Why Learn To Meditate

December 10th, 2009 | jones | Hemorrhoid Relief

Brain scans and interest by medical doctors have provided answers to the question, “Why learn to meditate?” Researchers made the connection between spiritual meditation and the body’s physical processes through several studies of participants who were practicing meditation. They discovered that, with just 40 minutes of meditation each day, a person could actually alter the makeup of the brain — lessening the effects of aging and increasing the amount of gray matter in the right hemisphere. There are many other positive benefits of meditation for people with depression, chronic pain and insomnia, experts say.

If you’re an insomniac, then you needn’t ask “why learn to meditate” at all — for the secret lies in deep relaxation meditation. At the June 2009 Associated Professional Sleep Societies meeting, researchers from Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Evanston, Illinois reported their findings that daytime meditation improved the quality of sleep in patients with insomnia. Patients noted marked improvement in their sleep latency, total sleep time, total wake time, sleep efficiency, sleep quality and depression symptoms after two months of practicing Kriya Yoga meditation methods. “Results of the study show that teaching deep relaxation techniques during the daytime can help improve sleep at night,” said study leader Ramadevi Gourineni MD.

If you’re depressed, then you also need not wonder “why learn to meditate.” An Oxford University study indicates that mindfulness meditation significantly reduces the number of people with depression. Study leader Professor Mark Williams said: “We are on the brink of discovering really important things about how people can learn to stay well after depression. Our aim is to help people to find long-term freedom from the daily battle with their moods.” A great place to begin is at the Big Free Meditation List: www.mymeditationgarden.com/guided-meditations/the-big-list-of-free-guided-meditations.

People with early stage dementia know the answer to the question “why learn to meditate.” Qigong and Taiji exercises and meditation classes improved mood and cognitive function in nearly all participants after 20 weeks of meditation therapy, researchers found. “The clinical findings, from my perspective, go far beyond the statistical findings,” said Sandy Burgener from the University of Illinois. “People were happier when they were in the treatment group. Two men came in with walkers and left without them. One is in our Taiji group three years later and is still not using a walker.”

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