Meditation could be the answer to your health concerns

June 20, 5:51 PMYoga ExaminerJordann Rawls

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Meditating, if even for five minutes a day, can release dis-ease in the body and mind.
Photo compliments of integrallifecenter.org.

 Spiritual Sadhana of the Week: Dhyana

Dhyana, the seventh aspect of Patanjali’s Eight-Limb path, is simply defined as meditation.  While one can simply define what meditation is, meditation is often most difficult when sought.  How can I stop my thoughts? Why does my nose itch when I meditate? How do I know if I’m doing it right?  How do I even find the time when my life is already jam-packed?

For all of these questions, the answer is meditation. I was describing Dhyana to one of my classes on Monday night and I told a story about my kids in my fitness classes. We had lined up Easter baskets against the back wall, instructing the kids to toss cotton balls into each one. While the task seemed easy enough, the challenge for the kids came in using the right aim with the right amount of leverage to toss the cotton balls in the baskets. If the kids threw the cotton ball too hard, it would find resistance with force and fall straight to the ground. Too soft and the cotton ball would fall short. It took just the right amount of arm muscle and just the right amount of aim to reach the point of cotton ball-throwing success.

Like this, meditation is something to which we bring the mind.  Using the right amount of breath and focusing our intention on attention to our hearts, we find the path to meditation.  By meditating, we cultivate absolute presence, choosing to be present in the present moment again and again and again.

In class on Monday, I quoted Henry David Thoreau saying, “Things don’t change; We change.” When we allow ourselves the opportunity for stillness, we allow ourselves to surrender to a higher power.  We allow peace to enter our lives, not only in the time we are still, but in all parts of our day. Because we only learn from what we choose to learn from, being still allows our minds, bodies and, most importantly, our hearts the opportunity to process our true and pure intentions, grounding our goodness. Yogi teacher, Baron Baptiste writes in his book 40 Days to a Personal Revolution, “My time spent in stillness gives feet to my prayers”.

In stillness, we allow grace to enter our bodies and melt away the actions of the past and renew intentions for the future.  And with a greater intention, we also experience lower blood pressure, reduced stress levels and health benefits.

While the power of meditation has yet to be rooted in science, the benefits of meditation are many. Using breath to meditate, mediation lengthens the breath, lowering oxygen consumption, decreasing the respiratory rates and slowing your heart beat. Finding stillness enhances the immune system, helps with weight loss and reduces the activity of viruses and emotional distress.

For the mind that finds quiet, meditation can increase serotonin levels, influencing mood and behavior. Those who meditate find the mind will age at a slower rate, have increased learning abilities and memory and stronger communication between the brain hemispheres.  

And if the image of a monkey with adjoined fingers comes to mind, rest easy. Meditation can be both religious and secular. What all meditative moments have in common is the ability to bring the focus inward, allowing the mind and body a reprieve from the external world.