Meditation is as difficult to define as it appears to be able to
perform. However, it has been scientifically proven to be a great tool for
reducing stress and thereby slowing the aging process. Stress is probably the
number factor when it comes to aging. Sure unhealthy habits and an unhealthy
lifestyle contribute to premature aging, but often times it is stress that is
behind those unhealthy habits.
Meditation is
purported to increase happiness, decrease
stress, improve health, slow the aging process, reduce anxiety and bring us
inner peace. This may sound like a lot of hyperbole, but research now
supports that meditation can boost immunity while helping to reduce cortisol
levels, lower blood pressure, combat insomnia and fight depression. High
cortisol levels and high blood pressure along with insomnia and depression
are factors that contribute to speeding up the aging process.
What meditation does is bring balance to the autonomic nervous
system. Neurons in your body carry involuntary messages to the autonomic nervous
system. The word autonomic in Greek means
self- governing. Literally this part of the nervous system takes care of
you. In general it works to bring homeostasis or balance to the body. It does
this by carrying messages that speed up or slow down the activities of your heart,
glands, muscles, digestion, excretory and
circulatory systems. The messages are carried on separate neurons separating
the autonomic nervous system into two parts; the sympathetic nervous system and
parasympathetic nervous system. Generally speaking the sympathetic nervous
system gets the body ready to combat stress where the parasympathetic nervous
system slows the body down and seeks to restore energy. We need both, but we
also need the energy of the body to be balanced
between stagnation and hyperactivity. It’s called homeostasis.
By training your brain to be less
responsive to stress you can literally rewire your entire being to find a state
of complete balance in the mist of chaos. Reducing stress and developing a more
positive outlook on life is a Proactive approach
to anti-aging.
What is meditation? To speak of meditation is a
contradiction. Meditation is silence,
stillness and peacefulness. But
in a world of symbols (language) we are left with at best an awkward way to
define it. Meditation is really a glimpse
of ultimate reality which teaches us
that we are not separate from the universe. This requires our ability to let go
of the constant chatter in our minds and focus on silence. Meditation is
somewhat like dancing. When we dance
we do not aim to arrive at a particular spot on the floor. The dance is simply
about the journey and not the destination. Meditation is the discovery that the
point of the journey is arrived at
in the immediate moment. When we
become quiet and cease our internal chatter, we discover the flow of the dance
or the present eternal now.
There is no standard definition for meditation.
Every culture seems to have its own version of meditation. However, in an
examination of all cultures it becomes apparent that all perceive meditation as
being about union, balance, the experience
and connection with the present now.
In the first
book of genesis chaos is depicted as
being reduced to order by the separation
of opposites; day to night,
water to land and light to darkness. Meditation therefore seeks to bring about
the reunion of opposites or polarities
into a state of peace and serenity.
What is clear with all disciplines is that meditation
is an experience. It is an experience
that is so highly valued that it is consider an inward art. Paradoxically the meditator both returns to the center
of self while simultaneously transcending the limitation imposed upon self. The
essence of meditation is that a person experiences an intuitive ink that
expands the mind beyond imagination. So let’s just say that meditation is an experience and that experience is a
moment we would all like to have. People spend millions of dollars to find
peace and serenity. But really it cost
you nothing and is so easy to have.
What do I need to meditate?
Sometimes we empty the mind and sometimes we fill the mind by focusing
on specific thoughts or sounds. With practice the goal is to balance the two opposing
forces of the universe and create union. To do this we need to experience flow
or the movement of oneness. You don’t
need elaborate equipment or extensive training to meditate. It has no
unpleasant side effects. It require only a few minutes. In my video Take Five – learn to meditate
in five minutes, http://www.doctorlynn.com
I introduce
the student to what is required to sit quietly and meditate. All you need is a clean
warm room, loose clothing, a yoga mat, either music or not, aromatherapy or not,
and being open to reuniting yourself.
What will I get out of it? The better you get at incorporating meditation
into your life the more you will see personal growth, increased wisdom and a sense of fulfillment come into your life. Karma will be much easier to understand
and to work through. Your decisions will become more focused and your reactions
to life a lot calmer. Appreciation and
gratefulness will abide. Your stress levels will be lowered and your general overall
health will improve. You’ll slow
down a bit and begin to experience the moments of life. Meditation will keep
you vital and strong. You will learn
how to act proactively as you age. Body, mind and soul will find a place of balance and balance is the essence of
health.
How do I meditate? There are two ways to meditate; active and passive. There are also two
mind sets. One is to empty the mind
and the other is to give the mind something to focus on such as the breath. Either way both require the use of the
breath. We also need an open and
ready attitude. This is the ability
to just let go and let consciousness slip into the subconscious. Don’t try to meditate.
Just breathe and let it happen.
We can
meditate by sitting still on a yoga
mat or lying down. It is best to
hold a comfortable position, but not so comfortable that you fall asleep. Cross
legged in easy pose, the lotus pose or the adept pose is usually used for
sitting. Corpse pose is usually used for a lying position. In my video Take Five we sit quiet in a room with candles
and soft music. Music is used
because it is the easiest and fastest way to experience meditation. When
listening to music we are in the moment of the note. We cannot hear the note in
front of us or the note we last heard. The mind empties itself and simply
follows the music just as it follows the breath.
With the eyes closed we focus on the inhale and the exhale of the breath. This is the expansion and contraction of
life. By giving the mind something to focus on, such as the breath, it becomes
quiet and still. The parasympathetic and
sympathetic nervous systems find a state of balance or homeostasis. We’ve
all been told that when we are about to lose our temper to take a deep breath
and count to ten. A deep breath creates calmness.
It reduces stress.
Sometimes we add
aromatherapy to a meditative ritual.
Scents have been used since the beginning of civilization in rituals and
worships.
When you first begin to meditate you will notice that your breath seems to run freely. You will
become aware of how your breath
automatically happens to you without you consciously participating. By focusing
on this we begin to see the division between what seems to happen to us and what
we can control. Like all things in
life we can learn to control the nature of each and every breath we take. Focused control is merely a conscious
process. By watching the voluntary and involuntary aspects of breathing we
experience the flow of energy even
when we are not conscious of it. At the same time understand how to harness and
control energy.
As
you begin to focus on your breath you
will discover that your breathing gets deeper and deeper. Envision a whirl of white light releasing out from the body and
then returning as you breathe in.
This
slow deep rhythmic breathing allows
us to enter the deeper state of
meditation.
Quietly
and calmly experience the sensation of breathing in and releasing out. Don’t
hurry or fret about your progress. Simply observe
the experience and connect in the moment.
Meditation
can be incorporated into every aspect of
your life. Remember meditation is also active. While teaching my cycle classes I have my students use
a seven minute song and try and experience the moments where they are one with
the movement of the cycle. This is the flow
or the experience. It’s a moment of meditation.
Zen calls this being in the moment.
This means that any activity from the
most mundane (doing dishes) to the most intense can be an experience of meditation.
You just need to learn to stay focused and aware in the moment.
Don’t
worry if you have a hard time letting go. Try my Take Five video. It is an easy
introduction into meditation and
something you can do in five minutes.
As I remind my students to achieve anything in life takes practice and practice
means commitment to your work or your karma. Be good to yourself and Take Five because anyone can find five minutes a day to improve the quality of life. Meditation will bring you, health, happiness and peace; could you
want for anything more?
Doctor Lynn
No comments:
Post a Comment