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Meditation

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Living in the moment can be difficult in todays’ fast pace society. We’re always on the move and never have time to relax. When meditating though, one can achieve living in the moment and relaxation all at the same time. Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years for religious and personal purposes. Meditation has also become a popular topic of research for universities and hospitals like Benson-Henry institute. When meditating one is engaging in the practice of relaxation and living for the moment. Meditation is a built in instinct we all have. One just has to learn how to tap into their natural ability to start rejuvenating their mind and body.
There are hundreds of different ways to meditate and there is no one technique suitable for everyone. Most people associate meditation to just one practice. The practice of sitting crossed legged with a clear state of mind. This is a very popular form of meditation but one does not need to sit cross legged or even clear their mind to meditate. One just needs to find what is suitable for them.
There are four main categories for meditation mindful, spiritual, movement and, focused meditation. Mindful meditation is when one sits crossed legged and enters a flow like state of mind. This means you allow your mind to flow from one thought to the next without really focusing on one particular thing. It is also the most popular practice of meditation in the Midwest. Spiritual meditation is the practice of using vibrations or sounds so one can connect to the flow of energy from god that is throughout all existence. The most common way of spiritual meditation is through chanting Hu which is an ancient name for God. John Roger says people practice this type of meditation because they are looking to transcend illusion and limitation and move into the awareness of soul. Movement meditation is when one focuses on their body positioning or movement while keeping a clear and clam state of mind. Meditation through movement is the ideal method for energetic people because one can relax their mind while keeping their body occupied. The most common practices of movement meditation is yoga which was born in India’s golden age over 26,000 years ago and is still being practice today by a lot of people, even celebrities. Focused meditation is the practice of relaxing through keeping your mind focused on breathing, music or even one of the five senses while living in the moment. Focused meditation is different than classic meditation techniques because you keep your mind focused on something instead of letting everything flow through your mind.
Meditation is a great relaxation tool but it has also been shown in studies to be beneficial to the overall health of the body. Many studies have shown meditation to be significantly effective with hypertension, anxiety, insomnia, and aging but a new study has shown that meditation can also affect gene expression. In a study conducted by Benson-Henry institute of Massachusetts and Beth Israel Deaconess medical center found that eliciting the relaxation response through meditation creates immediate change in gene expression dealing with insulin which could be a help for diabetics, immune function which chronically ill and energy metabolism, according to Sue Mcgreevey from Harvard.edu on May 1, 2013. The study was conducted in the Boston area with 26 healthy individuals who had no previous experience with eliciting the relaxation response. These individuals attend an 8 week meditation training program. There was also 26 individuals who had experience with meditation for the previous 4 to 20 years. The data of their gene expression was collected through blood sampling prior, and after listening to a relaxation tape during a session. The results from the PLOS ONE journal released on May 1, 2013 showed that after listening to just 20 minutes of a relaxation response CD the levels of protein NF-kB which deals with stress, inflammation, trauma, insulin and cancer, were reduced significantly
Practicing meditation can help one clear their mind, relieve stress, connected with god and, even improve gene health. With all the stress one deals with in their everyday, life why not take 15 minutes out of the day and clear the mind?

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