Meditation can be said to be a skill (technique) for keeping the mind and body in a healthy state. You will be able to objectively see the thoughts that come to your mind when you meditate, and you will be able to organize what you need,
what you don’t need, and your emotions without being swayed by stress, relationships, or emotions. By accepting yourself, it is said that so spend the day-to-day life richer in simple.
Until a long time ago, it had an image of being a kind of ascetic practice to sit on the floor in a temple to maintain a state of nothingness, and it was generally perceived as hard and difficult. Nowadays, there are meditation classes in yoga or meditation experiences at temples for beginners, and you can do it using your own body with nothing to prepare. It is said that there are 500 million people in the world who practice meditation.
Research results on meditation by scientists
In 2003, Dr. Richard Davidson from Harvard University and Professor Robert Sapolsky from Stanford University spoke with the Dalai Lama, the leader of Tibetan Buddhism, about the benefits of meditation. They said that experiments have shown that meditation strengthens the immune system, prevents the recurrence of depression, and reduces the secretion of stress-related hormones.
Another study by Dr. Richard Davidson compared the brains of a Tibetan Buddhist monk who had been meditating for 14 years with that of an average person of the same age and found that the Tibetan monk’s brain age was 8 years younger. In addition, some medical institutions around the world are using meditation as a therapeutic method.
See: www.richardjdavidson.com
en.wikipedia.org
www.wired.com
Types of Meditation
There are many types of meditation, including Vipassana meditation, Samatha meditation, mindfulness meditation, and many others. As an opportunity to start, it is one of the meditation methods that makes it easy to start mindfulness meditation, which is introduced in videos and apps.
How to meditate
The first step, make a habit of meditation for 5 minutes a day. If you are asked if you can expect a change in 5 minutes a day, you can feel the change by continuing 5 minutes a day every day. The important thing is to make meditation a habit.
[toning the body]
–>> Sit relaxed with good posture (stretching your back)
->> Sit down (you can sit on your knees, in seiza, or a chair)
–>> Relax your shoulders
–>> Place your palms lightly on your thighs (palms can be facing up or down)
–>> Lightly close or half-close your eyes
(When half-lidded, look vaguely downward in front of you, concentrating on a single point)
[toning the breath]
–>> Adjust your breathing (one big deep breath)
–>> Inhale through the nose and exhale through the nose.
(If it is difficult to exhale through the nose at first, you can exhale through the mouth)
–>> Exhale for about twice as long as you inhale (without straining)
–>> Even when you focus on your breathing, distractions and thoughts come to mind
–>> At first, it’s OK to just be aware of them, but if possible, you can objectively capture the thoughts and feelings and let them go (turn your awareness inward)
–>> Keep breathing
[toning the mind]
–>> Prepare your mind
–>> Focus on breathing (turn consciousness now, at this moment)
–>> Let go of any thoughts or ideas that come to mind
–>> Return consciousness to breathing
–>> Observe the bulges and depressions in your abdomen as you breathe
–>> Repeatedly practice “toning the body,” “toning the breath,” and “toning the mind”
The three elements of mindfulness meditation are the body, breath, and mind, which make mindfulness meditation a simple way to meditate.
The effects of Meditation
The feeling of meditation itself is very similar to the feeling of calmness you get when you are camping and stare blankly at a campfire. The benefits of meditation include stress reduction, improved concentration, insomnia relief, depression relief, relaxation, and many other benefits. First of all, make time to meditate for one to five minutes every day and see what effect it has on you.
Nowadays, there are apps, music, videos, etc. that can help you start meditating, so find your favorite and incorporate it into your life as a time to learn the skill of meditation. However, meditation can be suitable for some people and not for others, and there are always risks (side effects), so I would like to discuss the risks of meditation next time.
