Meditations Help Relieve Stress
Meditation has been used throughout the centuries to calm the nerves and relieve stress and anxiety. Meditation been used as a major factor in many different religions,from The Mayens, the Inca’s, Buddhism and Hinduism. There are now hundreds of different forms of meditation being used. It was mainly used in places like Asia. Shaman monks used mediatation as a way to achieve a trance-like -state.
It is reported that in order to become a Shaman, the student monk was taken to an icy river at night, he had to remove his garments and a blanket was soaked in the icy waters and wrapped around his body. The student had to meditate until he could control the temperature of his body and dry the blanket with the heat from his body. This process was performed several times throughout the night in order for the student to pass the test.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi introduced Transcendental Meditation to the western world in 1959. He revived it from its ancient form and made it more accessable to modern day people.
By the mid 1990′s in excess of 180,000 people in Great Britain alone were using these techniques to not only relieve their stress but also to change their lives. TM requires that whilst sittiing comfortably you use a mantra to achieve a state of awareness called “restful alertness”. The idea is that you use this mantra to clear your mind of all negative and unnecessary thoughts.
In different states of awareness the brain displays different types of electrical activity and this electrical output can be recorded in wave patterns on machines. There is Beta brainwaves which are recorded as 14-30hz and these are charactistic of a busy working day. most of us are in the Beta stage most of the time. Meditation slows the mind down and helps to maintain Alpha brainwaves which usually record 8-13hz. These waves and more associated with calmness and relaxation. Then there is Theta which records at 4-7hz and is usually achieved when you are in a state of drowsiness ie; just before you go to sleep.
Meditation produces a state of deep relaxation , which in turn lowers your heart rate and decreases the level of oxygen consumption. With continual practice it will also lower your blood pressure.
Research has shown that stress is a key factor in a very wide variety of modern day illnesses. By using meditation we can cope a lot better with these illnesses and more often than not cure them ourselves without the need for medication.
The Eastern world have used meditation for centuries and incorporated them into martial arts. Martial arts are not designed as a way of fighting but as a way of controlling your mind and your body. They are to bring the mind and body into complete harmony and when you achieve this harmony you will combat stress and live a more controlled and relaxed life.
Some people use subliminal messages to help them achieve a state of meditation. These are becoming more and more popular. You put on an audio cd and sit quietly and listen to the suggestions which take you into a state of complete relaxation. You can now get dvd’s that have pictures or symbols on that you concentrate on and whilst concentrating the hidden messages are flashed on and off the screen, somethimes you are not aware of the messages but they help you relax.
Different people use different forms of meditation and there is not a right one or wrong one. You should try several and decide which one suits you best.
For More information on how to meditate daily
For information for those seriously wanting to get into meditation
For those of you that need self healing meditation
For The Ultimate Chakra Power Meditation
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Meditation. Love Makes The World Go Round
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Tags: alpha, awareness, beta, chakra, Meditation, shaman, stress relief, theta.brainwaves, transcendental meditation, yoga
