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The Power of Meditation Pick up any self-help book, whether by a medical doctor or an alternative practitioner, visit the juice bar at the gym, or even tune in to a local radio station, and chances are someone will be touting the benefits of meditation. Beset by stress, work overload or everyday frustrations, many people are finding a healing serenity in this centuries-old practice. What exactly is meditation? It is a state of deep physical relaxation combined with acute mental alertness. "It’s like taking a nap, but you don’t fall asleep, you fall awake," says Lorin Roche, Ph.D., author of Meditation Made Easy (Harper, San Francisco, 1998). There are many ways to achieve this state. Almost every religion incorporates meditative practices such as silent, repetitive praying or chanting. Other purely physiological techniques involve sitting and focusing on something that will hold your attention for five to thirty minutes: a progressive relaxation of your body’s muscles; a word, calming music or an image. Observing your breath, which naturally tends to become slower and deeper as you relax, is the key part of many techniques. The benefits of daily practice last for beyond the minutes you’ve spent in focus. "Meditation is an instrumental path," says Saki F. Santorelli, Ed.D., Director of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester and author of Heal Thy Self (Bell Tower, 1999). "Through practicing it you recognize the possibility of relating to yourself and others in new ways." You might not think of yourself as a relaxed person. But once you experience the sensation of complete peace during meditation, you discover how great it feels to not be so tense in your neck and shoulders. Additionally, you learn to tap into the exercise of taking a few slow, calming breaths when faced with a challenge, whether it be a potentially explosive situation at work, a crying child, a dreaded event or even physical pain. Besides relaxation, in meditation you cultivate the art of paying attention. After your formal practice, "you feel a little more present with yourself all day," says Roche. That presence, or mindfulness, can improve the quality of almost everything you do. "Most of the time we’re in the past or the future," says Santorelli. "Yet the present is where pleasure and intimacy occur." Take your workout, for example. The next time you’re on the treadmill, or the StairMaster, leave off the headphones and save the reading material for later, Santorelli suggests. Instead of trying to ward off boredom or focusing on results, be present with what’s going on in your body: your breath, the flexing of your muscles, the intensity of a stretch. "That’s its own meditation, and it feels good," he says. Through meditation you can even eat more healthfully, says Roche. Turn off the television and savor the colors, odors and textures of your meal. It you aren’t tense and are paying attention to your food, you’ll enjoy it more and you may eat less compulsively, he explains. To reap the benefits of meditation, you have to practice regularly. There are many reasons to think you can’t meditate: you’re too busy, too undisciplined, or too easily distracted. But meditation is so diverse that there is a form of it for every personality. If you can barely sit still, you might enjoy a Buddhist meditation in which you walk slowly in a circle, counting your steps. If you prefer sound to silence, try playing a CD of environmental recordings, or chanting. Experiment until you find one that you like, and adapt it to suit your needs. As with anything else that’s worth doing you need to be motivated. "You can’t find time to practice meditation," says Santorelli. "You have to make it." Try going to bed a half-hour earlier so you can get up earlier to meditate. Or close your office door and hold all calls for fifteen minutes. Snatch short moments of informal meditation time during the day. While walking between appointments, taking a shower, or before falling asleep, take a few conscious breaths and savor the sensory pleasures of the moment. In its many forms, "meditation is a pleasurable indulgence," says Roche. Above all it is about experiencing yourself. How to De-Stress Instantly To experience a taste of the meditative experience, try this simple exercise adapted from Herbert Benson’s groundbreaking 1975 book The Relaxation Response (Avon, reprinted 1990):
Link to other websites References Roche, L. (1998). Meditation Made Easy, Harper, San Francisco Santorelli, S. (1999). Heal Thy Self. Bell tower, Boston
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