In my last blog, I discussed the effects and advantages of mindfulness in self-care and happiness. Here, I will bring forward the benefits of meditation in healthy living.
What is it?
Meditation is an age-old mind-body practice with many methods and variations grounded in silence and stillness while focusing on compassionate, nonjudgmental present-moment awareness. It is touted as a way to tame the mind from wondering and focusing on what you want to work on.
Some define this as cognitive training to improve attentional and emotional self-regulation. This general term includes a broad and heterogeneous set of attention and concentration practices, mainly derived from ancient traditions.
How popular are meditation and mindfulness?
According to a 2017 U.S. survey, the percentage of adults who practiced some form of mantra-based meditation, mindfulness meditation, or spiritual meditation in the previous 12 months tripled between 2012 and 2017, from 4.1 percent to 14.2 percent. Mindfulness programs for schools have gained popularity. These programs offer mindfulness training to help students and educators manage stress and anxiety, resolve conflicts, control impulses, and improve resilience, memory, and concentration.
Types of meditation: There are so many ways to practice meditation. Basic meditation techniques are divided into several types: Mindful, Guided, Mantra, Body scan (Chakra), Vipassana meditation, and SKY. Here is a primer on it. They each have advantages over others, so conduct your research and don’t spend large amounts of money on this simple technique. Some people may take advantage of you in difficult times by selling their services.
Does it help to make you happy?
Mind well: all studies are small and not rigorous.
Mediation can help various aspects of our well-being by reducing stress, burnout, and anxiety, improving our positive affect, improving compassion and empathy, and allowing us to concentrate better on the problem that we are facing. It has the medical advantages of reducing blood pressure, improving memory, improving sleep quality, reducing pain, and helping us to age better. Facing an acute or chronic illness brings loads of uncertainties, anger, denial, anxiety, and fear. Practicing meditation helps those patients to bring out their inner strength and clarity.
Some small studies are showing positive effects on depression, anger, PTSD, substance use disorders, improving immune functioning, and affect regulations.
How to practice?
There are so many ways to meditate. Do not worry, and start focusing on the basic techniques. Here is one.
The process (SOLAR mnemonic):
Spend five to ten minutes a few times daily in a quiet place. Take a deep breath in and out and follow this process. Just like any exercise, consistency is more important than time.
Stop: taking a pause and dropping into this experience right now.
Observe: being aware of and noticing what is happening at this moment. (See Ties mnemonics below)
Let: acknowledge and allow this arising experience of something pleasant or unpleasant.
And…
Returning repeatedly to the present moment, remembering to pause, breathe, and feeling
Practice these Ties mnemonic experiences while meditating.
Talk/thoughts: mental chatter, constant thinking, storyline narratives. Images: mental pictures, imagined scenes, visualized scenarios
Emotions: love, hate, fear, joy, sadness, anxiety, and
Sensations: sound, touch, sight, taste, smell
Tips to consider:
- Don’t use meditation or mindfulness to replace conventional care or as a reason to postpone seeing a healthcare provider about a medical problem.
- Ask about the training and experience of the instructor of the meditation or mindfulness practice you are considering.
- Take charge of your health—talk with your healthcare providers about any complementary health approaches you use. Together, you can make shared, well-informed decisions
More resources:
Apps: Calm and Headspace
http://www.umassmed.edu/content.aspx?id541252(UMass Center for Mindfulness) http://www.amsa.org/humed/(AMSA Humanistic Medicine Group) https://www.fammed.wisc.edu/aware-medicine/mindfulness (University of Wisconsin Aware Medicine Curriculum)
http://eomega.org/(NewYork/east-coast Omega Institute) http://nccam.nih.gov/(NCCAM)
http://diydharma.org/about-us(Do It Yourself Dharma)
http://www.spiritrock.org/ (California/west-coast Meditation Center) http://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/site/PageServer(Centering Prayer) http://www.christinecenter.org(Wisconsin/mid-west Retreat Center)
According to experienced meditation teacher Charlotte Joko Beck, ‘‘The practice of meditation provides a skill that affords a greater sense of self-determination—the ability to cultivate and draw upon inner resources to help meet all circumstances with equanimity and clarity.’’
These are the big words, so meditate on it!
Tarak Vasavada, MD
Medical director,
Live Well Foundation of Madison County Medical Society