Did you know that you have the power to change your mind and that one of the best ways to do this is through meditation?
This is revealed by an interesting article published in the journal Scientific American, written by Matthieu Ricard, a Buddhist monk and cell biologist, with Antoine Lutz, a leader in the study of the neurobiology of meditation and Richard J. Davidson, pioneer in estudio. de the science of meditation.
- The University of Wisconsin in the United States has conducted research for nearly 15 years.
- In collaboration with 19 other universities.
- On more than 100 monasteries of Buddhist monks.
- The study compared images of scanned brains of people with thousands of hours of meditation practice.
- And the findings were astonishing:.
? Anxiety and depression levels are lower
? Areas of the brain associated with feelings of empathy, compassion, and selfless love are more active.
? The size of the amygdala, the region of the brain involved in the process of fear, is smaller.
? It has positive effects on the telomerase molecule, which is responsible for lengthening DNA segments at the ends of chromosomes; is the enzyme that facilitates cellular immortality in most cancerous processes.
Unbelievable, isn’t it? Faced with this, we must ask ourselves whether meditation should be a habit in our daily routine, if we want to have a better quality of life; Just as we all gradually realize that we need to eat a healthy diet, exercise as much as possible every day, and abandon harmful habits like smoking and alcohol, perhaps we should also think about starting to practice it, given the benefits of meditation.
Anxiety, stress, depression and cancer are the great evils of our century, on the other hand, referring to the benefits of meditation mentioned above, the truth is that we all increasingly feel the need to be a little more altruistic and empathetic in a competitive society that often devours us.
Here are some suggestions that can help
Reading a book on the subject written by a good meditation expert can be an important first step. Buddhist meditation? De Ramiro Calle, professor and writer of yoga and pioneer in the implementation of this discipline in Spain. It is currently one of the main authorities in this area; With more than 100 written works, also the product of his hundred trips to India with the mission of studying and understanding the way of life of its inhabitants, he is a writer who has much to tell us. Your book?100 trips to the heart of India?was a tribute to a life dedicated to knowing the peoples, customs and philosophy of this fascinating country.
Take part in a meditation class. There are many free courses that include food and accommodation, if the person feels that the course was really worth it, once completed, they will only make a donation based on their ability.
Learn to meditate for yourself
? Choose a quiet place where no one interrupts you.
? Sit in a very comfortable position with your right column.
? Take a deep breath, exhaling slowly. To concentrate you can keep your attention on your breathing or in your stomach, if you are a curious person learn and choose the type of meditation that best suits your personality: Zen meditation, vipassana meditation, etc. We encourage you to explore different types of meditation.
Be consistent, experiment, try to do some meditation every day, you can start with 5 or 10 minutes and you will gradually realize that you will incorporate this practice into your lifestyle and see the results.
Among the benefits of meditation, we can also mention the fact that one feels more relaxed, that one is accepted and that does not fall so easily into negative and/or repetitive thoughts.