“If a person’s basic state of mind is serene and calm, then it is possible for this
inner peace to overwhelm a painful physical experience
.”
- The Dalai Lama. According to Buddhist Monks who have been practicing Meditation for thousand years, a clear and peaceful state of mind can be achieved through this practice. It focuses on an object, visualization, the breath, movement or attention itself to increase awareness of the present moment and to reduce stress. Thus,
meditation should be prescribed as a complementary therapy for the prevention of many stress-related conditions.
Since the early 1960s the practice of Meditation has called the attention of many prominent scientists and as a result, studies of the physiological effects of meditation began. An investigation carried out by the Professor of Medicine Herbert Benson at Harvard University, arrived to the conclusion that mediation alters the chemistry of the brain increasing the perception of positive emotions and balancing the mechanisms associated to stress. Besides, researchers at Washington University found out that Meditation reduces the level of cortisol, which is a stress hormone; subjects who meditated during eight weeks were compared to those who did not, and the former performed better on stressful multitasking tests. Statistics on Meditation in the west culture have shown it has improved lifestyles of people suffering from stress-related conditions. According to the authors Roth and Creaser, a group of inner-city residents suffering from chronic pain, anxiety, depression and hypertension were trained in meditation. As a result, they experienced a 50% reduction in overall psychiatric symptoms, a 70% decrease in anxiety, and a 44% reduction in medical symptoms. What is more, an investigation carried out by Gregg Jacobs at Harvard Medical School arrived to the conclusion that
75
% of long-term insomniacs who have been trained in meditation can fall asleep within 20 minutes after going to bed. To conclude, Meditation should be recommended for patients suffering from conditions triggered by stress. In the recent years scientists and Doctors have shown interest in the effects meditation practice has in people undergoing stressful situations; it should be noticed that many prestigious Universities such as Harvard and Washington have invested their efforts in researching, and undoubtedly, the results are conclusive: Meditation is a key tool to cope with stress-related conditions. Then, through Meditation one can turn to the inner peace to calm down the pain caused by stressful experiences.