MEDITATION
Meditation is a holistic discipline practiced to relax the mind and attain deeper states of awareness. Meditation has been a form of spiritual practice in many religions around the world including Christianity and is also practiced outside religious traditions. The various techniques of meditation can be classified according to their focus. Some focus on the field or background perception and experience, referred to by some as "mindfulness"; others focus on a pre-selected specific object, and are called "concentrative" meditation. There are also moving or walking meditation techniques and feeling based meditations that focus on compassion and kindness for oneself and others. Meditation can be used as physical relaxation practice, emotional calming and awareness, reducing acute and chronic pain and deepening a person’s spiritual experience. According to one study that was published by Psychology Today:
Neuroscientists have found that mediators shift their brain activity to different areas of the brain’s cortex. This mental shift decreases the negative effects of stress, mild depression and anxiety. There is also research supporting that people who meditate regularly have less activity in the amygdala, where the brain processes fear. (http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200304/the-benefits-meditation )
Meditation can be a very powerful tool in living a resilient and healthy life.
Research Resources:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200304/the-benefits-meditation
http://www.isseem.com
http://www.noetic.org
BREATHING
Did you know that oxygen is your #1 food? That deep breathing aids in curbing digestive problems and balances your acid/alkaline ratio? Did you know that deep breathing can lower blood pressure, promote weight-loss and is a quick effective way to achieve a relaxation response? It is truly amazing how our own breathing can affect not only our physiology but also our moods and our ability to relax.
There are many ways to breath to achieve states of relaxation and calm, to reduce blood pressure and to reduce chronic and acute pain. Did you know that when we exhale carbon dioxide it is like a mild sedative to our body? A simple slow and prolonged exhale can calm us instantly and diffuse the physical effects of the stress response. There are many breathing techniques used to promote relaxation and to clear emotions and inflammation in the body as well as in the mind. Developing habits that increase your breathing during the day and increase your awareness of how you breathe under stress can change your health and your abilities to move through difficult moments consciously. When breathing consciously we all connect more deeply to nature and our natural state of being.
HERE ARE 2 SIMPLE TECHNIQUES
Research Abstract:
Relaxation for Depression
Department of Psychiatry, Oxygen Youth Health Research Centre, University of Melbourne
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18843744?dopt=Abstract
