Meditation styles and Yoga practice

Yoga

The Practice of Meditation
The practice of meditation can be carried out in multiple ways. One of the most basic practices of meditation is outlined by Dr. Joan Borysenko (1987), co-founder and director of the Mind/Body Clinic at New England Deaconess Hospital, in eight steps:

Find a quiet spot at home or elsewhere where there will be no disruptions by people or telephones. This may be the hardest part for some because it entails making time for oneself.

Sit in a comfortable position--back straight, arms and legs crossed. A cushion may be used to sit on for increased comfort. It is important though not to get too comfortable or else one will fall asleep.

Close the eyes.

Begin relaxing all the muscles of the body beginning with the head on down to the feet. Relax on the out breath or exhalation. Let go and let gravity pull on the body to relax. Taking deep breaths will help the relaxation process.

Become aware of the breath without trying to control it in any way. The breathing will get slower and shallower during the meditation process. This is a normal physiological response to the relaxation that is occurring. The body is requiring less oxygen because the metabolism has slowed down

Repeat the mantra or focus word silently in time with the breath. Try one word for the inhalation--"Let"-- and another for the exhalation--"Go".

Do not worry about progress or how well the meditation is going. As soon as worry enters the picture, meditation has turned into anxiety--what we want to get rid of. Inevitably at first the mind will wander. Label the thought--thinking, anger, judging, etc. let it go, and return to the word, phrase, or breath

Practice meditation at least once a day for ten to twenty minutes. With practice, meditation will get easier and more deeply peaceful. Remember that meditation is not an end in itself, it is a process. The process is what heals. (pp. 42-46).

History of Meditation

Dr. Herbert Benson, founding President of the Mind/Body Institute and associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical school, and his research team spent several years investigating the secular and religious literatures of the world to find if there were any similarities to present day TM. They found that in virtually every culture studied that had a written history, the basic steps of present-day transcendental meditation were present. For example, Benson (1993) writes,

In Judaism, at the time of the Second Temple--roughly from the fourth and fifth centuries BC to the first century AD--followers of a philosophy called Merkabolism would squat in a fetal-like posture and focus on their breathing. They would repeat the name of a magic seal on each exhalation and disregard other thoughts when they came to mind (p. 239).

Within Islam, Buddhism, Shintoism, Taoism, and Confucianism similar practices were found (Benson, 1993).

Some Examples of Research on Meditation

Dr. Herbert Benson (1975), author of the best-selling book, The Relaxation Response, has studied meditation and its healing qualities. Benson's research has shown that meditation decreases heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure in people who have normal or mildly elevated blood pressure, and oxygen consumption (Redwood, 1995).

Meditation also has an effect on brain wave patterns. Studies have shown that meditation increases alpha rhythms--correlated to a state of relaxed alertness--and "enhanced synchronization of alpha rhythms among four regions of the brain, right, left, front, and back (Redwood, 1995, paragraph 10)."

Cost of Meditation

Meditation is one of the mind/body therapies that can be used everywhere for free. Meditation may take place in the confines of a group, which may include a small fee--around $15. There are tools that people may purchase to add to the meditation experience such as special cushions, musical meditation audiotapes, and the like. These extras are not necessary to arrive at the benefits of meditation.

Conclusion

Through thousands of research studies, meditation has shown its benefits clearly. However, according to Redwood (1995), "Meditation remains a tool drastically under utilized within the medical fields (p. 2)." Hopefully in the coming years, the medical establishment will try to break the taboo of using a type of medicine we can't see or touch and begin teaching patients to meditate in an attempt to help them lead healthier, happier lives.