Chapter 43

Meditation


Meditation is the tongue of the soul and the
language of our spirit.

Jeremy Taylor




Similar to breathing techniques is the ancient Indian science of meditation. This essentially comprises of a relaxation technique of sitting in a quiet place with your eyes closed. You should try to keep your mind free of thoughts. To become aware of your body, breathing, or staying focused on a single pleasant symbol or object like the ocean, or a forest, or waterfall, or the sun, or moon, or a flower, etc.


Doing so for just 10 to 15 minutes a day is a great stress reliever and relaxant.



The first interest in meditation in the U.S. was taken in the late sixties by cardiologist Dr Herbert Benson at the Harvard Medical School. He taught meditation to heart patients and found a dramatic improvement in their blood pressure and stress levels. He recorded his findings in a book ‘The Relaxation Response’, which became a best seller. He found that the practice of meditation led to a relaxation of the muscles, a decrease of anxiety and a reduction of stress hormones.


Research carried out in India the birthplace of yoga, meditation and breathing techniques at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences, and at the India Institute of Medical Sciences, shows that these practices reduce the symptoms of mental depression and have the same impact of anti depressant medicines, like imipramine. They have also been found to reduce the levels of the stress hormone, cortisol.

There are various advanced and modified forms of meditation developed in India over the centuries. They can be broadly classified as the body oriented, called hatha yoga, the mind oriented, called raja yoga, and the heart and the spiritual oriented, called the bhakti yoga.


If you meditate regularly you will experience peace and tranquillity. Persons who meditate abhor violence. Meditation can also be a spiritual experience for you.


If you are a religious person you could attain the peace and tranquillity of prayer. If you are not religious and even agnostic or an atheist you could experience a spiritual like experience of cosmic oneness with the universe.


Meditation relaxes your

the body, mind and soul,

so practice it regularly.