Benefits Of Meditation On The Brain

We live in a world flooded with activities and distractions. Our minds are always racing over “what is” and “what is not”. We constantly seek for one thing or the other to meet our daily needs. As Buddha would say it, we’re hurling from one pleasant experience to the next. So our brain is constantly engaged in the “what” world. “What’s for lunch?”, “what do I put on?” “Where do we find it?” “How do I package my presentation to impress my boss or clients?”  “What would help my kids stand out academically?” “What time is there to meet this deadline?” “How do we surprise and make Kate’s day a big one this weekend?” “What can I do to be pleasing to God” and the list is an endless one.

Funnily, the “What” list doesn’t pipe down until you hit the next day to wake up with fresher necessities to find out that the world of necessities is still an endless one.

Stressed Out

One good writer I know, calls it; an inner narrator who constantly seeks perfection, validation or justification.

The human brain is indeed the power house upon which every activity is dependent on. So small a power house but what a voluminous activity centres on it. So a quick question readily comes to mind, and that is; this power house known as the brain, has it any special need for wholeness?

Of course it does, and that’s where the Art and science of meditation come to play.

What is Meditation and how does it benefit the brain?

Meditation: is the practice that allows an individual to train the mind to induce a mode of consciousness, either to realize some benefits or for the mind to simply acknowledge its content without becoming identified with that content as an end in itself. Precisely put; meditation is a devotional exercise that enables calm contemplation over a religious or philosophical subject in order to enjoy inner peace.

Hence the term meditation refers to a broad variety of practices designed to promote relaxation, build internal energy, and develop compassion, love, patience, generosity and forgiveness.

The origin of meditation tells us that meditation has being a long standing tradition in main Asian countries, like Japan, China, and India. So, exactly where did meditation originate?

Meditation appears to be universal, appearing in cultures all over the world. The differences appear to lie more with the goals, purposes, and styles. Tantric meditation developed by South India tribes between ten and fifteen thousand years ago, was an expression of the desire to understand the conscious mind. When asking the question “Where did meditation originate?” We might be able to answer it with here; this is where mediation originated from, perhaps someday, research would be able to answer specifically where it is, if that opportunity presents itself.

The word meditation carries different meanings in different contexts but which ever context you look at it from, all is geared towards promoting a general sense of tranquillity and wellness.

So here area few benefits of meditation to the human brain:

Physiological benefits:

It lowers oxygen consumption, increases blood flow to the heart, increases exercise tolerance, leads to a deeper level of physical relaxation, reduces anxiety attacks by lowering the levels of blood lactate, reduces Pre-menstrual Syndrome symptoms, helps in post-operative healing, enhances the immune system, reduces activity of viruses and emotional distress, enhances energy, strength and vigour, helps with weight loss, reduces free radicals encouraging less tissue damage, improves flow of air to the lungs resulting in easier breathing, decreases the aging process encouraging higher levels of DHEAS (Dehydroepiandrosterone), cures headaches & migraines, give room for greater orderliness of Brain Functioning, improves performance on athletic event,  harmonizes the endocrine system, relaxes our nervous system, cures infertility (the stresses of infertility can interfere with the release of hormones that regulate ovulation) and helps in building sexual energy & desire.

Psychological benefits: It builds self-confidence, increases serotonin level, influences mood and behaviour, resolves phobias & fears, helps to control own thoughts, helps with focus & concentration, increase creativity, improves learning ability and memory retention, increases feelings of vitality and rejuvenation, increases emotional stability, encourages healthy relationships, allows mind to age at slower rates, helps to develops intuition, increases productivity, encourages healthy relations at home & at work, enables the brain to see the larger picture in a given situation, increases ability to solve complex problem, develops will power, encourages higher intelligence growth rate, decreases potential mental illness, helps to reduces need and dependency on drugs, pills & pharmaceuticals, increases sense of responsibility, decreases tendency to worry, increases listening skills and empathy, helps make more accurate judgements, greater tolerance level, gives composure to act in constructive ways, grows a stable, more balanced personality, develops emotional maturity

Spiritual benefits: Helps keep things in perspective, provides peace of mind, happiness, helps discover purpose in life and self-actualization, grows wisdom, enable deeper understanding of self and others, brings body, mind, spirit in harmony, allows spiritual relaxation, helps learn forgiveness, helps change attitude toward life, helps create a deeper relationship with God, helps create a widened capacity for love, etc.

Meditation is also completely FREE! It requires no special equipment, and is not complicated to learn. It can be practiced anywhere, anytime and any moment. It is not time consuming (15-20 min. per day), has “NO” negative side effects. Bottom line; make sure you start meditating so that you can find means to repay your power house “The Brain” to remain vigorous in all its engagement.

Thanks for reading!!!