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Why Just 15 Minutes a Day Can Completely Change Your Life in Ways You Can't Even Imagine!

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word “meditation”? Surely, it is calmness, peace, zen ... We know that meditation helps to clear our mind, improves concentration, calms, teaches us to live consciously and provides other benefits, both to the mind and body.

But what does meditation actually do to our brain from a physiological point of view in order to have such an effect? How does it work?

Psychologist Rebecca Gladding, MD, clinical instructor and practicing psychiatrist in Los Angeles, talks about the hidden processes in our brain during meditation. In particular, how exactly your brain changes if you practice meditation for a long time.

You may be skeptical of how others sing the praises of meditation and extol its benefits, but the reality is that 15-30 minutes of daily meditation has a huge impact on how your life goes, how you react to situations and how you interact with people.

It's hard to describe in words unless you've at least tried it. From a technical point of view, meditation allows us to change our brain and do just magical things.

1. Who is responsible for what

Parts of the brain affected by meditation

Lateral prefrontal cortex. This is the part of the brain that allows you to see things more rationally and logically. It is also called the assessment center. It is involved in modulating emotional responses (that come from the fear center or other parts of the brain), automatically redefines behavior and habits, and reduces the brain's tendency to take things "to heart" by modulating the part of the brain that is responsible for your "I".

medial prefrontal cortex. The part of the brain that constantly refers to you, your point of view and experience. Many people call it the “Me Center” because this part of the brain processes information that is directly related to us, including when you daydream, think about the future, think about yourself, connect with people, empathize with others, or try to understand them. . Psychologists call it the "Auto Referral Center".

The most interesting thing about the medial prefrontal cortex is that it actually consists of two parts:

Ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC). It is involved in the processing of information related to you and people who, in your opinion, are similar to you. This is the part of the brain that can make you take things too personally, it can make you worry, cause anxiety or make you stressed. That is, you drive yourself into stress when you start to worry too much.

Dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC). This part processes information about people whom you consider different from yourself (that is, completely different). This very important part of the brain is involved in empathy and social bonding.

So, we are left with an islet of the brain and a cerebellar amygdala:

Island. This part of the brain is responsible for our bodily sensations and helps us keep track of how much we will feel what is happening in our body. She is also actively involved in experiences in general and empathy with others.

Cerebellar tonsil. This is our alarm system, which has been running the “fight or flight” program for us since the time of the first people. This is our center of fear.

2. Brain without meditation

If you look at the brain before a person started meditating, you can see strong neural connections within the Self Center and between the Self Center and the areas of the brain that are responsible for bodily sensations and for the sensation of fear. This means that as soon as you feel any anxiety, fear, or bodily sensations (itching, tingling, etc.), you will most likely react to it as anxiety. And this happens because your "Self Center" processes a huge amount of information. Moreover, dependence on this center makes it so that in the end we get stuck in our thoughts and get into a loop: for example, we remember that we already felt it once and whether it could mean something. We begin to sort out situations from the past in our heads and do it again and again.

Why is this happening? Why does our "I Center" allow this? This is because the connection between our evaluation center and the Self Center is rather weak. If the evaluation center were at full capacity, it could regulate the part of the brain responsible for taking things to heart, and increase the activity of the part of the brain responsible for understanding the thoughts of other people. As a result, we would weed out all unnecessary information and looked at what was happening more sensibly and calmly. That is, our evaluation center can be called the brakes on our "Center I".

3. The brain during meditation

When meditation is your regular habit, several positive things happen. First, the strong connection between the Self Center and bodily sensations is weakened, so you stop being distracted by sudden feelings of anxiety or physical manifestations and do not fall into a mental loop. That is why people who meditate often have reduced anxiety. As a result, you can look at your feelings no longer so emotionally.

Second, stronger and healthier connections are formed between the evaluation center and the bodily sensation/fear centers. This means that if you have bodily sensations that could indicate potential danger, you begin to look at them from a more rational point of view (instead of starting to panic). For example, if you feel pain, you begin to observe them, their declines and resumptions, and as a result make the right, balanced decision, and do not fall into hysterics, starting to think that something is definitely wrong with you, drawing in head a picture almost of his own funeral.

And finally, meditation connects the parts of the "I Center" (which is responsible for understanding people who are not like us) with bodily sensations, which are responsible for empathy, and makes them stronger. This healthy connection enhances our ability to understand other people.

4. Why daily practice is important

If we look at how meditation affects our brain from a physiological point of view, we get a rather interesting picture - it strengthens our evaluative center, calms the hysterical aspects of our “I Center” and reduces its connection with bodily sensations, strengthens its strong parts that respond to for understanding others. As a result, we stop reacting so emotionally to what is happening and accept more rational decisions. That is, with the help of meditation, we do not just change our state of consciousness, we physically change our brain for the better.

Why is constant meditation practice important? Because these positive changes in our brain are reversible. It's like maintaining a good physical form- it requires constant training. As soon as we stop practicing, we return to the starting point again, and again it takes time to recover.

Way to healthy lifestyle everyone's life is unique. Wherever you are along the way, we hope that we will be able to inspire you to further achievements. Julie Sachs, founder of the ever-growing community and site Vie, where she shares advice from experts and influencers in the field of spiritual and physical development, shared with us her experience of meditation and how meditation has fundamentally changed her life.

Meditation is an integral part of my life. It wasn't always like that.

I have tried to meditate for many years; It started when I was 23 and living in San Francisco, where I was introduced to Transcendental Meditation or TM (yes, the one made popular by the Beatles). It scared me because I didn't understand how it works. For me it seemed something on the verge of mysticism. I started learning TM and was amazed at how beneficial this technique is. It helps to get rid of worries and stress and generally brings calmness to a hectic hectic life.

