Can Meditation Help You Live Longer?

Have you ever contemplated the beauty and intricacies of a flower? Not asking anything of the flower, you simply appreciated the way the petals folded in on one another or the brilliance of the colors, the heady aroma you slowly inhaled. Maybe you were lucky enough to catch sight of a beautiful butterfly delicately light on a single petal, only to see it flit away in a breath. And childhood may have been the last time you lay on your back and were lost in the majesty, the vastness, the purity of a clear blue sky, thinking of nothing, demanding nothing, just being. In both those actions you stood at the door of meditation. Believe it or not, it doesn't take much to walk through that door and learn to meditate.

There are many types of meditation and many wonderful ways to meditate. Some methods use sound, some have you concentrate on an object, other methods involve chanting. A few types of meditation include moon meditation, meditative walking and zen meditation. These are just a few methods. Ultimately, the technique you use is your choice. What is important is that you find a technique that makes you comfortable, one you can follow consistently. But be warned, results will not happen overnight. As with anything else, reaping the rewards of meditation will take time, but the rewards are there and well worth the effort because successful meditation can positively impact both your mental and physical health.

Therapeutic Benefits

Meditation eases you into intentional clearing of the mind. Over time, people who regularly place themselves in a meditative state have been shown to have a slower heart rate, reduced blood pressure, and lowered blood sugar levels. With meditation a sense of calmness and well being can be achieved that will transcend the moment of meditation and will, in fact, remain with you throughout the day. Meditations can become a shield, the armor you wear against the everyday stressors of life we all face: demands of our careers, our families, our social lives. After all, how really important is it that we have to wait a little longer than anticipated at a traffic light or that the line in the grocery store is barely moving? We will reach our destination. Isn't it better to "arrive" with our mental state intact?

Meditation can provide the break that allows the right brain to take over for a change. In other words, with meditation we are better able to access our intuition, our perceptiveness, our imagination. It is a well deserved mental vacation from the constant left brain "active chatter" that most of us experience throughout the day.

Meditation helps us view life's challenges in perspective and with an awareness that all things and events are transitory, that this life we have is a gift and that we should appreciate each unique moment we are given.

You Can Learn to Meditate: Getting Started

So what is meditation? And what do you do? Can you learn to meditate? In truth, you do nothing except regularly find the time and the place to meditate. It is in these moments that you choose to do nothing, emptying your mind as best you can. Within that nothing grows awareness of the present as you may not have been aware of it before.

To get started and begin to reap the benefits of meditation, select a quiet place. The place can be a room or corner in your home, it can be in the park, it can even be at your work. The key is to gain a few uninterrupted moments. Starting with as few as five minutes of stillness and slowly increasing that time will be of benefit.

Perhaps the easiest method of meditation, one that can be done anywhere, is to concentrate on the breath: slow, deep breathing. Start out concentrating on this rhythmic slow inhale and slow exhale form of breathing counting every five breathes. It may help to use the mantra of the Vietnamese spiritual leader Thich Nhat Hanh in his book Peace Is Every Step. He writes" Breathing in, I calm my body. Breathing out I smile." Gradually build up to longer periods of time as your ability to hold random thoughts at bay increases. Later, other methods of meditation will come easier. Eventually, you may be able to mix different methods.

Next find a position that is comfortable for you to be able to meditate in. This can depend on where you decide to meditate. One of the most common ways is to sit with legs crossed, arms lightly resting in your lap. You can also meditate while sitting in a chair, feet on the floor. Meditation lying prone may also be chosen. Again, it is what makes you comfortable and relaxed that is going to determine the posture you assume. Gaining in popularity is walking meditation. The principles of mindfulness are the same except that you are in motion.

Meditation, Health and Aging

As for the therapeutic benefits, researchers have concluded that there are measurable improvements in the brain after a minimum of two weeks of meditation, thirty minutes at a time. Among the many benefits, regular meditation sessions have been demonstrated to decrease blood pressure. It has been shown to impact bad habits like smoking and drug addition. It has improved depression and anxiety in many.

Eventually, the joy of releasing the clutter in your minds will have lasting affects on your body that along with other healthy habits, may well increase your life span. After all, meditation may have reduced some of those serious medical issues that can shorten or negatively impact the quality of your life.

Just Be

Everyone reacts differently to meditation. What has been discussed are the possible benefits. At the very least, you have made time to honor yourself by making time for yourself. Be patient as you learn to meditate. Meditation will, in turn, teach you to be patient with challenging situations and with others.

Follow the path, open the door and, for at least a little while, just be.