Wednesday, August 25, 2010

4 Benefits of Meditating

The benefits of meditation have been known to humans ever since it was first practiced several millennia ago.

Here are 4 Benefits of Meditating.

1. Reduces Stress

Because meditation helps calm the mind and relax the individual, it helps a lot in reducing stress. This is usually achieved through the breathing exercises that form a part of the practice.

Stress reduction is one of the main reasons why people take up meditation.

2. Helps to Cure or Improve Illnesses

There are already documented cases wherein meditation was shown to have helped in curing an illness. A landmark study is the one done in 1976 by Australian psychiatrist Ainslie Meares which was published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

The study documented how a patient’s cancer regressed after sessions of intensive meditation. Meditation is also known to lower blood pressure levels, which is beneficial to patients who are at risk of hypertension and other heart-related conditions.

3. Improves concentration

One practice in meditation involves focusing on a particular object such as a candlelight, or reciting a mantra. Doing activities like these have been shown to improve a person’s concentration.

4. Acceptance of events

Another aspect of meditation is the ability to take things as they are. This helps a lot in reducing a person’s frustrations over things that he/she cannot control.

People who will surely benefit from this include those who are undergoing anger management.