Meditation
Did you know that meditation can be a useful tool in managing stress, anxiety and chronic pain from an injury, gastrointestinal issues, fibromyalgia, migraines, arthritis, diabetes, neuropathy, cancer or other chronic disease? People in all age groups can benefit from meditation as it's been shown to increase the well-being of the young, the middle-aged and senior citizens alike!
Numerous studies have consistently shown that meditation can significantly reduce stress in their participants by lowering the heart rate, slowing breathing, normalizing blood pressure and allowing oxygen to be used more efficiently. In addition, less cortisol is released into the body, immune functions improve and the mind ages at a slower rate. Prolonged meditation practice can potentially alter the activity in the area of the brain responsible for how we process stress, and actually change or improve how it responds to stress going forward.
In addition to aiding in managing stress, it has also been found that instituting a regular meditation practice can be a significant brain-changing activity. As stated in an article by Sharon Salzberg in a February 25, 2011 article titled “The Benefits of Meditation New research shows that meditating can build brain function — no matter what your age” on aarp.org, “A study by Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital in 2005 showed that a group practicing meditation for about 40 minutes a day had measurably thicker tissue in the left prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain important for cognitive emotional processing and well-being.” Salzberg also notes, “In a study published in 2010, a team of neuroscientists scanned the brains of volunteers before and after they received eight weeks of training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), a new type of meditation. The new meditators showed measurable changes in two important brain areas – growth in the hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in memory and learning, and shrinkage in the amygdala, a portion of the brain that initiates the body’s response to stress.”
Recent studies have also shown that certain forms of meditation can prove helpful in reducing pain symptoms for many chronic sufferers by cutting down on brain activity in the important pain-processing regions of the brain and stimulating the areas where the brain stores its experience of pain and comes up with coping mechanisms.
One study found participants experienced about a 40 percent reduction in pain intensity and a 57 percent reduction in pain unpleasantness. Participants experienced a greater reduction in pain than even morphine or other pain-relieving drugs, which typically reduce pain ratings by about 25 percent on their own.
Overall, meditation is a perfect stress reliever for people of all ages or physical conditions as it requires no particular physical ability, is not strenuous (can be done sitting or laying down) and doesn’t involve any special equipment (a chair or a cushion is all you need).
Numerous studies have consistently shown that meditation can significantly reduce stress in their participants by lowering the heart rate, slowing breathing, normalizing blood pressure and allowing oxygen to be used more efficiently. In addition, less cortisol is released into the body, immune functions improve and the mind ages at a slower rate. Prolonged meditation practice can potentially alter the activity in the area of the brain responsible for how we process stress, and actually change or improve how it responds to stress going forward.
In addition to aiding in managing stress, it has also been found that instituting a regular meditation practice can be a significant brain-changing activity. As stated in an article by Sharon Salzberg in a February 25, 2011 article titled “The Benefits of Meditation New research shows that meditating can build brain function — no matter what your age” on aarp.org, “A study by Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital in 2005 showed that a group practicing meditation for about 40 minutes a day had measurably thicker tissue in the left prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain important for cognitive emotional processing and well-being.” Salzberg also notes, “In a study published in 2010, a team of neuroscientists scanned the brains of volunteers before and after they received eight weeks of training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), a new type of meditation. The new meditators showed measurable changes in two important brain areas – growth in the hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in memory and learning, and shrinkage in the amygdala, a portion of the brain that initiates the body’s response to stress.”
Recent studies have also shown that certain forms of meditation can prove helpful in reducing pain symptoms for many chronic sufferers by cutting down on brain activity in the important pain-processing regions of the brain and stimulating the areas where the brain stores its experience of pain and comes up with coping mechanisms.
One study found participants experienced about a 40 percent reduction in pain intensity and a 57 percent reduction in pain unpleasantness. Participants experienced a greater reduction in pain than even morphine or other pain-relieving drugs, which typically reduce pain ratings by about 25 percent on their own.
Overall, meditation is a perfect stress reliever for people of all ages or physical conditions as it requires no particular physical ability, is not strenuous (can be done sitting or laying down) and doesn’t involve any special equipment (a chair or a cushion is all you need).
Check our Classes & Workshop page and Calendar for information on upcoming public meditation schedules.
For information on private meditation sessions, rates or to schedule a private session, please contact Donna at [email protected] or call 508-824-2187.
For information on private meditation sessions, rates or to schedule a private session, please contact Donna at [email protected] or call 508-824-2187.