The promises of the benefits of TM intrigued me, but it took me another three years before I returned to it and came to the real first class. From that moment on, I felt some shifts, but my consciousness continued to protest. I was skeptical. How can meditation do all this? Is it really that simple?

Since I've been battling panic attacks and chronic anxiety, even occasional meditation sessions have helped tremendously, but only for short periods of time. Soon after I got better, I reverted back to my old behaviors. It was difficult for me to just sit quietly for 20 minutes twice a day. Sometimes time flew by unnoticed, and sometimes I could not bear the silence and my loneliness along with my endless inner dialogue. My thoughts lined up, one after the other, like planes on a runway.

I continued to meditate lightly and irregularly for the next ten years. I thought about her when I felt an urgent need for her. Each time I tried something new: guided meditation, breathing meditation, TM and even walking meditation. All this helped me to come down to earth and calm down, but I could not make meditation my regular practice.

Establishing your own company and starting new career I finally started taking meditation seriously. I listened to my instincts and decided to get serious about meditation. Since then, I have been meditating almost every day. If I missed one day, I immediately noticed the difference. I felt that something was missing and immediately returned to this practice the next day. Since I run my own business, sometimes my schedule is so limited that I have to choose between meditation and exercise. 9 times out of 10 I choose meditation.

I choose meditation every day because I know its benefits in my life. Most importantly, meditation calms me down. She slows everything down. Whatever is happening in my life at this moment, everything stops. Meditation helps me breathe consciously and just exist. She doesn't stop my thoughts, and she shouldn't. They keep running through my head, but I rather just accept them without reacting. I just let them be in my head when I repeat the mantra. Sometimes my feelings are so deep, strong and spiritual that I get incredible enlightenment. Sometimes, I just feel like I've been reborn, like I've had a very good night's sleep. Be that as it may, I am always calm, thanks to meditation.

I went through a long process of training to become a meditator. It was not that I just learned about meditation and immediately fell in love with it, although I knew about its benefits for me personally. It took me a lot of time and patience with myself to get where I am now. I have a great inner peace and the ability to trust myself. Meditation has helped and is helping me to do right choice in my life. Meditation is essential for me.

I know that I will meditate for the rest of my life. In fact, I decided to expand this practice and become a meditation teacher. I do not expect anything from this undertaking, only to become even more open to myself.

Meditation is a very personal experience and everyone has their own path. I recommend that you do not give up meditation. Remember: this is practice. If it doesn’t work out on the first, second, third attempt, it’s okay, don’t despair. Perhaps you just haven't found the type of meditation that's right for you and you need to keep trying. Like everything of value in life, the benefits of meditation will come with time.

Trust yourself.

Sourced from aloha.com

The teacher of the school of yoga instructors told how meditation practices affect the mind and physical condition of a person.

Residents of modern megacities are in constant stress for most of their lives, in connection with this, spiritual and bodily practices, such as yoga and meditation, are becoming increasingly popular. You will be surprised to learn how many people do this practice every day, including many celebrities - Paul McCartney, David Lynch, Clint Eastwood, Liv Tyler, Hugh Jackman, Moby, Katy Perry, Bill Clinton and many others.

All these people agree that meditation helps reduce stress, improve memory, focus, sharpen skills, and gain creative inspiration. The benefits of meditation have been scientifically proven. Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) neuroscientist Sarah Lazar found that people who practice meditation have more gray matter in certain parts of the brain. What’s more, an expert’s study found that people who had just started the practice had gray matter thickening after only eight weeks, writes The Washington Post.

Meditation is not only a religious practice

For residents of modern megacities, meditative practices are strongly associated with esotericism and religion. Of course, this is a delusion, says Ekaterina Perchekliy, teacher of the school of yoga instructors in the specialty "Theory and Practice of Classical Hatha Yoga". To learn how to relax and improve your everyday life through meditation, it is not necessary to become a Buddhist or a yogi. It is available to absolutely everyone.

Recently, in the West, they have been talking about the benefits of meditation for business development and increasing productivity. Company executives even invite coaches into the office to set up group sessions.

“This practice exists in Russia as well. I myself do yoga and relaxation techniques with people in the offices. It may just be called a relaxation technique rather than meditation. In Russia, the word meditation has a slightly different connotation, so professionals prefer more calm terms. I believe that this helps to recover much faster, ”the coach explained.

Workflow optimization

Meditative practices really help to optimize the workflow and increase productivity. Most people are in a permanent state of stress during work, and this scatters attention, reduces concentration and increases irritability.

“Of course, this will increase the working capacity. Fatigue accumulates under conditions of constant stress. Stress hormones are produced, proper meditation helps to neutralize these hormones and properly build a working day,” says Perchekliy.

How meditation affects health

According to Perchekli, meditation practices have a direct impact on health. Everything is interconnected: diseases to which there is a predisposition develop during a constant stay in a state of stress. Simple Techniques help to "unload" the brain, thereby reducing the risk of ailments.

“Medicine openly says that 80% of diseases have a psychosomatic effect - that is, they come from emotions. One of the most striking techniques that affect psychological health is meditation. There are a number of diseases that stress causes - heart disease, various inflammations, sleep disturbances, obesity, even diabetes and severe autoimmune diseases, as well as depression, anxiety, muscle tension - they are all triggered by chronic stress conditions. Indeed, there is a sense in correct work with your physiology, your body.<…>In my practice, I observed that those people who started to get sick recovered faster and became more cheerful and stress-resistant if they meditated,” said Perchekliy.

