We’re all familiar with meditation. There’s no doubt that meditation exists, but does it really work?
In this blog, I’ll discuss whether meditation works, how it works, and what are the nuances of measuring its effectiveness.
First thing first, what is meditation?
Meditation Meaning And Key Aspects:
Meditation is a way to train your mind and find peace and clarity. It involves focusing inward to calm your thoughts and promote well-being. Here are some of its key aspects:
Here are some key aspects of meditation:
- Focus: When you meditate, you deliberately focus your attention on one or more objects, thoughts, or sensations. It can be your breath, a mantra (a repeated sound or phrase), an image in your head, or a feeling in your body.
This focus helps to clear your mind of distractions and helps you to become more aware of the present moment. It also helps you to become more mindful of your thoughts and actions.
- Training the Mind: Meditation trains your mind to focus and stay in the moment, just like training a muscle. The goal is to learn how to acknowledge distractions without being swayed by them.
- Benefits: There are tons of benefits that meditation provides. For example, it can reduce stress, improve focus, increase self-awareness, improve sleep, and calm your emotions. This ultimately helps in getting more awareness and mindfulness, through which you can make better decisions and feel better. It’s also good for reducing stress and anxiety.
Does Meditation Really Work?
Before discussing this, i want you watch this experiment video:
So, in this video, an experiment was conducted to assess how meditation impacts the brain with a long-time practitioner, and the results were astonishing. They noticed new types of signals in the brain with a longer duration, which normal people with little or no meditation do not experience. Even if they do have those signals, they only last for a second or so.
The Science Behind Meditation:
- Brain Changes: As discussed above with an example we can conclude that meditation practice can alter brain structure and function using brain imaging techniques. It appears that areas related to focus, attention, and emotional regulation have been strengthened.
Also, studies using brain scans (fMRI) show that meditation can permanently change how your brain works. These changes occur in the parts that control emotions, and they last even when you’re not meditating. This is particularly evident in areas associated with emotional regulation, such as the amygdala. This suggests that meditation can train your brain to handle emotions better in the long run. So, it is also helpful with people with depression and other related problems.
Here you can watch this video which talks about how helpful the meditation is for the people with ADHD:
- Stress Reduction: When we’re stressed, our bodies release hormones like cortisol, which can make us feel jittery and tense. Meditation helps us manage stress by lowering these hormones. It teaches our minds and bodies to relax, even in challenging situations. This can lead to a calmer overall state and a better ability to handle stress.
You can watch this video of Yongey Mingyur Rinpocl where he talks about how he have used meditation to reduce stress and anxiety:
- Improved Focus: Meditation helps you develop the skill of staying focused on the present moment without being distracted by thoughts or external stimuli. The result is improved focus and concentration in various aspects of your life as you are better able to maintain your attention on tasks or activities.
You might be wondering how to meditate in such a way that it helps you maximize your focus and concentration. So, here is how you can do it:
- Emotional Well-being: Research has shown that meditation practices can reduce symptoms associated with mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, as well as relieve chronic pain. As an added benefit, meditation promotes a sense of calm and emotional resilience, which helps individuals cope more effectively with stress and adversity. Mediation can improve one’s emotional health and overall well-being when incorporated into one’s routine.
From this we can conclude that yes, meditation really works. And this is just one experiment, there are growing scientific experiments that prove that meditation really works and if done correctly it will show positive results in the long run.
You can also watch this value packed podcast to understand more about meditation and which type of meditation will work best for you:
Also, there is something that you should keep in mind, that is meditation success and result depends on various factors.
How To Do Meditation?
Meditation can be practiced in various ways, but here are some general steps to get started:
- Make sure you’re in a quiet, comfortable space where you won’t be disturbed. Make sure you are sitting or lying down comfortably.
- To relax your body and mind, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths.
- Put your attention on a specific sensation in your body, your breath, or a mantra.
- Make your focus point the focus of your attention, gently bringing your mind back to it when it wanders.
- Be open to thoughts, emotions, and sensations coming and going without judgment or attachment. Keep an open mind and show kindness to them while observing them.
- Without becoming frustrated or discouraged, gently guide your mind back to your focal point if it becomes distracted.
- As you become more comfortable with meditation, practice it for a set period of time.
- Once you have finished your meditation, take a few deep breaths and open your eyes.
To become a proficient meditation practitioner, you’ll need time and practice. You should be patient with yourself and approach every session with a sense of curiosity and openness.
The Nuances of Measuring Meditation’s Efficacy
There are several complexities involved in assessing meditation’s effectiveness:
- Subjectivity: Meditation benefits are subjective, which makes conventional scientific measurement difficult.
- Practice Variation: Because meditation practices vary so much, generalizing findings across all types of meditation is difficult.
- Individual Differences: Everyone responds differently to meditation depending on their baseline stress level, lifestyle, and genetics.
Final Words:
In the end, I would say meditation works. It is impossible to compare someone else’s meditation success to yours since individual differences, practice variations, and subjectivity may play a role. The best way to make it work for you is to stay consistent with it and watch multiple videos to decide which one will suit you the best according to your preferences and lifestyle. Be patient and persevere. Meditation takes time and practice to become effective. Give it your all and you will see the positive effects.
