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Meditation can reduce stress and depression

The word “meditation” has a lot of baggage attached to it. Even in this age of corner-store yoga classes, an exotic whiff still lingers over meditation. Is it a good thing? Is it difficult? How do I do it?

Sometimes associated with particular religions, meditation is not the practice or ritual of any sect but of many. In Christian-based religions meditation is considered a form of prayer.

Meditation is indeed a good thing. Several studies using control groups of those who do not meditate and those who do have shown that even 10 to 15 minutes of meditation a day can reduce blood pressure, heart rate, anxiety and mild depression and bring about a happier and calmer mindset.

A 2003 University of Massachusetts Medical School study used brain scans to show how meditation worked on the brain. Scans showed that meditation shifted blood flow from the right frontal cortex to the left frontal cortex.

Excited yet?

I didn’t think so.

A quick lesson in brain anatomy will illustrate why this is a big deal.

Our brain’s frontal lobes act as the emotional control centers. Our personalities are in our frontal lobes, and if they are damaged we experience personality changes – more or less anger, more or less impulse control, more or less happiness, for example.

The right frontal lobe (RFL) is located behind the right eye, and when we experience stress the RFL gets increased blood flow. The stress also makes the heart beat faster, breathing become shallower and blood pressure increase.

Chronic stress can literally change the brain.

If you have a bad day at work, fume over traffic or can’t sleep because of bills, your RFL is awake and busy, and that’s a bad thing.

The left frontal lobe (LFL), behind the left eye, is the calm, reassuring side of the brain. A 2003 study published in the Journal of Neuropsychiatry showed that mild depression is often caused by hypoactivity (abnormally diminished activity) in the LFL.

When patients’ LFLs were stimulated with magnetic stuff that no one in the real world has access to, they felt happier, calmer and more at peace with themselves and their environment.

The good news is that we don’t need fancy medical-grade magnets to increase the blood flow to our LFL. Each of us has access to a technique that stimulates our left frontal lobe and helps us make it through this life a little more easily.

That technique is meditation.

There are several ways to meditate. They do not all call for sitting in the lotus position on a special mat and chanting mantras – although you can do that if you like.

The primary goal of meditation is to quiet the brain’s endless chattering. The Buddha called it “monkey mind,” jumping from one branch to another, never settling down, never at peace.

Meditation really is a gift to yourself, and spending a few minutes a day quieting the mind can have dramatic positive effects on both your health and mental outlook.

In a future article, I will describe several different meditation techniques anyone can use.

 

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