Meditation!

Meditation as for a long time been considered in
the west as a bit out there and weird, more for hippies than ordinary people,
but this couldn't be further from the truth.

Meditation
is a great way of improving health and well being. Research has shown that Meditation can
contribute to an individual's psychological and physiological well-being. This
is accomplished as Meditation brings the brainwave pattern into an alpha state,
which is a level of consciousness that promotes the healing state. There is
scientific evidence that Meditation can reduce blood pressure and relieve pain
and stress. In the coming sections we have divided the health benefits of
meditation in three parts: (1) physiological benefits; (2) psychological
benefits' and (3) spiritual benefits.

Physiological
Benefits of Meditation

• Deep
  rest-as measured by decreased metabolic rate, lower heart rate, and reduced
  work load of the heart.
• Lowered
  levels of cortical and lactate-two chemicals associated with stress.
• Reduction
  of free radicals- unstable oxygen molecules that can cause tissue damage.
• Decreased
  high blood pressure.
• Higher
  skin resistance. Low skin resistance is correlated with higher stress and
  anxiety levels.
• Drop
  in cholesterol levels. High cholesterol is
  associated with cardiovascular disease.
• Improved
  flow of air to the lungs resulting in easier breathing. This has been very
  helpful to asthma patients.
• Decreases
  the aging process.
• Higher
  levels of DHEAS in the elderly. An additional sign of
  youthfulness.

Psychological
Benefits of Meditation

• Increased
  brain wave coherence.
• Greater
  creativity.
• Decreased
  anxiety.
• Decreased
  depression
• Decreased
  irritability and moodiness
• Improved
  learning ability and memory.
• Increased
  self-actualization.
• Increased
  feelings of vitality and rejuvenation.
• Increased
  happiness.
• Increased
  emotional stability.

Spiritual
Benefits of Meditation

The longer an individual practices meditation, the greater the likelihood that
his or her goals and efforts will shift toward personal and spiritual growth.
Many individuals who initially learn meditation for its self-regulatory aspects
find that as their practice deepens they are drawn more and more into the realm
of the "spiritual." In her work with many cancer and AIDS patients,
Dr. Borysenko has observed that many are most interested in meditation as a way
of becoming more attuned to the spiritual dimension of life. She reports that
many die "healed," in a state of compassionate self-awareness and
self-acceptance.