Meditation can dramatically change your life

Meditation is better than not. Either way, it won't get any worse. For some, these practices help to simply stay in a stable state of mind, but many, having begun to practice, change their fate.

“There were cases when a person’s business increased, literally three times. There were cases when a person solved his personal problems. For a long time I could not, for example, get acquainted with the opposite sex, establish communication. After meditation, such people felt self-confidence, started a family, had children. There were times when people opened Creative skills- began to write poetry. There were several cases when people felt the courage to open their own business, become entrepreneurs, change their profession. There were cases when they changed their place of residence - they moved to another city or country, changed their office work to what they like. All of them made decisions more boldly,” Perchekliy shared.

And now to the point

Of course, it is better to learn meditation with a coach. Firstly, the teacher will help you get started, and secondly, under his supervision, you will be able to truly relax deeply. But simple things can be mastered on your own - the main thing is not to try to immediately perform deep techniques.

“People who are in business are under constant stress. And the most correct technique for them, it is muscle relaxation. We must begin not with deep meditation techniques, but with simple, autogenic training. Muscle relaxation for starters - shavasana, for example. And when it turns out to enter a state of relaxation of the body, you can start meditation techniques - this is work with breathing. Meditate on inhalation and exhalation, lengthening the exhalation,” advises the coach.

To achieve the result, it is enough to give yourself a little time in the morning and in the evening.

“In the morning and in the evening, our nervous system works a little differently - it is more plastic and open to such exercises. Therefore, it is most advisable to meditate in the morning. This is how we prepare ourselves for stress.<…>In the evening, it is also recommended to meditate - before going to bed, the creation is most open. Evening sleep should be of high quality,” the instructor explained.

Perchekliy advises to take a shower before meditation, find a quiet place where no one will disturb you, and try to work with breathing while lying or sitting. You can start by singing the syllable “ha”, breathing through the left nostril, apply the square breathing technique, and then try to focus on one point or candle flame.

“You don’t need to do anything special, for example, say to yourself: “I am meditating, I have no thoughts.” On the contrary, it can cause tension. Then you can draw a point at the level of your gaze and look there after the breathing technique, slightly closing your eyes. It is very important to learn concentration. If we do not learn to concentrate on one image, the mind will jump like a monkey, and we will not learn meditation, ”explained the interlocutor of the 360 TV channel.

For the first three to four months, the trainer advises to devote 5-15 minutes a day to exercises, gradually the time of meditation can be increased. There is no need to chase after being in this state for a long time.

“The central system is built into the training process, and we can increase the duration of the trance state. You can learn to be in it all the time, another question is whether this makes sense. I think for most people, no. 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the evening is optimal. The main thing is quality,” the specialist noted.

What does meditation give? This question worries many people who are looking for their own path to freedom, tranquility and self-development. Does this method really work, how to meditate correctly, maybe it is more suitable for Buddhist monks than for an ordinary person. Meditation - the word itself blows with a mysterious and mysterious wind of the east, hides behind itself the wisdom accumulated over thousands of years and passed down from generation to generation.

Recently, the meditation technique has been actively used in the modern European world, modern ways its applications and methods of use. In the age of rapid development, mental stress increases, people lack peace of mind, it is meditation that helps to restore inner balance and harmony in a person without the use of medications, antidepressants.

The calmness and tranquility of the eastern sages, who have known the world and are not in a hurry anywhere, have always amazed, just watching, enjoying life, every moment that is given to a person on Earth. What does meditation give to an ordinary person, how to meditate correctly?

According to spiritual sages, teachers, meditation is the way to higher powers, a way of understanding oneself, transforming one's personality, acquiring new qualities.

The positive impact of meditation is manifested in such areas:

A person learns to be an observer, perceives himself and the world as a whole, begins to better understand his inner world - thoughts, emotions, feelings.
There comes an understanding of how to manage emotions, feelings, restore spiritual harmony.
The person becomes kinder, more loving and open to the world ready to share inner light with others. Compassion for people and joy from life appear, an internal state that does not depend on external circumstances.
Intelligence appears - the ability to think independently, not to depend on external views, to find an opportunity to overcome the barriers of society, freeing one's potential, opportunities, to find one's freedom.
It teaches a person to find joy in solitude, being alone with himself, because if you find yourself and are comfortable alone, then it will be easier with another person than when hurricanes rage in your soul.
Meditation allows you to realize your "I", your individuality. Society does not particularly support such people, it is easier to manage the crowd than a self-sufficient, confident person who has his own life principles. The main problem of people is that they depend on the opinion of society and do not listen to their inner intuition, they choose the wrong path in life, they cannot find their destination.
It contributes to the development of intuition, a person better understands himself, the characteristics of the psyche, discovers his uniqueness, blooms like a flower.
Meditation is the path of insight, knowledge of one's personality and the ability to observe the development of society from the outside.
It helps to strengthen the human psyche - reduces the likelihood of mental trauma, increases self-confidence, performance, allows you to develop and improve your personality.
Meditation is successfully used for medical purposes - it improves the state of hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, reduces anxiety, allows you to forget about depression, aggressiveness, increases attention, and the ability to work. Indicated in disorders nervous system and mental overload.
Develops creative abilities, helps in solving life issues, situations. It opens up internal reserves, promotes purposefulness in life, the search for non-standard solutions.

What meditation gives a person is a rather broad question. The use of meditation helps a person to find himself, the meaning of life, learn to manage himself, move to a new, better level of life, better understand the world. The path of enlightenment, the liberation of internal forces and potential opens.

