In modern cities, we are forced to accept the ever-changing rhythm every day. Complex and fragmented information often makes people immersed in a state of impetuousness and unable to extricate themselves. Facing the hustle and bustle, more and more people are choosing to return to calm through meditation. This lifestyle, which can deeply improve physical and mental health, is beginning to be recognized by more people and has become a new fitness trend.
Meditation is not magical metaphysics
Meditation, English is meditation, origin In the East, it is one of the most precious techniques in yoga and the way to achieve samadhi. The true meaning of yoga meditation is to completely focus your heart, mind, and soul on the original beginning. The ultimate goal of all true yoga meditation is to guide people to the state of liberation.
With the development of science, meditation has flourished in the West in modern times. In the 1970s, Dr. Kabat-Zinn, a doctor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, combined meditation and psychology and applied meditation to his critically ill patients. He found that meditation can actually help everyone relieve pain and release stress. Subsequently, the West further explored the meditation system, making it bid farewell to the obscure and deified background of the past. Through simple exercises, it can help people bid farewell to negative emotions and regain control of their lives.
Therefore, meditation, for those who are not familiar with it, is an almost metaphysical and mysterious existence. In fact, it is an exercise tool for the heart, brain and soul.
A senior meditation therapist gave a vivid explanation for this: Each of us is like a large computer, and the brain is our CPU. Sometimes after being busy for too long, we need to "clean up memory" for ourselves. This brain restoration technique is elementary meditation.
Intermediate meditation is like a problem with our mobile phone system. No matter how we use it, similar problems will always appear again and again. This is just like some people in life, no matter what kind of working environment they change, similar problems always appear again and again.
This is probably not an external cause, but a problem with our internal operating system. The phone needs to go deep into the background to find the problem and program it to fix it. If we have a problem ourselves, we have to go deep into the soul code and upgrade the system.
Advanced meditation requires us to understand that the essence of life is the same as a movie. The movie seems to be coherent, but it is actually completed frame by frame. Advanced meditation can see this essence and pass through the gaps between frames. This is "entering concentration", which contains various pleasurable experiences. In addition, advanced meditation can also see that the experience of each frame is fleeting, and there is no continuously connected thing that constitutes "I" (insight). As a result, "I" can look at "my" life and the world with a new understanding, which can make us live more freely and openly.
Each of us is like a large computer , the brain is our CPU. Sometimes after being busy for too long, we need to "clean up memory" for ourselves. This brain restoration technique is elementary meditation
Meditation makes you look younger every year
The biggest difference between meditation and many other fitness methods is tranquility. However, this seemingly still tranquility contains amazing power, and the benefits it shows are even more beneficial to the general body. Nothing beats exercise.
Sara Lazar, a Ph.D. from Harvard Medical School in the United States, proposed in a Ted speech: Meditation provides important help to the human brain in terms of memory, delaying aging, and reducing stress. . Meditators - can delay or even prevent the shrinkage of the cerebral cortex structure (delaying aging); the hippocampus in the brain becomes larger (enhancing memory); changes occur in the neuro-parietal connection (perspective construction, empathy, and compassion development) ;The amygdala in the brain becomes smaller (relieves stress).
In recent years, neuroscientists at first-class universities such as Harvard University and MIT have discovered through research that meditation affects brain networks. A kind of deliberate training. If you can focus on the present moment, persist for a long time, and continue to stimulate, the brain will become more active and efficient. MRI scans show that meditation can improve the efficiency of at least eight different areas of the brain, including the eye sockets, forehead, and hippocampus, which are all areas that maintain focus, cultivate positive emotions, and maintain stable emotions.
Therefore, a report in the internationally authoritative journal "NeuroImage" shows that for every year of meditation for people over 50, their brains will become one year younger.
In addition, meditation can also improve sleep quality, reduce stress and anxiety, memory and concentration, immunity, and cardiovascular health of the human body. Effect. A study by the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine in the United States found that those who meditate twice a day for 20 minutes each time will reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease by as much as 48%.
More than 80% of world leaders prefer meditation
With the development of brain wave science, emotions and brain activities that were originally elusive can be tracked, recorded and quantified. Subsequently, the effects of meditation are no longer myths, but scientifically visible and measurable parameters. Therefore, celebrities around the world, whether in business, politics, or sports, such as Kobe Briant, Steve Jobs, and the CEO of Ford Motor Company, all promote meditation, and some are long-term practitioners.
