Why Meditate? And you don't need to sit cross-legged on a mountain BTW...

If you follow our podcast (Podcast in Your Pocket – available on YouTube) you’ll know how much I love a nerdy fact. So, I’ve collected a whole load here for you!

I often write about mindfulness, the different forms of mindfulness and how it helps, but I don’t often write about meditation, even though learning to meditate is one of the most helpful skills we can develop to support our mindfulness and has many of its own benefits. So… let’s take a (slightly nerdy) look at the practice of meditation.

What is meditation anyway?

People have variously described meditation as:

• Finding a still place within, a natural state of being.

  
  

• A discipline and routine that allows one to find a place of quiet awareness, altered states of consciousness or heightened consciousness.

  
  

• Time for you, a way of getting to know yourself and what makes you you.

  
  

• A tool for stress reduction, healing and spiritual development which is adaptable and personal.

  
  

• A way of acknowledging and letting go.

  
  

• ‘…a voyage of inner discovery’ which may be purely to find peace or can be a ‘profound and illuminating learning experience.’ (William Bloom, Meditation in a Changing World, 1987)

My own definition of meditation is that it is a discipline which helps a person find their still place within, their natural state of being. It is a gift of time for yourself which clears the mind, heals the body and allows quiet awareness to develop. It is not prescriptive, complicated or necessarily religious but personal, adaptable and connecting.

What meditation isn’t:

Meditation is not daydreaming, or simply relaxing. It doesn’t have to be part of a religious practice or be prescriptive with dogma. It doesn’t need to be complicated or involve physical poses and is not necessarily time consuming; some benefits can be experienced quickly. It is not about stopping thoughts either, but about accepting and acknowledging them before either releasing or transforming them; neither does it require over intellectualising. It does not require special equipment or places; both are a matter of choice.

A bit of history

Archaeological evidence suggests that humans have practised some form of meditation or contemplation since the earliest times. Cave art is highly likely to be linked with religious practices as are early sculptures, and tribes who still produce such artefacts hold contemplation in high regard suggesting that early humans did likewise; possibly entering trance like states whilst gazing into the fire for example. Recent discoveries have shown that humans were creating art much earlier than previously thought, signifying the importance of aspects of life that were not just concerned with survival but which involved some form of contemplation of the meaning of life from our earliest ancestors.

Meditation has always been part of religions and philosophies. The earliest recorded formal religious practices and beliefs come from the Indus Valley and were the beginnings of Hinduism as we know it today. Within Hinduism is a long central belief in silent contemplation, or Dhyana, meaning journey or movement of the mind. The earliest scriptures, the Tantras, were written around 5000 years ago and include the first written evidence of meditation.

Around 500 BC, Gautama Siddhartha founded a new branch of Hindu practice which eventually became formalised as the religion of Buddhism. This religion is primarily concerned with developing spiritual enlightenment through silent contemplation, “effortlessly remaining in what is”, and its core teachings are persevered in ancient Buddhist texts. Zen, a branch of Mahayana Buddhism, is one of the major modern schools of meditation which seeks to attain enlightenment through meditation on our Buddha nature and is closely linked with Mindfulness practices.

Although prayer and contemplation had always been part of Jewish and Christian practice, it was not until the first century AD that groups of esoteric practitioners began to devote themselves solely to this tradition. The first Christian monks left the towns in favour of the desert, creating a quiet sanctuary in which to contemplate the soul and soon this practice spread to become known as the ‘Desert Fathers and Mothers’. Many joined them in their simple, contemplative lifestyle which formed the beginnings of the monastic movement. Around the same time a group of Jewish mystics resurrected the Kabbalistic tradition, and this movement grew as more became initiated. The word Kabbalah means ‘received tradition’ and is reached through the higher planes of consciousness as one experiences union with God, a constant source of comfort, wisdom and joy.

Islam also experienced a mystical awakening around this time and the branch known as Sufism developed, focusing on personal piety. Sufis developed mystical techniques through which it was possible to enter into communion with God combining esoteric practices of the early Christian mystics with the mystery schools of ancient Egypt. Sufis today would claim that Jesus and Mohammed were both Sufis.

The modern, popular idea of meditation comes from the Transcendental Movement, brought to the West by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, which has its origins in Hinduism. During the 1960s bands such as the Beatles popularised this method and, with the spread of the Hare Krishna movement in America, Hindu meditation techniques became mainstream and incorporated into various therapies.

Since the 1970s a new form, Mindfulness, developed in Massachusetts. This form appeals to the more secular, evidence-based culture and has been welcomed by large corporations as combative to stress, illness and pain. Endorsed by the medical fraternity and psychologists this has reawakened the modern world’s interest in contemplation, silence and self-healing.

So why practice meditation today?

Meditators have long claimed that meditation has a profound, long-term effect on cognitive and psychological functions however, scientists can now demonstrate the physiological changes in brain structure that occur, suggesting that the benefits of meditation are more than just transitory feelings of peace and relaxation.

Using techniques such as Positron Emission Tomography (PET), functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), regional Cerebral Blood Flow (rCBF) and electroencephalogram machines (EEG), it has been possible to monitor exactly which changes take place in the brain during meditation, as well as long-term changes to the brain’s structure. MRI imaging has shown that the amygdala’s grey matter, the gland associated with fear and aggression, is seen to shrink; leaving an overall increase in positive brain activity and decrease in negative, stressful activity.

