Holistic physicians often recommend meditation and meditative exercises, such as yoga and Tai Chi, for optimal health. When practiced regularly, these ancient exercises promote healing on various levels: physical, emotional, mental and psycho-spiritual. They also reduce stress and foster compassion for oneself and others, which in turn leads to further healing.
Researchers are just beginning to understand the complex relationships between our mind and body, confirming the connections spiritual disciplines have emphasized for centuries. For example, studies show that feelings of gratitude generate tangible health benefits, such as lowered stress hormones. Regular meditation reduces inflammation, improves immunity, and strengthens areas of the brain related to empathy and emotional processing, among other benefits. On the other hand, pessimism and negativity fuel inflammation and chronic disease, attacking our DNA, speeding up aging, and increasing cancer risks.
Innately, we know these findings to be true. Take a moment to consider how you feel physically when experiencing negative emotions compared to feelings of love and compassion. The differences are clear. However, we all fall victim to our minds to some degree, becoming habituated to cycles of anxiety and neurotic thought patterns, dwelling on the past or fretting about the future. One meditation metaphor describes the mind as “a blind rider on a wild horse,” having no control over the thoughts that take over, driving us into unexpected territory.
The journey into mind-body healing starts by allowing us to take a step back and observe our thought patterns so that we’re no longer a “blind rider.” These ancient practices offer us tools that can tame the wild horse. With regular practice, meditation helps break anxiety and stress cycles, replacing them with healing mental patterns. This is achieved not by repressing or rejecting negative feelings, but by relaxing and allowing these thoughts and emotions to come and go without giving them weight or attaching any specific meaning to them.
From doing to simply being
Meditation is unique because it allows us to shift from doing to simply being. It cultivates a state of deep relaxation where we can let go of our efforts to “become a good meditator.” Having an “empty mind” is not the definition of good meditation. Thoughts are not the problem, but the reaction to them, getting carried away, and dwelling in the past or projecting our hopes and fears into the future is. Instead, just relax into a space where you don’t identify with your thoughts and emotions – you simply let them go on their way, like passing clouds. With practice, the space between your thoughts becomes wider, calmer, and more evident. Within this spaciousness, a deeper, more authentic state of consciousness can arise and expand, expressed as genuine love, compassion, and greater clarity of awareness.
How to begin
One of the most profound yet simple styles of meditation is the ancient Buddhist practice of Shamatha, which means “calm abiding” in Sanskrit. Shamatha is designed to help you access the mind’s natural state of tranquility and clarity. In Shamatha, you focus your gaze, breath, and concentration on a specific object, such as a small stone, letting thoughts arise and dissipate and gently turning your attention back to the breath and the object.
Resting in this tranquil space, we make room for our true inner nature of openness, love, peace, and clarity to arise and expand. The layers of obstructions in the form of attachments, hopes, and fears slowly peel away, and our inner light becomes brighter and clearer. This is where healing can take quantum leaps, but it does require practice, so be gentle with yourself.
Dedicating your meditation
Buddhists practice something called “dedicating the merit” after each meditation session. It involves intending that the benefits of meditation are not only for ourselves. This helps us stay connected to our hearts in today’s world, where we are often overwhelmed by the barrage of suffering we see, hear, and read about daily. Regular meditation and the dedication afterward keep our hearts open to humanity and ourselves, without feeling overwhelmed.
Meditation retreats
Participating in a meditation retreat, either alone or with a group, can be a profound way to reach a deeper state of relaxation, healing, and rejuvenation.
Give yourself a few extra moments every day to meditate, breathe, and unwind your mind. You deserve it!