The mechanism of the impact of meditation on a person

Research scientists confirm the effect of meditation on the human brain on the biological, molecular level. We used modern equipment, studying electrophysiological, metabolic, biochemical processes. Surveys and psychological testing have confirmed improvement in mental health, positive changes in personality characteristics, self-development and social fulfillment in people who actively use meditation, who were trained in group techniques.

Meditation, the impact on a person are topical and popular issues, a change was noticed at all levels - mental, molecular. A feature of the impact on the brain is a change in the dominance of the hemispheres. Scientists and thinkers have long noticed differences in people's characters, attitudes towards life, dividing them into artists and thinkers, creative people and adherents of science.

The differences are associated with the predominance of the development of the left or right hemisphere of the brain, the left - is responsible for logic (reading, writing, problem solving, conservatism), the right - creativity (figurative perception of reality, the desire for discoveries, new things in life).

In people's lives, the development of one of the hemispheres usually prevails, over the years, preference is given to the right one, which is involved in learning, it is necessary to obtain new information, knowledge, the right one develops only with constant training, music, drawing, in normal cases, communication with the creative side is lost, the help of the subconscious is lost.

Meditation allows you to balance the activity of both hemispheres, there is an alignment of the activity of the left and right hemispheres, which affects the development of a person’s mental state, the manifestation of new abilities, the discovery of creative potential, the improvement of self-regulation processes, and the development of personality.

In the process of meditation, the integrity of the work of the human body is restored, reserves, internal possibilities are opened, the attitude towards oneself and the world around changes, changes occur at all levels. Now even scientists recognize the positivity of meditation practices. How to start practicing meditation, are there methods available to everyone?

To begin with, it is worth understanding that all methods of meditation lead to one goal, the ability of a person to look at the world differently, to become an observer, to escape from the cycle of life, to calm their mind. To use meditation, beginners need to be in a quiet, calm place, away from people, nature, better - in a private room.

Experienced practitioners can meditate in any environment, beginners need peace of mind. It is customary to use a sitting or lying position, relaxing the body and freeing the mind. However, meditation teachers suggest starting with catharsis. This is a method that allows you to release emotions, a person in the process of life constantly suppresses anger, fear, disappointment.

Such emotions do not allow the mind to calm down, in Buddhism it is customary to give vent to emotions in a safe way. So anger can be shown when you hit a pillow, a pear, the main thing is not to direct it at people. If you are sad, you can cry, you feel uplifted - laugh, dance, just be honest with yourself and give vent to emotions. And then go directly to the meditation exercises. Emotions are difficult to suppress, they need to be expelled, experienced and forgotten. What does meditation give? It also allows you to get rid of accumulated emotions using dynamic methods.

The basic rules of meditation are a state of relaxation, observation, no judgment, only contemplation and silence. It seems that the world freezes, all movements, thoughts stop, there is only pure space.

There are more than a hundred methods of meditation, the methods and structure are different, but the principles are the same. The most suitable method should be chosen and used for meditation. No need to invent new way, everything has already been studied and thought out to the smallest detail, worked out for centuries in practice. You just need to choose the most convenient method. And most importantly - calmness and patience, haste will not help in the development and mastering of meditation techniques. Truth comes with time, as seedlings of planted seeds sprout for beginners. For beginners, consider the most simple techniques.

So, meditation, the effects of the methods, how to do it:

1. Meditation on a point - any meditation is associated with concentration, an object, it can be the external world or the internal one. Very simple is the technique of meditation on a point.

There is information that this method promotes eye health on a physical level and clears thoughts, calms and improves mindfulness and concentration on a mental (spiritual) level.

Execution method: drawn on a piece of paper black dot, the sheet is located at eye level. It is necessary to look at the point for 3-15 minutes (gradually the time is brought up to 30 minutes), it is necessary to concentrate thoughts on this object (point), trying not to be distracted by other thoughts. After completing the exercise, you need to close your eyes and wait until the internal image of the point disappears.

A similar method can be used only with observing the flame of a candle, concentrating on the fire. This exercise is considered basic in the process of mastering meditation.

What does point meditation give? Improves mindfulness, helps to calm thoughts, improves vision.

2. Transcendental Meditation, trandent meditation (TM) - a technique developed by Maharishi Maher Yogi, involves the use of special mantras to go beyond thoughts, to clear consciousness.

This meditation is considered the easiest to use, used all over the world, requires only 15-20 minutes of practice, 2 times a day for positive results. The technique allows you to reduce, slow down the process of thinking, promotes the transition to a state of calm and awareness. Such activities help reduce stress and have a beneficial effect on personal development.

Transcendental meditation involves thinking the opposite of the standard - in the process of meditation, a person paves the way to the inner consciousness, the source of thoughts, their origin, finds the foundation of conscious processes. It is advised to apply regularly to increase the level of concentration on the inner Self, gaining complete relaxation and peace of mind. This method has been studied by medicine and has established itself as a positive effect on the entire body and mental state of a person.

TM implementation technique consists in pronouncing a certain mantra, which affects certain parts of the brain, causing inhibition of thinking, leading to a transition to a relaxed state: breathing slows down, there is a feeling of the state of a baby, primary thinking, without a certain framework. Thoughts dissipate, there is peace close to the state of sleep, but this is not a dream, it is better to practice meditation in a cheerful state in the morning and evening.

Having reached the desired state, the mantra is no longer pronounced, and in case of extra thoughts, it is repeated again. The transition to a state of meditation contributes to the purification of consciousness, internal reboot, stress relief, unity with the outside world, the Universe, receiving external energy. Anyone can master the TM technique, it does not require special training, only desire and availability of 15 minutes of free time.

