If I told you that I meditated ten years ago, you would have probably pictured me wearing an orange toga with my head shaved and living in Nepal. However, today, meditation is increasingly popular, but there are still some people who do not entirely believe in the benefits of meditation, or simply cannot stay still for more than five minutes. This article is for those of you who maybe haven't had the chance to experience the benefits of meditating. There’s another term that has also become popular these days: Mindfulness. Mindfulness is a type of meditation were you become present, and even if you do not practice other forms of meditation, being present is something that will undeniably help you feel better and enjoy life more. But for those skeptics about meditation, here is some scientific food for thought: several studies have proven that meditation, especially ones focused on breathing, can affect you to a biological level.
Because we are in October, breast cancer awareness month, let’s start with a study from the journal Cancer, where researchers from Canada were able to detect positive changes on a cellular level when a focus group of breast cancer patients went through meditation and mindfulness, compared to the control group that was not following a practice1. Furthermore, Dr. Arthur C. Guyton, author of what can probably be today’s most used physiology book, theorized that a lack of oxygen on a cellular level was in part responsible for chronic pain and diseases like cancer2. Similarly, when it comes to breathing focused meditation, the Colorado Cancer Center revealed a study where it was proven that tumors with a higher lack of oxygen where more aggressive than those where more oxygen was received3. If this is not enough, Harvard Medical School published a study that revealed that meditation and mindfulness reduced the participants insomnia and anxiety, so if you are having trouble going to sleep, maybe a little practice can help you.
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Moreover, meditation can have an effect on your hormones. We live in a world were stress is as popular as the Kardashians, and with stress, our fight-or-flight reaction is ignited ever so often. This reaction triggers the hormones cortisol and adrenaline, which are beneficial to your body, but when released in high quantities can increase your blood sugar and weaken your immune system. Meditation can lower your cortisol and adrenaline levels to help you not only manage your stress levels, but also improve your health. Also, meditation can influence dopamine. Dopamine is commonly known as one of the happy hormones, yet it also affects your memory and attention, which are crucial to keep those grades up. Meditation can increase your dopamine levels, which doesn’t necessarily translate into more As, but you can definitely have a better study session.
Last but not least, if you are a skeptic, it might be that you are a Type A personality, and it might be challenging for you to quiet the voice in your head that keeps on repeating and reminding you your to-do list for today, the rest of the week, and the rest of the month. Well, the good news is that meditation, and especially mindfulness, is one of those things that you cannot get wrong. Both mediation and mindfulness are about practice (if you are a perfectionist, you can stick to the idea that practice makes perfect). When you want to start meditating, and you are a Type A, you will want to ‘master’ the practice on your first try. This will be possible, but only if you focus on quality over quantity. Do not try to meditate for 30 minutes on your first try because you will likely end up falling asleep or driving yourself crazy. Instead, try to meditate for two to five minutes, and be consistent for at least the first ten days. Meditation and mindfulness are about non-judgmental practice, where you acknowledge the whole experience, your presence, and your awareness. If you love to multitask, and believe that you can’t meditate because you will never stop thinking about everything you could be doing at the same time, embrace the plethora of things you are surrounded with. For example, if you decide to go to the park and sit on the grass, you do not need to focus only on the grass. Hold on to the presence of the grass, the trees, the air, your breathing, the taste in your mouth, even the sound of traffic. Becoming aware of these things in your environment is the start to mindfulness.
There are many ways to meditate, from being present in the moment, to controlling and focusing your breathing, to seating in complete stillness, to chanting with crystals and incense. Whatever you choose your practice to be, remember the infinite benefits for our mind, body and spirit that it can bring to our fast-paced, never quiet, always running lives we have today. If you are a skeptic, you can still be one, but only if you have given yourself a chance to try, even if it is just for a couple of minutes.
