Meditation: Mystery to Mastery

by Rezza Mae Tolinero

Take a break. Sit in a comfortable position. Focus on your forehead area and close your eyes for a moment while thinking positive thoughts... You have then just done first steps of basic meditation. Easy? Now, open your eyes and see what it could do to you.

Almost eight hours per day, five days per week, and ten months per year of engaging in school activities involving recitations, exams, and theses among others—no wonder then as to why students are walking on a thin ice wherein depression, anxiety, and stress awaits them. And being innately a worrier, brains are most likely to cater threats rather than opportunities; which creates a thinner ice to walk on. While these encounters may be mentally and emotionally disturbing, it may also affect one’s physical health (stomach ulcers, heart problems, illnesses and so on). Worried? Not for long…

Although there is no panacea or a universal remedy to increasing stress levels of the modern society, it could still be lessened and at the same time, improve one’s health, memory, focus, and creativity—through meditation.

Breaking Myths

Meditation is commonly defined as “a practice of concentrated focus upon a sound, object, visualization, the breath, movement, or attention itself in order to increase awareness of the present moment, reduce stress, promote relaxation, and enhance personal and spiritual growth.” There are many ways to meditate but the most common is the mindfulness meditation, or focused attention.

“Only Buddhists or Hindu practice meditation.” True that meditation is originally intended to develop spiritual understanding and awareness; but now having its efficacy to be scientifically-based too, paved its way to everyone. “Whatever your religion is, or beliefs, anyone can meditate,” assures Kent Arizala, 24, a meditation practitioner for almost ten years.

“Chanting unknown language is creepy and don’t forget ‘weird’.” Some meditation practices may involve chanting mantras (a word or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation) but need not necessarily have one. One could just sit and enjoy the harmony of peace through meditation.

“I’m still in college; I’m too young to meditate.” Practicing meditation knows no age which will only boil down to one’s interest. As Arizala states, “[For students] if you practice meditation regularly, it improves your concentration. So in return, if maayo ka mag-concentrate, you have a tendency to become a fast learner.”

It’s all in the mind

Sed del Rosario, 22, have started meditating since she was in second year college. Being already a graduate student of BS Development Communication Major in Educational Communication, she shares that meditation helps her to think positive which in return gives her peace of mind. “Labina og kapoy kaayu ka, makapahulay pud ka through meditation...”

Could it be just all in the mind? Or positive effects root in the mind?

While meditation came from traditional practices, collaborative researches in neuroscience, psychology, and neurobiology flourished in identifying brain activity and effects of meditation in the 20th century.

Through functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and the advent of other brain scanning techniques, measuring brain activities have been explored. It has been found out that even a short time of single session of meditation can decrease beta waves. Beta waves are brain’s indicators of information processing and “are associated with normal waking consciousness and a heightened state of alertness.” Though these beta waves are vital, they can also translate into stress, anxiety and restlessness if too much.

During this mindfulness exercise, the beta waves in frontal lobe, a part responsible for emotions and reasoning, tend to lessen. On the other hand, beta waves in parietal lobe (brain’s region for sensory information) dramatically slow down too. This would then result to a decrease of anxiety a person is experiencing.

Studies also show that after weeks of meditation, brain physically changes which results to improving one’s health especially in dealing with stress. This mindfulness practice eventually shrinks the amygdala, a part of the brain responsible for our body’s “fight-or-flight” reaction involving stress. With amygdala getting smaller, the pre-frontal cortex (located at the front of the brain, behind the forehead) becomes thicker. As this part is responsible for abstract thinking and analysis, making it thicker enhances the practitioner’s awareness, concentration, and decision-making.

As Arizala explains, “One thing you can benefit from meditation kay mawala imong stress, since it has been proven I think na 80% of human disease is caused by stress…” Hence, since this exercise induces to relax, it decreases stress levels. “If a person is less stressed, he is more likely to be healthy,” he adds.

Other than that…

Aside from the depletion of anxiety and stress levels, meditation is also known in improving one’s focus; which is essentially useful for students. In fact, as quoted in a study, “Neuroscientists found that, after just 11 hours of meditation, practitioners had structural changes around the anterior cingulate cortex, a part of the brain involved in monitoring our focus and self control.”

Another benefit one can get through the practice of meditation is the betterment of memory and creativity. It can improve memory in way that the practice makes the brain screen out distractions and enhances the ability of the practitioner to swiftly remember and integrate to new facts. Boosting of creativity also happens to those who meditate since the exercise enables the filtering out of other mental distractions when creative tasks are performed.

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Thus, stringed to being physically healthy is to be mentally well too.

So, take a break. Sit in a comfortable position. Focus on your forehead or heart area and close your eyes for a moment while thinking positive thoughts... meditate.

Sources:

Meditation (http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/meditation)

What Happens to the Brain When You Meditate (And How it Benefits You) (http://lifehacker.com/what-happens-to-the-brain-when-you-meditate-and-how-it-1202533314)

#health