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MEDITATION
| Fibromyalgia |
| According to one study, meditation may relieve
the discomfort of fibromyalgia, a condition that causes fatigue
and intensely painful "trigger points." When 77 men and
women with fibromyalgia followed a ten-week stress-reduction program
using meditation, all reported that their symptoms improved. And
half described their improvements as "moderate to marked." |
| Psychological benefits of Meditation |
| Meditation can help most people feel less anxious
and more in control. The awareness that meditation brings can also
be a source of personal insight and self-understanding. |
| Handling Repressed Memories and Enjoying Life |
| Meditation may lead to a breakdown of screen
memories so that early childhood abuse episodes and other traumas
suddenly flood the mind, making the patient temporarily more anxious
until these traumas are healed. Many so-called meditation exercises
are actually forms of imagery and visualization that are extraordinarily
useful in healing old traumas, confronting death anxieties, finishing
'old business', learning to forgive, and enhancing self-esteem.
Meditation frees persons from tenacious preoccupation with the past
and future and allows them to fully experience life's precious moments.
Many men and women tend to live in a state of perpetual motion and
expectation that prevents them from appreciating the gifts that
each moment gives us. We live life in a state of insufficiency,
waiting for a mother to love us, for a father to be kind to us,
for the perfect job or home, for Prince Charming to come along or
to become a perfect person. It's a mythology that keeps us from
being whole.
Meditation is a humble process that gently returns us to the now
of our lives and allows us to wake up and re-evaluate the way that
we live our lives. |
| Depression |
| Feelings of helplessness, hopelessness and isolation
are hallmarks of depression-the nation's most prevalent mental health
problem. Meditation increases self-confidence and feelings of connection
to others. Many studies have shown that depressed people feel much
better after eliciting the relaxation response. |
| Panic attacks |
| Sometimes anxiety becomes paralyzing and people
feel (wrongly) that they are about to suffer some horrible fate.
Panic attacks are often treated with drugs, but studies show that
if people who are prone to panic attacks begin focused, meditative
breathing the instant they feel the first signs of an episode, they
are less likely to have a full-blown panic attack. |
| Meditation Posture |
| The first step in meditation is correct physical
posture. We commonly describe this in terms of a sevenfold physical
posture called the "Seven Points of Vairocana." The position
of one's body has a very direct and powerful effect on the state
of one's mind. There is a very strong connection between body and mind. At the subtle level, body consists of the outer and inner forms. The outer form is our physical body, and the inner forms are the channels and prana. It is said that if the body is straight or erect, the channels are straight; and if the channels are straight, then the wind-prana flows straight. When the channels and prana are straight, then mind becomes balanced, calm and clear. So having a correct and upright posture causes one's mind naturally to come to rest in a state of tranquillity or peace. |
| Preparation of Meditation Seat |
| The second posture is the gaze of the eyes. The
eyes are neither made to open wide, nor are they closed. Their lids
are half-lowered, and the gaze is angled slightly downward in the
direction of the tip of one's nose. The reason for this is that
if one's eyes are wide open, and one is looking outward, then one's
mind will tend to follow visual perception. On the other hand, if
one's eyes are closed, one tends to become dull. This posture describes
a happy medium between the two extremes of gaze. |
| Posture of the Back |
| The third posture is the back, or spine. One
sits upright and keeps the back straight, like an arrow. |
| Posture of the Shoulders |
| The fourth posture is to keep the shoulders even
and relaxed. One refrains from sitting with one shoulder higher
than the other, holding the shoulders them at the same height. |
| Posture of the Head |
| The fifth posture is bending or slightly hooking
the throat, which actually straightens the back of the neck, but
to an excessive degree. The chin is tucked in slightly. |
| Posture of the Mouth |
| The sixth posture is slightly opening one’s mouth
and leaving some space between one’s upper and lower sets of teeth
– enough that, if one had to, one could breath through the mouth.
The mouth is not clamped shut. |
| Posture of Tongue |
| The seventh posture is to place the tongue so
that the tip or front of the tongue touches the palate. |
| Posture of the Hands |
| The placement of the hands is not part of the seventh posture, but a few alternatives are taught. In the “gesture of meditation”, one hand is placed palm upright in the other one, which is also palm upright. Alternately, the hands may be placed palm downward on the legs just behind the knees. |
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