Benefits

There are many forms of meditation and they tend to make rather exaggerated claims. The initial experience can be significant, but it’s unwise to have expectations other than it being is a very pleasant experience. It takes a lot to impress the cynical Western mind. The basic concept is that it allows the mind to settle to its quietest state. Many people feel it’s beyond their reach. A common complaint, these days, is that our minds have become over stimulated and cannot be quietened. It therefore comes as quite a shock to discover that it can.

In the early days of practicing meditation, people often realise that they have discovered something that makes them feel good. Coming out of meditation needs to be a gradual process. It can leave you feeling that all the pressures of the day have evaporated. They gradually start to reappear, but the realisation that you have briefly been free of them helps you to recognise that they are transient and can be released. Meditation can then become a daily experience of the release of stress and fatigue.

Practitioners and respected researchers claim that common problems such as blood pressure, migraine, anxiety and other stress related conditions respond significantly to the relaxing effects of meditation. Many studies have been done. There is a plethora of information on the health benefits of meditation already available on the Web.

The Self Development page on this site covers benefits of meditation, unrelated to stress management.