It is possible to find a paid instructor or go to a group to study the TM method in more detail, or you can practice on your own, it is advised to use the "OM" mantra to start, which is considered a mantra general use. With personal training, the instructor can choose a personal mantra based on the characteristics of the person.

Let's take a closer look at the technique of performing transcendental meditation.:

It is necessary to take a comfortable sitting position, relax all the muscles, breathe deeply, feel relaxation in the whole body, the muscles become heavier, a wave of relaxation passes through the whole body from head to toe.
We exhale for a few seconds, we feel how the energy flows through the top of the head into the lungs, we accumulate energy in the solar plexus.
We pronounce the mantra "OM" (aoum), moving attention to the area of \u200b\u200bthe chest, throat, crown. Repeat the inhale and say the mantra as you exhale. Continue until a state of calm comes, and external thoughts cease to disturb.
If thoughts do not go away, it is necessary to think about something pleasant, beautiful - to imagine nature, flowers, special happy moments of life. Try to let go of thoughts and illnesses with the exhalation, freeing the body and mind.
We leave the meditation after 15-20 minutes, gradually including the muscles, we roll a wave of tension, from the legs to the head, we try to turn on the vision at the end. Again we begin to feel the whole body, every muscle, hear and see the world around us.

People often ask themselves: what does meditation give, what are the effects of practice? Mainly there is a reboot of thinking, cleansing of negative thoughts, stress relief, relaxation at the physical level, activation of internal forces. During periods of stress, meditation can be an effective helper to minimize the impact of overload on the body.

3. Practice "Inner Smile" - emotional condition a person has a huge impact on physical health.

Experiences lead to disorders of the nervous system, digestion, disorders in the work of the heart, and positive emotions and joy fill with energy of health, strengthening the immune system and improving the general condition of the body. It is recommended to use the "inner smile" to improve physical and mental health.

Technique:

The exercise begins with the eyes, they are interconnected with the nervous system and all organs. It is necessary to close your eyes and imagine that they are smiling, as it usually happens with joy, fill them with relaxation and light.
Mentally smile to all parts of the body and organs, starting from the head and going down, it is important to give a positive charge - to the brain, heart, stomach, liver and other important areas, especially the chakras.

What does meditation do this method? After practice, there is a surge of strength, energy, the general condition and mood improve.

4. Vapassana is one of the most common techniques and has contributed to enlightenment. most people, because it contains the essence.

Anyone can do it, there are several ways:

Awareness of oneself, actions, thoughts - one must follow and understand, be aware of the movements of the arms and legs when walking, learn to feel all processes, excluding unconscious manifestations. At the same time, there is awareness of thoughts, actions, without evaluation, just observation. Exercise - walking around the room with a lowered gaze, concentration forward a couple of steps, feeling the touch of the ground with your feet. It is important to come to awareness of body movements, thoughts and emotions. Three main steps.
Awareness of breathing - you need to focus on breathing, feel how the stomach rises and falls as you inhale and exhale. As a result of concentration on the breath, the stomach - thoughts go away, emotions dissolve, the heart calms down. You can focus on how the air enters and exits if it is difficult to breathe in the stomach (concerns more men).

The exercise is performed as follows: you need to take a comfortable sitting position, close your eyes, relax your body and direct your attention a little above the navel, feeling how you inhale and exhale the air. Try not to be distracted, however, when distracted, turn your inner gaze to the question for a while and return to it again. conscious breathing. It is important to observe calm breathing and feel the state.

What gives meditation, namely Vapassana? This method allows you to learn to observe the world, feel life with all your heart, find peace and open insight, find your peace of mind. The whole world is only a reflection of a person, his thoughts, calming the soul, we change our attitude to the world, otherwise we feel life, we see new facets and horizons.

5. Kundalini - meditation - this meditation is similar to dynamic, where a person must initially throw out energy, the following steps are used in this technique:

the body relaxes, there is a shudder, as a result of the impact of energy rising from the feet up (15 min.);
dance, the body moves at its own discretion, freeing itself from hidden emotions, stiffness (15 min.);
relaxation in a sitting or standing position, closing your eyes, we observe our feelings, the inner and outer world (15 min.).

What does kundalini meditation do? This meditation technique helps to cleanse the accumulated emotions, experiences, restore peace and balance in the soul and body.

6. "Be born again", Osho meditation- also involves dynamic and classical meditation.

It is believed that over the years a person ceases to enjoy life, loses immediacy, contact with the natural beginning, the natural beginning of life. Therefore, Osho proposed a meditation that brings back to childhood - for 1 hour a person behaves like a child: plays, sings, jumps, releasing energy, removing clamps, splashing out emotions, for another hour he remains in a calm state, in a sitting position.

What gives meditation "born again"? As a result of the application of the technique, a feeling of childhood, immediacy, openness to the world arises, a person learns to feel life in all its glory, openly express feelings and emotions.

7. Laughter meditation - there are stories about a laughing Buddha who walked around the settlements and just laughed without telling people anything, while he helped to cleanse oneself spiritually and recharge with positive energy.

Most simple technique - in the morning, waking up, stretch with your eyes closed, after 3 minutes start laughing, continue for 5 minutes (do not open your eyes). Laughter helps to cleanse oneself of negative thoughts, fill the mind with light and positive charge, and makes the new day more successful.

An important rule of meditation- Learn to open your heart and fill it with peace. It is the heart that allows you to live real life, and problems are created by the mind, consciousness, complicating the world around us. Therefore, it is useful to move awareness to the region of the heart, to learn to feel the world. Do not complicate life, there are no problems, there are secrets and mysteries of life, everything else is a product of our thinking.