Currently, more than 80% of the world’s 200 world-class leaders have the habit of practicing meditation every day. Meditation training has also become the most popular training course in Silicon Valley. Google, Facebook, Linkedin, and Salesforce all use meditation courses to help companies and employees achieve better efficiency, creativity, and work happiness. In addition to being popular among technology companies on the West Coast of the United States, meditation is also popular among the financial circles on the East Coast of the United States. Dalio, the founder of the world's hedge fund giant Bridgewater Associates, publicly declared that meditation was one of the most critical factors in his wealth.
Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs was also a long-term practitioner of meditation. In 2004, Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The doctor announced that he had only 3-6 months to live. However, he miraculously survived six months later. He regarded this "brush with death" as a sign of his Buddhist meditation practice. result. Over the years, his office of more than 200 square meters has contained almost nothing, but the cushion on which he meditates in the middle of the room is one of his most important possessions. As CEO, Jobs' important job was decision-making, but before every decision, he would sit quietly with his eyes closed. Meditation was his daily compulsory homework.
The well-known American actress Heather Graham also practices meditation for 20 minutes every day after getting up and in the afternoon. She said: "In the past, I I often worry about small things for a long time, which is actually meaningless. Meditation makes me understand that inner peace is the most important thing. If you have this peace, you have everything."
Meditation is such a tool that helps us understand ourselves deeply, release ourselves, live our true self, and gain more happiness.
Embark on the path of meditation with a yoga master
Ancient Greek Philosophy Plato once compared our brains to a cage: our thoughts are like birds, flying around in the cage of the brain. In order for birds to settle down, sometimes all we need is just a few moments of aimless calm.
Meditating is the best way for us to have a peaceful time. Through meditation, the chaotic thoughts can be quieted down, allowing the brain to rest for a while and gain deep tranquility.
"The closer a person is to the depths of his heart, the closer he is to the eternal truth", and "meditation allows you to know your true self, and the changes it brings are other Nothing can give you”. This is the understanding of meditation by Swami Rama, one of the most influential yoga meditation masters in the world in the 20th century. Perhaps following his footsteps, you can also start your own meditation journey and find the long-lost peace and happiness.
The location for meditation can be at home, in the countryside, in the city, at the seaside, or in the mountains. It is more advantageous if the place is relatively quiet, clean, peaceful, and comfortable. The office is less suitable because there are always things to distract you. It is also not recommended to meditate in bed because it reminds you of sleep. You can choose to sit in a chair or on the floor, with a space dedicated to meditation.
The best time to meditate is in the early morning and late at night, because the surroundings are quiet at this time and it is not easy to be disturbed. Early morning is the most suitable. In addition to being quiet, the body has already digested the food of the previous day and becomes fresh and light. The fastest progress will be made by meditating at a set time each day.
The meditative posture requires keeping the head, neck and upper torso in a straight line so that the diaphragm can be freely used for breathing. The placement of arms and legs is irrelevant in comparison.
Meditative breathing must be consciously re-established as normal breathing pattern - smooth diaphragmatic breathing
Rather than the position of your legs, it is more important to position your head, neck, and torso to keep your spine vertical. Also, placing a cushion under your hips will make it more comfortable. But no matter what kind of sitting posture you choose, you must practice it regularly and don't always give up halfway and try new postures. Consistently use a sitting posture, and over time, you will find that it becomes more and more stable and comfortable.
Meditative breathing requires the conscious re-establishment of the normal breathing pattern—smooth diaphragmatic breathing. When you breathe evenly using your diaphragm, your breathing becomes more efficient and much slower because each breath brings more oxygen.
How to practice diaphragmatic breathing: Lie flat on the floor and relax, then place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly button. You can easily tell whether you are breathing through the diaphragm: when you inhale, the abdomen rises, and when you exhale, the abdomen descends. You can feel the slight movement of the navel area. In the state of diaphragmatic breathing, the chest will not produce a big movement. ups and downs. Very important: don’t pause and hold your breath between inhaling and exhaling. It takes about 4 weeks of practice to master diaphragmatic breathing before moving on to other meditation exercises.
When meditating do we think about specific things or do we clear our minds completely? Or let your attention drift? neither. The best thing to do is not to put any pressure on yourself. The less confrontation and oppression you have with yourself, the easier it will be to relax and quiet down,
and it is at this level that true meditation progress will be reflected. We give our thoughts a focus, some words, sounds, or phrases, and quiet them down.
When your awareness strays, you need to allow yourself to witness or observe the associations in your brain without judgment, and then gently bring your awareness back. It's important not to create ideological battles in the process.
In short, the actual operation of meditation is very simple: sit quietly, adjust your breathing evenly, and let your thoughts calm down; focus on the inside of the body and bring it back when your consciousness wanders. . This process sounds simple, but it can be challenging to complete because the mind is flexible and always maintains a degree of inner chaos.