The measurably thicker tissue which develops in the left prefrontal cortex as a result of regular meditation can reverse ageing and memory loss and promote wellbeing (study led by Sara Lazar of Harvard University 2005) whilst the brain’s neuroplasticity (the ability to form new neural pathways) means that regular practice can not only reverse destructive thought patterns but also physical damage to the brain through accident and stroke. Using chemical dye to show newly formed neurons proves that neurogenesis occurs until the point of death, meaning that new patterns can be created at any point in life. Professor Richard Davidson has spent decades researching the effects of meditation on neuroplasticity and there are now thousands of studies which demonstrate the processes involved.

As well as reducing the size of the fear centres in the brain, the areas associated with pain processing have also been demonstrated to reduce in activity meaning that we now understand the link between meditation and pain reduction.

Dr. Fred Travis, neuroscientist, used EEG on eight hundred patients over twenty years studying Transcendental Meditation and found that patterns have remained remarkably similar. During T.M. the Frontal lobes (Left and Right) change very quickly from high intensity beta waves (our normal alert conscious state) to alpha waves which are lower frequency and are associated with a relaxed, calm state. Further studies have also identified theta waves, very low-frequency brain waves associated with deep relaxation, creativity and imagination, to be present during deep meditation. These studies also demonstrate that this state remains after meditation has ended, confirming that lasting effects on our lives are produced. Gamma rays have also been detected in long term meditators and are associated with transcendence. These are different from delta waves, produced during deep sleep, indicating that meditation is a completely different process and not related to sleep states.

Physiological changes in the body have also been documented. Dr. Herbert Benson began studying what he called the ‘Relaxation Response’ in the 1970s and since then numerous medical studies have confirmed that regular meditation has helped or cured conditions such as asthma, bowel problems, auto-immune illnesses, rheumatoid arthritis and many others. It has also been demonstrated to improve the immune system, activate or switch off genes, improve cancer survival rates and reduce heart attacks.

One suggested cause is stress reduction. Hyperactivation of the Sympathetic Nervous System produces damaging stress hormones such as adrenalin and cortisol. Since the 1960s the occurrence of heart attacks in younger men has significantly increased (around thirteen years earlier in each generation) as the levels of recorded stress have soared. The 1999 U.S. Senate report concluded that stress contributed to a host of medical conditions that current medical practice could not adequately treat. Regular meditation, however, reduces stress and increases production of hormones such as oxytocin which boost the immune system. A 2004 mindfulness study showed that as participants’ emotional and social functioning improved, so did their general health and vitality. Studies by Jon Kabat Zinn and others have also demonstrated the benefits to chronic conditions, showing significantly reduced pain and decreased drug use.

One suggested cause of stress is the constant stimulation of Beta waves, resulting from our modern lifestyle. An Fmri study at Emory University demonstrated that meditators were much better at ignoring the bombardment of stimuli whilst performing tasks, suggesting not only improved concentration but an ability to filter out unnecessary stress triggers.

And there’s more…

MRI images from the MGH Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program 2011 have not only found increased grey-matter density in the hippocampus, important for learning and memory, but in structures associated with self-awareness, compassion, and introspection. Amishi Jha, a University of Miami neuroscientist who investigates mindfulness-training’s effects on individuals in high-stress situations, says,

“These results shed light on the mechanisms of action of mindfulness-based training. They demonstrate that the first-person experience of stress can not only be reduced with an eight-week mindfulness training program but that this experiential change corresponds with structural changes in the amygdala, a finding that opens doors to many possibilities for further research on MBSR’s potential to protect against stress-related disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Importantly, this study also showed that all meditation methods produce similar outcomes supporting earlier studies by Benson which demonstrated that TM, Zen and Yoga-based meditation all decrease oxygen consumption, respiratory rate, heart rate and blood pressure, whilst Alpha waves increased. These were conclusive results compared with other forms of relaxation which were inconclusive.

Whilst these studies show clear evidence that any type of regular meditation brings measurable benefits, more recent studies are showing that we can now pinpoint specific practices for specific situations, conditions & needs. Modern mindfulness can involve anything from a one-minute breath practice to a forty-five-minute body scan, and we can tailor our practise to suit our individual needs and lifestyle.

Whilst it is true that a fifteen-minute meditation will produce benefits that a three-minute breath practice cannot, the science shows that just three minutes a day will produce measurable benefits, and anything we can do to reduce our stress levels is worth doing.

So, to answer the original question – why meditate? My answer would be, why not?

You have nothing to lose except a bit of time, and if you swap some of the time you currently spent worrying for a bit of time practising some stress reduction skills, it’s a win. We are creatures who need to meditate (or practise something similar), it’s a skill we used to have but have lost, and now we need it more than ever.

If you want to practice some meditation, there are free recordings available on my YouTube channel here, and you are always welcome to join me once a month for a free online class. Also, have a look at my resources pages here and here for links to other free resources you can use, the researchers' & their websites, and recommended reading.

Until next time, take care,

Natalie x