Meditation - this is a state in which we are involuntarily, without even noticing it. During periods of special concentration, activities such as drawing, creating music, contemplating the world, nature, drinking tea, running can cause a state of meditation: harmony of body and spirit, absence of unnecessary thoughts.

Each person is looking for his own ways to restore internal strength, even positive memories can fill the soul with light. Great help and breathing exercises during periods of stress, irritation, loss of calm.

We wish you to find your own method of meditation and live in harmony with the world around you!

Three and a half years ago. Thanks to practice, amazing positive metamorphoses happened to me. Meditation helped me pull myself out of the maelstrom of depression and dissatisfaction, she dispelled the thick veil of delusions that enveloped me, she taught me not to obey my destructive feelings and be happy.

You can say that meditation has completely changed my life. When I look back and realize how much good meditation has brought to my life, when I read reviews of people on my (and not only) site about how the practice helped them, when I refer to the countless examples of wisdom in the philosophy of the East, imbued with spirit meditation, I regret that most people around the globe do not practice this simple, but such an effective practice!

Previously, this regret was mixed with bewilderment. I didn't understand why everyone doesn't meditate? Especially those people who suffer, suffer because of the problems that I suffered because of!
At first I thought it was because people didn't know about meditation or identified it with religion. It seemed to me that as soon as I told about the amazing results of the practice, everyone would immediately begin to meditate!

Of course, it was a very presumptuous belief. Not all people begin to meditate, even if they agree with all the arguments in favor of meditation. All the same, they still have some kind of hidden uncertainty or secret disagreement. They can listen to all the arguments, say that these arguments are reasonable and logical, but they still will not have inner confidence in practice.

Why is this happening? In this article I will try to answer this question. In the course of talking to various people about meditation, as well as in the process of responding to comments from readers, I realized some of the reasons why people neglect such a useful and profound practice as meditation.

Here I will outline a list of these reasons with detailed comments. I will try to prove that There are almost no good reasons not to meditate!

If you don't meditate, then perhaps this article will help you deal with some of the doubts about starting to do so.

And if you are into meditation, then here you will find arguments that will help you convince your friends and relatives that meditation is necessary.

But that's not the only purpose of this post! In this article (as in my other articles on the topic of meditation) I want to reveal the meaning and purpose of the practice, to let you understand why you need to meditate and why it can help you! These tips will help you get started with regular meditation more easily. Even if you have been meditating for a long time, here you will find information that will help you better understand the practice.

Next, I will give reasons why people refuse to meditate. It is important to understand that in the case of each individual, most often there is not one, but several reasons presented in various proportions. Let's look at these reasons.

Reason 1 - It helped you, but it won't help me

The essence of this argument can be expressed in the following statement:

“I believe, Nikolai, that meditation helped you, that thanks to it you got rid of your addictions, psychological problems and found happiness and comfort. But, you see, all people are different, everyone has different problems, and even if they are the same, the causes of these problems are different. What helped you won't necessarily help me. Each person needs his "individual key" to his personal problems.

My counterargument:

This is a fairly common argument, and it can be said to be one of the most complex and "subtle". That's why I'm talking about him first.

It is difficult because a person can be convinced in practice of the failure of this reason only when he himself begins to meditate and receives the first effects from meditation. Until that time, this person may understand that it is too early for him to say whether meditation can help him or not, only if he is very well explained. This is what I will try to do.

Meditation is commonly associated in people with yogic calmness and equanimity. Of course, meditation calms the mind. But its meaning is not only in this. Meditation clears us of delusions and helps us to see things as they are. People are delusional about their desires, goals and needs. That is why many of them are unhappy. They do not know what they lack for happiness and do not realize the true causes of their problems. They may think they know this, but are disappointed when the effort they put in does not bring the expected result.

Meditation helps to realize what a person really needs in order to feel happy and satisfied. And this new understanding can be very different from what they thought before.

What became true for a meditating person could be a lie for him some time ago and exactly the opposite!

I'll give you an example. (All the examples in this article are hypothetical, but some of them are based on real comments and feedback from people I have received, as well as my personal experience). One woman faces constant misfortune. She cannot maintain long-term relationships with love partners. It seems to her that the problem is in her partners, who are not ideal. And she thinks that the reason for her unhappiness is the lack of true, eternal love!

Tips to start meditating to solve these problems, such a woman will be skeptical. Would meditation help her find the perfect love? Will she point to the perfect partner? Of course not! Then why does she need meditation? All this talk about improving self-control, about getting rid of delusions, about peace and harmony that can be found through meditation, for such a person is an empty phrase if he is looking for an ideal relationship!

What can be harmony without perfect love? Maybe meditation helps someone, such a person thinks, but it definitely won’t help me with my problems!

But suppose, for certain reasons, she began to meditate. After a while, through meditation, she realized that the problem was not in partners, but in her expectations. There are no ideal people, just as there are no such men who would completely coincide in character with her. And you just need to accept it and work on developing your relationship.

Passion, insane attraction are temporary feelings, which, then, are replaced. And the cessation of passion is not at all a sign that the relationship has reached an impasse. And love and men are of course important, but this was not the only reason for the suffering of a woman.

Through meditation, this woman discovered that she had many shortcomings that were poisoning her life. Previously, she did not notice her selfishness, impulsiveness, tendency to blame others for her troubles and self-doubt. She didn't even see it as a problem! But meditation opened her eyes, helped her see the problems of her character and gave her the opportunity to understand that her personality can be changed. She became convinced of this when meditation brought the first changes in her emotions and thinking, when she realized that she began to look at her feelings differently, when she was able to cope with her constant bouts of anger or fear for the first time. “Since I managed to control it once, then you can learn to do it all the time if you work on yourself,” she began to think.

