Meditation: Why it is good for your Mental and Physical Health
Meditation is the art of focusing 100% of your attention in one area. In the area of mindfulness meditation we're starting to get a better understanding of why it seems to be beneficial for so many aspects of life, from disease and pain management, to sleep, to control of emotions. What is Mindfulness exactly, as described by Perspectives on Psychological Science Study mindfulness is a "the nonjudgmental awareness of experiences in the present moment"
Here are 6 compelling reasons to begin a meditation practice:
- IT LOWERS STRESS - LITERALLY - Research published in the journal of Health Psychology shows that mindfulness is not only associated with feeling less stressed, its also linked with decreased levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
- IT CHANGES THE BRAIN IN A PROTECTIVE WAY - University of Oregon researchers found that integrative body-mind training -- which is a meditation technique -- can actually result in brain changes that may be protective against mental illness. The meditation practice was linked with increased signaling connections in the brain, something called axonal density, as well as increased protective tissue (myelin) around the axons in the anterior cingulate brain region.
- IT MAKES MUSIC SOUND BETTER - Mindfulness meditation improves our focused engagement in music, helping us to truly enjoy and experience what we're listening to, according to a study in the journal Psychology of Music.
- IT SUPPORTS YOUR WEIGHT-LOSS GOALS - Trying to shed a few pounds to get to a healthier weight? Mindfulness could be your best friend, according to a survey of psychologists conducted by Consumer Reports and the American Psychological Association. Mindfulness training was considered an "excellent" or "good" strategy for weight loss by seven out of 10 psychologists in the survey.
- IT HELPS US EVEN WHEN WE'RE NOT ACTIVELY PRACTICING IT - You don't have to actually be meditating for it to still benefit your brain's emotional processing. That's the finding of a study in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, which shows that the amygdala brain region's response to emotional stimuli is changed by meditation, and this effect occurs even when a person isn't actively meditating.
- IT MAKES YOU A BETTER PERSON - Sure, we love all the things meditation does for us. But it could also benefit people we interact with, by making us more compassionate, according to a study in the journal Psychological Science. Researchers from Northeastern and Harvard universities found that meditation is linked with more virtuous, "do-good" behavior.
Interested in starting a meditation practice? Be realistic in your expectations. Training or taming the mind is a skill to develop over a lifetime. Sure, there are some immediate benefits to be found, but some take longer than others. If expectations are too high then you may well feel disappointed and demotivated at some stage. So just take one day at a time.
A wonderful method to try is simply breathing! Breathing Meditation: This technique takes those pre-yoga class "Oms" to the next level. Also called yogic breathing or Pranayama, this meditation style is all about controlling the inhales and exhales. Greatist Expert Dr. Jeffrey Rubin explains, "Longer exhales tend to be calming, while longer inhales are energizing. For meditative purposes either the ratio of exhale to inhale is even or the exhale is longer than the inhale for a calming effect."
Interested in exploring meditation a bit more, come try Candlelight Yin Yoga Sunday evenings 7:00PM-8:30PM at Sana Vita Studio. This meditative style of yoga holds postures for longer lengths of time, increasing flexibility, melting away tension, decreasing feelings of stress and anxiety, and increasing a sense of calmness and peacefulness. CLICK HERE for more information of to sign up!
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The "Hot Exercise" craze can be found everywhere from Yoga to Pilates classes. However, do the high temperatures and sweat live up to the hype? According to recent research all that sweat might just be a lot of hot air. Cedric Bryant, chief science officer for the American Council on Exercise said that the benefits of heat are largely perceptual. “People think that the degree of sweat is the quality of the workout, but that is not the reality. It does not correlate to burning calories”. A study in 2013 conducted by the University of Wisconsin concluded that the effort required to do a Bikram-style yoga class was all but identical to that required to do a normal yoga class (the exercise intensity was on average around 56 to 57% of maximal heart rate, which would classify both as “light exercise not dissimilar to a light walk). Some experts say that it only serves to raise heart rate and blood pressure which for some people will be a lethal cocktail.
Why are so many people under the guise that Hot Yoga has such great benefits? Many tout that in the extreme heat the increased sweat aides in detoxifying your body. In reality there is no evidence that sweat aides in detoxification. Sweat comprises mainly water with some electrolytes. It’s the liver and kidneys that filter out the toxins, not the sweat glands. Research by the University of California found sweating eliminates less than 1% of toxic metals expelled by the body, so clearly sweating is by no means the most important. It’s safe to conclude that sweat is just that, sweat, and nothing else.
Others in support of Hot Yoga also express that they can stretch and go further within a posture with the increased heat. Even though its may seem that there is a benefit to this heightened range of motion this actually endangers the body. The extreme heat makes the muscles flaccid and limp, and then the movement of the exercises hyperextend the joint beyond its normal range of motion. This stretches the tendons and ligaments, instead of lengthening the muscle. This creates instability and weakness in the joint. As a result the muscles have to over overcompensate to do the job that the tendons and ligaments would normally do. The body becomes bendy, but not truly open and flexible and strong.
Another essential element to the practice of yoga is the breath. In the ancient text, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, it is said, ‘the mind is the king of the body, and the breath is the king of the mind.’ So the breath is the master that controls everything – the body and the mind. However, if you are doing postures in high heat, then the density and atmosphere of the environment will make the breathing techniques used in Yoga asanas impossible.
The benefits of a traditional yoga practice have
been recognized for thousands of years all over the world, and the
direct health benefits of yoga practice have been well documented and
repeatedly recognized by American and global medical communities. From the Traditional side of the argument many great yoga masters claim that Hot
Yoga drains your adrenals and kidneys. In Chinese medicine it is called your ‘Jing’ energy. You are born with
this energy, and when you burn it up it is very difficult to get it
back. When you drain it you get more paranoia, impaired energy level and
quality. Actual Yoga is said to build this energy very slowly over
years and years.
At Sana Vita Studio we offer a yoga practice in a comfortably warm space that provides a safe and welcoming environment. “Yoga students should experience a peaceful, serene, non-competitive,
introspective, reflective, embodied practice that unifies the body with
the mind and the spirit. The practice is about listening to one’s self
and understanding one’s own personal task.” It is in this space that we begin to reveal our humanity and embody our passion to make a difference, to lead with excellence.
See our Schedule for Yoga Classes and join us for a wonderful yoga practice.
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