Meditation and its Many Benefits

Often, I go to yoga classes for exercise.  At the end, my teacher always puts on some soft and peaceful music, does a bit of guided meditation and talks about the importance of living in the moment.  I always leave feeling relaxed.  Today, I was reading HuffingtonPost.com, and I came across this article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110121144007.htm.  Clearly, meditation leads to wide-ranging health benefits: increased concentration, a higher capacity for learning, improved memory, self-awareness, and introspection, and reducing stress and anxiety. 

A while ago, I spoke to one of my sons, who took a Buddhism class in college and learned to meditate.  I asked him to teach me how to meditate, and while I thought it would be quite daunting to learn, it actually was not too difficult.  I am no Zen master, and I do not meditate every day, but I try to do it a few times a week.  When doing it, I find a quiet space in my home where I know I will not be distracted by noise or family.  I sit down on a flat surface and cross my legs, making sure to keep my spine in an upright position, and I fold my hands and place them in my lap.  There are many ways to meditate, but a common theme to all of them is the importance of breathing.  To regulate my breathing, I count up to ten.  I inhale on the odd numbers and exhale on the even numbers.  One (inhale).  Two (exhale).  Three (inhale).  Four (exhale).  When I reach ten, I count downwards to one, inhaling on the even numbers and exhaling on the odd ones.  One thing I try to ensure is that I breathe from deep in my stomach, not from my chest.  Doing so furthers my relaxation and enhances the practice.  I try to focus on the counting, but sometimes my mind wanders and I will follow a train of thought and lose track of the numbers.  When I notice this occuring, without any judgement regarding my wandering mind, I simply return back to the number one and restart my counting, focusing on my breathing.  After I have finished meditating, I like to look back at the different things toward which my mind wandered.  Examining these thought patterns helps me to better understand my thought processes and myself. 

I recommend that anyone try meditating.  Usually I do it for about twenty-five minutes, and it calms me.  Reading the article posted above, I know the many positive health benefits it provides.  I hope that you can find the time and inititiave to try mediation, and, as always, if you have any questions about it feel free to ask!