Meditating Improves Your Physical And Emotional Health: Start Now!

Nowadays we already speak of mind-body medicine in the West, although in the traditions of some Eastern countries –such as India, China and Tibet– we speak of body-energy-mind, meaning energy is the connection space between body and mind. mind, and its expression as breath and word or sound.

Overcoming this distance, there were two pioneers – both in the US state of Massachusetts – who paved the way for meditation practices to be integrated as secular into Western culture, with scientific support.

Herbert Benson recognized the “relaxation response” of the parasympathetic system to control our stress or “fight or flight” reaction from hisresearch on transcendental meditation at Harvard Medical School (1975).

Benson observed that in the meditative state of relaxation there is a slowdown in metabolism, heart rate, and respiration, which positively affects brain activity.

Jon Kabat-Zinn opened a stress reduction clinic in 1979 at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine. Drawing on the traditional Buddhist practice of mindfulness meditation , and renewing the Buddhist aspect, in 1988 he created the MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) system, a meditation program that was proven to reduce stress and pain , and increased the feeling of well-being.

In 1993, he featured his work on the PBS public network television special “Healing and the Mind” by Bill Moyers, and sparked an interest in mindfulness meditation, by Kabat-Zinn and, in particular, for its MBSR system.

The many benefits of meditation

In the following decades, meditation practices take more strongly into the public consciousness, supported by numerous academic studies and scientific s taking place.

At the MD Anderson Cancer Center, where I work as a researcher, in 1999 we began offering meditation for everyone affected by cancer (patients, families, and supporters).

In the following year, we began using meditation techniques and investigate -the mindfulness and Tibetan meditation – as a complement to the purif or and prevention of cancer and as a method to quit smoking.

In addition to the aforementioned research, and thanks to it, we currently offer meditation focused on breathing to reduce stress, with Tibetan sounds for cognitive problems after chemotherapy sessions, and with movements to help with insomnia and sleep problems.

In the past year, we have analyzed the benefits of these Tibetan breathing meditation classes, with Tibetan sounds, and with Tibetan yoga movements, and observed that after just one session, people with cancer reported a clinically significant reduction in their symptoms of fatigue, anxiety and depression, and an increased sense of well-being.

Meditation techniques also helped the caregivers. After a meditation session, a clinically significant reduction in symptoms of fatigue, shortness of breath and anxiety, as well as a greater sense of well-being.

We also looked at the effects of guided meditation during the breast biopsy, and have found that it helps reduce anxiety during the procedure, and we are currently seeing that practices such as hypnosis could also reduce stress and anxiety during catheter procedures. .

Thanks to the path forged by pioneers like Herbert Benson and Jon Kabat-Zinn almost four decades ago, and also thanks to the media support of Bill Moyers, the scientific studies of several universities and different research centers followed.

And these ancient techniques of Buddhist followers come to the West currently in a secular way to benefit millions of people s, in societies where everyday stress, and its many ramifications, is increasing.

Start meditating now

If you want to start meditating, Escuela Cuerpomente offers you a 100% online meditation training to transform your brain and your life in just 8 weeks. Now you can practice mindfulness from home with guaranteed results.

We also recommend the website of the Center for Integrative Medicine at MD Anderson Cancer Center, where you have audios and videos of meditation and other mind-body practices in English and Spanish, accessible for free.

And if you don’t want this route, you can start now:

1. Take a moment.
2. Breathe deeply and consciously.
3. Then see how you feel.
4. And follow up with a little more mindfulness to the present moment and your actions.

4 myths about what it means to meditate

There are some misunderstandings about what meditation really is. We clarify them:

1. More than relaxation. While it is a key component of meditation, it should not be the only goal when practicing it.
2. You don’t go into a trance. It may be true for some types of meditation, but not for mindfulness meditation. Instead of becoming less aware, you are more aware of your body, your emotions, and your passing thoughts.
3. You gain lucidity. You do not run away from reality, but learn to see yourself exactly as you are and to accept it completely.
4. A panacea? In any case, not fast. The changes are subtle and you will only notice them consistently.