She began to improve and become happier. Meditation got rid of the “garbage” that had accumulated in her head, taught her to relax and manage her emotions!

She did a lot of work on herself and thanks to this, not only did her relationships with men become harmonious and long lasting, but she also got rid of many internal problems that she had never thought about before. As a result, meditation nevertheless led her to (and gave a lot more besides these relationships), but not at all in the way that she thought about at the beginning.

Her initial desire to find the perfect man in everything and not change her habits would lead her to even more misfortune! But meditation dispelled misconceptions and helped to understand what this woman really needs and what is the cause of all her problems! She needs to change herself and stop looking for an ideal husband that does not exist in nature! Relations should be developed, problems should be clarified, and not destroyed at the first conflict and the fact of mutual misunderstanding. And you need not only to look for a worthy partner, but also to correct your character yourself, which causes problems in relationships and in their search.

Second example. Another woman was very worried because her husband left her. Can meditation help bring it back? No! But through meditation, she can understand that she needs to move on, and not dwell on the past. Practice will help her and the consequences of mental trauma.

Third example. One person changed one job after another. He thought that he would not be happy until he found the perfect career. What kind of meditation can we talk about when you need to think about a career and earn money?

But if such a person starts to meditate, he will understand that there are a lot of other interesting things in life and it is not worth killing yourself so much because of a career. Meditation will give him a chance to understand that until he finds it, he will not be able to enjoy any work, as his inner dissatisfaction will continue to project itself onto the outside world.

Fourth example. One man could not cope with his addictions: he drank beer every day and was a heavy smoker. He feels like he needs to focus on fighting his addictions (which he has been trying unsuccessfully for years) rather than self-improvement and self-knowledge through meditation. It seems silly to him to think that meditation will rid him of his addictions.

But he still began to practice. He did not immediately give up his bad habits, but he became more calm and balanced. He, like the woman in the first example, became aware of his internal problems, which provoked him to seek solace in alcohol and resort to smoking. Dissatisfaction with life, fears, complexes and nervousness, which turned bad habits into a way of everyday salvation, receded into the background. A person simply has no reason to drink and smoke!

In this case, the matter remains small. Just quit and endure the withdrawal syndrome. It is unlikely that this man will want to return to these addictions if he eliminates the causes of their occurrence. In addition, meditation gives a feeling of peace, inner comfort and happiness. Why drink or consume something when it's so good? The last argument is the main reason why I do not use alcohol and other drugs at all.

Meditation will not necessarily lead every person to exactly the same conclusions and results that you see in these examples. But it will allow people to dispel the veil of their illusions and understand what they really need. Many individuals are constantly under the influence of emotions, fears. Their brain is full of thoughts, experiences, repressed feelings.

Meditation helps you deal with all these thoughts and feelings, clear your head of “garbage” and take a sober look at the world and yourself.

Some Buddhist teachers said that in order to see the world as it is, you need to bring the mind to a state of peace. And then it will accurately reflect the world, like a smooth surface of a wave reflecting the surrounding landscape.

And a restless mind, shrouded in delusions, is like a foaming, seething and rapidly changing water surface. The reflection in it will never be a copy of the surrounding landscape.

And this applies not only to the perception of the external world, but also to the perception of oneself. You cannot understand yourself while your mind is surrounded by passions, negative thoughts and strong attachments.

Many people have a hard time appreciating what meditation can actually bring from the start. It can completely change your life and your views, so that you will look at the world, at your goals and desires, not at all the way you look at it now.

She will not give instant satisfaction to her passions, but she will help to look at these passions in a different way. Maybe your uncontrollable desires are the cause of your troubles, and not at all the fact that you cannot satisfy them all?

Meditation takes your mind to a completely different level, and sometimes it is difficult to understand how the mind will work at this level while you are in the state of mind that you are in right now, without meditation.

Therefore, you should not extend your current expectations and doubts to the effect of meditation that you may expect in the future. There is only one way to comprehend this effect and understand how meditation can help you. That opportunity is meditation. Without practicing it, it is very difficult to talk about it and appreciate how it can affect you while in a state of "polluted mind".

What prompted me to engage in meditation, you ask, when I probably could not even imagine its effect? In fact, I just believed that she could relieve my symptoms and panic attacks. But this does not mean at all that I thought that I would look at things in a completely different way after meditation.

I thought that the cause of my ailments was a disturbed chemical balance in the brain. And I decided that meditation can bring him back to normal. Why not try, I thought. I treated meditation as natural antidepressant. I thought that my mood would rise thanks to her by itself, and I would suffer less.

I did not even imagine that my life could turn upside down, that my views on things would be overestimated.

Through practice, I realized that I have many problems and shortcomings, and these problems are the causes of my depression. It's not just about chemical balance. Depression doesn't just happen. The problem is in the properties of my personality, emotionality, laziness, self-pity, poor health, bad habits, poor self-control, etc. I had not perceived these shortcomings as shortcomings before. I didn't think much about them at all. Or blamed the responsibility for them on someone else.

I realized that some of these problems can be solved with the help of meditation and work on yourself. To get rid of depression, I do not need to deal exclusively with the problem of "wrong balance", I need to improve my personality, get rid of other problems that became the real causes of my depression!

And I not only got rid of psychological ailments, but also developed many of my qualities, gained the purpose of life and a sense of the value of this life.

