People meditate for many reasons. They want to clear their minds, to reduce stress, to get centered… but are any of these things really the goal of meditation? Not quite.
Ask people what their goal is when they meditate, and you’ll hear a variety of answers. “To deal with stress.” “To calm down.” “To get rid of my thoughts.” “To feel connected to the world.” There are lots of opinions out there.
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Do you always feel like there are at least six things you should be doing? Over time, rushing from one task to the next and to the next can take a toll. The busyness and stress of life can make you feel like you’re about to explode.
[Read more…]There are a lot of different recommendations for how long you should meditate, as well as for how often you should meditate. Some sources say to do an hour every day, but you may not have that much time. Below you’ll find research-based recommendations for how long — and how often — to meditate.
Meditation and mindfulness practices have become more accepted in Western cultures since the late 1990’s. There are several reasons for this. A primary one is the research and writing of Jon Kabat-Zinn, a scientist who adapted a Southeast Asian Buddhist meditation practice for a Western audience.
His work focuses on a practice called mindfulness meditation. Kabat-Zinn initially, in the late 1970s, focused on patients suffering from chronic pain. His research showed promising results for these patients. His work led to an expansion in research on what other conditions improve with mindfulness meditation. In the following years, studies showed that mindfulness and meditation produce benefit for those suffering from other conditions as well. These include hypertension, insomnia, as well as various anxiety and mood disorders.
[Read more…]More and more scientific research tells us that we need to try to more present. This means keeping your focus off the past and the future. How does meditation help improve that focus?
Many people with a form of anxiety characterized by over-worrying find that they spend an excessive amount of time pondering either the future or the past. Research published in the journal Science suggests that doing so worsens our mood. Does this very human tendency to get caught up in thoughts about the past and future affect you?
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