Proper meditation can prolong one’s life.  It can lessen pain and even invoke healing in those the current western medical world would think are too far gone.  Proper meditation soothes the sole, reduces anxiety and promotes a calmer state of mind.  It can also increase one’s ability to learn.  It is a kin to classical music.  Numerous researchers have found that when exposed to classical music like Beethoven or Mozart, one’s IQ (intelligence quotient) actually increases markedly.  This is due to an increase in mental alertness and focus.  Well, the exact same thing occurs with proper meditation, but on a much larger scale.

Not only can meditation make you smarter and help you to concentrate better, but it can also greatly increase your health and happiness with life in general.  Just like with Yoga (which is basically meditating while maintaining different positions which help distress and elongate the body) meditation has numerous health benefits.  From lower levels of stress hormones to better circulation; meditation has even been found helpful in treating forms of depression and other mental diseases.

Now that you are basically alerted to the many helpful and beneficial properties of meditation I will give you a quick rundown on how to properly meditate so you can be on your way to a new start and better health.  Now, you can and should read more on this as this is just enough to get you started.  A low cost or free course at your local community college would definitely be beneficial to you and worth your time if you wish to know more about meditation or its various forms.

This is what I do when I want to meditate and get the most out of it:

1)      Find a place where you will not be disturbed.  Nothing is worse than being interrupted in the middle of meditating.  Turn off cell phones and find a quiet place (can be inside or out).

2)      We will take a hint from Yoga here on proper positioning.  You can sit on your knees or sit with your knees outward.  Either way will work.  In yoga they take these introductory positions and add to them by bending the knees in ways that may look unnatural and uncomfortable but over time increase ones flexibility and joint movement).  Don’t sit with the back arched and pulled forward. This will make it harder for you to breath and make your meditation time less rewarding.  Instead sit with your back straight.

3)      Stare straight ahead and then close your eyes.  It may help to have a lit candle or something to focus on in front of you at the correct height.  The important thing here is to keep things simple – nothing too busy. 

4)      Learn to breathe correctly.  You can use this also throughout the day to better cope with stressful situations and to lower your blood pressure.  Correct breathing is learning to take deeper breaths, hold them longer and then slowly exhale.  Basically, count to 3 or so slowly while inhaling then hold for the same and then exhale slowly for the same length.  If you do this it will help to relax your body, slow your heart rate and put your mind in a more relaxed and restful state.

5)      Focus.  That’s right, meditation is not daydreaming where you just rest and let your mind wander.  Meditation is controlled relaxation and this involves focus.  What do you focus on?  One thing and only one thing.  Some people believe it helpful to focus on a single burning candle.  Others to some other object like rosary beads, a cross or even a bible.  Maybe even a work of art or a picture or sculpture is what you would like to use.  It doesn’t matter as long as it isn’t distracting and is something you can calmly hold your focus on.

That’s basically it.  Now, at first, you will probably find it hard to focus on meditating and will constantly see your mind wander.  Bring it back and concentrate.  As with anything you will get better at it the more you practice.  In Yoga they utilize stretching and various positions to further aid in concentrating and to open up stressful areas (many times we transfer our stress to certain neuromuscular areas and this stretching and holding of these positions will aid in opening them up and reducing tension and stress.

When practiced correctly meditation will help reduce stress, invoke a calming of the mind and body and has been clinically proven to strengthen one’s immune system response and to basically heighten one’s health.  If you decide that meditation is something you would like to try it would be beneficial to take a free or low cost course offered by most every local community college on meditation and it would probably also help to take a course on Yoga as this would show you how to get the most from your meditation time.

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