Like many people, I did not understand what meditation really did until I felt the first effect of it. I just hoped that it would stabilize my emotional state. If someone had told me then that practice would help me not only improve my chemical balance, but change my character, which is the prerequisite for all my troubles, then I would not have understood such an argument. After all, it seemed to me that my personality was something unchanging, and I did not see many of my problems. I thought of myself as a developed and sober-minded person who has no serious problems, except for his depression.

Therefore, I perfectly understand those people who do not at all think of meditation as an effective tool for correcting their own character, since I myself did not think about practice in such a context.

Instead of arguing about whether meditation will help you or not - meditate! And only then can you find out. Practice can bring the most unpredictable (in good sense) and amazing results that you could not even guess!

A little more about delusions of the mind...

Delusions of the mind form a false belief in the uniqueness and complexity of one's own problems. People think that meditation is some kind of practice that helps only in special cases, and for their particular problem, they also need something special and unique, something that will suit only them.

I see the results of such confidence almost every week when I read the comments on the article.

I am not suggesting that many people ask for advice without reading the article. Some of them are probably reading it and do not miss the part in which I talk about how meditation can greatly help in the fight against panic attacks.

But, they think that meditation will not suit them. So they write long comments to me detailing the details of their lives. For example: “in 2004 my husband left me and seizures began ... in 2005 - 2007 I took Prozac, but then the seizures returned ... I am very impressionable ... I tried a lot of things to get rid of it ... the last three months the seizures did not recur ... but yesterday they returned ... ” (this is a very brief example, in reality such comments are much longer).

And nothing about meditation!

And such a comment ends with a standard question: “advise me what to do?” Questions like this have always puzzled me. After all, I wrote so thoroughly and in detail in the article about the benefits of meditation, and the person, it seems, as he read it, still asks what he should do!

I even took it as a sign of disrespect for me as an author. But recently I've realized that it's natural for many people to overestimate the uniqueness of their problems.

They blame people, circumstances, events for their problems. And it seems to them that for different life circumstances, which, in their opinion, cause their problems, a different approach is required. But the mind shrouded in fears is not always able to realize the true causes of these problems. The point is not only in events and people, but in our perception of these things, in our personal experiences that these things cause. The cause of our troubles is often within us, even if we don't realize it.

Often our troubles are rooted in the inability to control emotions, in painful experiences, sensitivity to stress, internal tension, poor nervous health, morbid character, and not in the cunning ups and downs of our life and our childhood. The circumstances are different, but those character traits that cause all sorts of mental ailments in different people similar. And meditation can help with these ailments.

Meditation helps to realize these reasons and begin to correct your inner world, work with fears, feelings and complexes, change your thinking, perception of the world around you and your outlook on things (for example, stop blaming circumstances for everything, stop being afraid of difficulties, stop criticizing people, etc. ).

That is why meditation is a universal key that fits any lock. It does not deliver instant solutions to problems. But it allows you to clear the mind of delusions, to find these problems and their solutions. It improves the functioning of the nervous system and the whole organism as a whole. She brings peace and tranquility. This state is a universal help for introspection and work on oneself. This is what everyone needs!

That is why this practice is suitable for almost everyone, regardless of the personal characteristics of each person or the events of their lives.

And to numerous long questions asking for help with advice, I answer, meditate! This will help you understand the true causes of your problems and find a way to help you eliminate them. This method can be meditation itself, or maybe something else.

Most people with nervous illnesses, with emotional problems, will benefit from advice to spend more time outdoors, relax more, learn to manage stress, no matter what their problems are! The same can be said about meditation.

Many people reading this site must take my advice to meditate as a priest's answer to a long confession: "pray and everything will be fine!" I'm not trying to ignore your problem or get rid of you. I hope that in this paragraph of this article I have clarified this point.

Meditate! I believe that meditation will help everyone! And you can’t even imagine what amazing and good metamorphoses are waiting for you!

Reason 2 - I don't have time to meditate

Argument:

I have so little time and so many things to do, I would like to meditate, but I have no time.

My counterargument:

If you don’t have time to meditate, then you are giving that time to something that you value more than the potential effect of meditation, such as work, business, sleep, watching TV, the Internet, etc.

Many things that you do in life and that you consider important are only designed to satisfy your desires and give you such a desired emotional state. In other words, you work hard not to make money, but to enjoy the money, or simply because you enjoy working hard.

All your actions are aimed at achieving hypothetical happiness or satisfaction, joyful impressions for yourself and for your loved ones. And money, acquaintances, travel are the means that serve this purpose.

But meditation can give a person real happiness and freedom! It can free you from emotions and fear, give you peace and confidence in own forces. It will transform your life, change it for the better!

And for this you do not need to go to the Himalayan caves and meditate all day long. It only takes 40 minutes of practice a day! Is it so much? Considering the potential effect of just forty minutes spent a day, this is negligible! You spend on work from 40 hours a week! But the possession of money and all sorts of goods will never bring you the same happiness that meditation will bring!

It is clear that the question of survival is much more important than the question of happiness. You need to work to eat. But your personal schedule isn't filled with just those things that are designed to provide for the most basic needs of your life, is it?

So take 40 minutes a day to meditate. These 40 minutes are worth sacrificing for them. overtime work, entertainment, internet, video games and even sleep! You spend this time on yourself, and not on serving the interests of strangers.

Don't worry, meditation will make up for the lost sleep time! If you meditate regularly, then the need for sleep is reduced. During meditation, you relax, restore your nervous system, get rid of stress. Meditation has the function of rest and sleep. It helps clear your mind of accumulated thoughts and experiences. When else will you be able to get rid of repressed experiences, if not during meditation?