that meditation activated several of the autonomic parts of the brain, including those that controlled digestion, and blood pressure — which are normally out of our control. By lowering stress, and allowing these vital body functions to work free of any extra burden — ailing medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and digestion problems are much less likely to occur.
So what does a state of Meditation infer? In his book, “What is Meditation?” (Shambhala Publications, 1999), Rob Nairn talks about it as a state of “bare attention.” He explains, “It is a highly alert and skillful state of mind because it requires one to remain psychologically present and ‘with’ whatever happens in and around one without adding to or subtracting from it in any way.” Meditation cleanses your mind, cleaning it of negative thoughts and other obstructive clutter.
If there are so many positive benefits to meditation, why don’t more people practice it? Our biggest objection is that we don’t have 10 minutes to take out of our busy lives and meditate. The irony of this is that if we took out the time, as little as 10 minutes a day, the physical and psychological benefits would be much greater than any extra time spent working. Meditation is as simple as sitting in a chair in a quiet room and focusing on ones breathing, or listening to a CD of sounds.
I’m sure you have 10 minutes today to meditate and see the positive benefits to your mind and body. You can start by trying a free demo of one of the most commonly used meditation courses, allowing you to experience different states of meditation, or just by sitting down and taking some quiet time to allow yourself to observe your mind.
More from the Article “The Science of Meditation” on Psychology Today »
P.S. Please let us know what positive benefits meditating has done for your mind and body by dropping us a comment below!
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I try to bring a spirit of meditation to my main occupation and am making efforts to stretch that to other parts of my day. I think I need to work at being more focused in my interactions. However, I don’t seem to like just sitting. Rather I do like it when I actually do it but that’s not that often. I prefer something a bit more active like yoga.
To Andro: u seem to have a lot of resistance to meditation, u seem to be the type of person who loves to make excuses. try harder and stop being a cry baby.
Firstly, your article is great! I like to think of 10 minutes as “two songs”. (This works for my time on the treadmill.) We could apply this to meditation also. Two songs! That’s it! As soon as someone says the word “meditation” we freeze. Our body almost goes into spasms and we feel like yelling: “NO!” When you think of two songs… it kind of frees your mind from the whole ‘time’ issue. Most people like music and so it looks like the whole meditation or exercise thing could even be somehow pleasurable… which it is of course.
For those who do not have access to some of the wonderful (but more expensive) scientifically engineered meditation CDs; you could try a little thing I do. When I want to clear my head I say the words over and over again: “Don’t think… don’t think…” until my thoughts stop racing.
Another thing you could try for ‘two songs’ is sitting… yes, just sitting, in your garden. Just become ‘one’ with nature. That’s it! No big deal. Just sit and soak it up for ‘two songs’. How hard is that?
So wonderful to know that 10 minutes a day will do it for all of us. Your article has inspired me. Many thanks!
Thanks that make it more simple. Meditation to me was alweys siting there for a half of more haur and try to stop you brain of doing what it is brains job, to think. I read so many positive things that happen if you regularly meditate but I alweis thought meditation is something out of this world, it is just for some choosen one.
Now I know and have best intention to try it out.
I have tried meditation many many years ago. It definately has benefits beyond question. Not only does it meke you feel great, it energises, clears your mind, helps make positive decisions, controls impulses, anger etc and it make you feel really fantastic inside out. Want to benefit from it, you have to practise it and let me tell you which is difficult at first but when you are serious it happens. Just put a positive thought in your mind and think and visualise it. An easy way to meditation.
To James re message to Andromeda: Everyone has a different path with different lessons and experiences and different ways of learning. It makes us seem like failures when people tell us to try harder when you’re already trying your best. We mostly need to come to that place on our own in our own time. The fact that Andromeda is even remotely interested in any way at all in meditation is fantastic! Most people don’t think about it at all. We’re all awakening at our own pace. There’s no great rush. Some of the greatest channellors are hopeless at meditating! Our intent is everything. Have the right intent whatever you’re doing and it will all be fine. There are no right or wrong ways or right or wrong choices… only choices.
Meditation was a practice in spiritual maturity and discipline that I wanted to shy away from when I was younger. I wanted to go to workshops all the time and read, listen to tapes and watch videos. Whenever I attempted to get still, disturbing thoughts would arise. I never stayed consistant long enough to get any real benefit from this practice. I have to admit, although, my weak attempts did bring me bursts of creativity and insights.
Now that I am older, I cannot believe that I neglected this valuable tool. I now medidtate for and hour. I am much more consciously aware. I stay in the moment and rarely get angry or emotional anymore. People trust me to make calm decisions. I’m still just as human. I don’t levitate or reach astral planes but I appreciate more the life I live each moment and most of the anxiety I foest in my younger years has drifted away.
JIMMY J
To Andromeda 1,
Whatever you feel at this very moment is okay. As Lane puts it, there are no right or wrong choices… only choices.
It is said that everything a man needs comes to him when he is ready to use it(Richard Bach?). If you are ready for meditation, then you will begin to like just sitting!
Better and better.
thanks for this ‘NEW’learning method of meditation.it works because i want to make it work
i’m less on oral medicines because of this which is SIMPLY GREAT!!but i’d definitely like to be regular to make it work for me 100%
why 10 minutes. it can be just 5 minutes.. muslims pray– that is indirectly meditate five times a day. every one can do it. just concentrate on god for five minutes.