Eleven Ways MeditationCan Heip You SurviveTine 21st Century

With Stephan Bodian,author ot Meditation for Dummies®

Photo© AISPIX by Image Source/Shutterstock

Page 20

These days, it feels like everything is a race:a race to get all the boxes on your to-do

list checked off. A race to make it to the nextrung of the professional ladder. A race to keepup with and perhaps even beat out "theJoneses." A race to make sure your kids havethe perfect academic, extracurricular, andpersonal qualifications so that they can getinto a good college. A race to make sure all thebills get paid, even though you're on a re-duced budget.

However, instead of building the perfectlives we want, what we're really doing is rac-ing each other into the ground...and over theedge. If this last description of manic modernlife sounds all too familiar, it's high time youstepped off the merry-go-round (for at leastfive to ten minutes), sat down in a quiet place,and participated in a simple practice that hasbeen around for millennia: meditation.

"When people operate on low marginswith time and money (which is everybody I

know right now), their stress levels can go through the roof," points out Stephan Bodian, au-thor of Meditation For Dummies'^, 3rd Edition, (Wiley, August 2012). "In many ways, medita-tion is the perfect antidote to the postmodern predicament because it effectively reducesstress, increases energy, and enables you to enjoy better overall health...and much more."

vwwv. NafuraiUfeMagazine, com

"Since our culture programs us to expect a perfect lifethat is impossible to achieve, our best efforts only causeus to become overstressed, overscheduled, overstimu-lated, and overtired," explains Bodian. "This is all com-pounded by the fact that your body and mind have beenprogrammed to respond to life's inevitable ups anddowns with stress, anxiety, and dissatisfaction. But youhave the power to change all of that through meditation.You can program yourself to experience inner peace, har-mony, equanimity, and joy."

Before any faise assumptions you're harboring causeyou to give up on meditation before you even begin,Bodian assures that you can keep it simple (you'll seepositive results after just five to ten minutes of medita-tion a day) or explore the practice's subtleties in greatdepth. It's entirely up to you.

If you're intrigued but still not entirely sure that medi-tation is for you, then read on for eleven more reasonswhy this ancient practice can help you live your best,most healthy and fulfilling life.

Improving your mental and physical health. If you'rea skeptic at heart, then you'll be reassured to know thatstudies have proven that meditation offers numerousbenefits, including:• Lower blood pressure• Ouicker recovery from stress• Fewer heart attacks and strokes• Reduced cholesterol levels• Muscie relaxation• Reduction in the intensity of pain• More happiness and peace of mind• More ioving, harmonious relationships• Enhanced creativity and self-actualization• Reductions in both acute and chronic anxiety• Heightened perceptual clarity and sensitivity• ...and much more!

"While scientific studies of meditation weren't con-ducted until the 1930s (and have really taken off in thepast ten to fifteen years), practitioners have been experi-encing these significant benefits for centuries upon cen-turies," points out Bodian.

Awakening to the present moment. When you rushbreathlessly from one moment to the next, anticipatinganother problem or anticipating a coming pleasure, youmiss the beauty and immediacy of the present, which isconstantly enfolding before your eyes. "Meditationteaches you to slow down and take each moment as it co-mes - the sounds of traffic, the smeli of new clothes, thelaughter of chiidren, the coming and going of yourbreath," expiains Bodian. "In fact, as the meditative tradi-

tion reminds us, only the present moment exists anyway- the past is just a memory and the future is a fantasy."

Making friends with yourself. When you're con-stantly trying to live up to expectations (your own orsomeone eise's) and adapt to an ever-changing, competi-tive environment, you rareiy have the opportunity or themotivation to get to know yourseif just the way you are.But when you meditate, you iearn to welcome every ex-perience and facet of your being without judgment or de-niai. You begin to treat yourseif as you would a closefriend, accepting (and even loving) the whole package.

Connecting more deeply with others. As you awakento the present moment and open your heart and mind toyour own experience, you naturaily extend this quality ofawareness and presence to your family and friends. Andwhen you start to accept others the way they are - a skillyou can cultivate through the practice of meditation -you open up the channels for a deeper love and intimacyto flow between you.

Relaxing the body and calming the mind. As contem-porary heaith researchers have discovered - and tradi-tional texts agree - mind and body are inseparable, andan agitated mind inevitably produces a stressed-outbody. "As the mind setties, relaxes, and opens duringmeditation, so does the body - and the ionger you medi-tate (I mean both minutes logged each day as weli as daysand weeks of regular practice), the more this peace andrelaxation rippies out to every area of your life, includingyour heaith," says Bodian.

Lightening up! Have you ever thought and worriedyourself into an uncontrollable frenzy...or even a melt-down? It's easy to do: fears feed on one another, prob-lems get magnified exponentially, and the next thing youknow, you're feeling overwhelmed, panicked, and des-perate to take a leave of absence from your own life. "Thegood news is, meditation encourages an inner mentalspaciousness in which difficulties and concerns no iongerseem so threatening, and constructive solutions can nat-uraliy arise," promises Bodian. "Meditation also fosters acertain detachment that allows for greater objectivity,perspective, and even humor."

Enjoying more happiness. Research reveals that thedaily practice of meditation for just a few months actuallymakes people happier, as measured not only by theirsubjective reports but also by brain-mapping technology.In fact, meditation is apparently one of the only thingsthat can permanently change your emotional set point -your basic level of relative happiness that scientists saystays the same throughout your life, no matter what youexperience. |>

wvjw. NafuralUfeMagazine. com Page 21

Experiencing focus and flow. Have you ever been sofully involved in an activity that all sense of self-con-sciousness, time, and distraction dissolved? If so, you'veexperienced what psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihaiyicalls a state of flow. "You might experience a state of flowwhen you're creating a work of art, playing a sport, work-ing in the garden, or even making love," explains Bodian."Athletes call it being "in the zone." Through meditation,you can discover how to give the same focused attentionto - and derive the same enjoyment from—every activ-ity."

Feeling more centered, grounded, and balanced. Formany people, living in an increasingly flat and rap-idly-changing world can foster feelings of insecurity andof not having a "place" to call one's own. To counterthese negative mindsets, meditation offers an innergroundedness and balance that external circumstancescan't destroy.

Enhancing your performance at work and at play.Studies have shown that basic meditation practice alonecan enhance your perceptual clarity, creativity, self-actu-alization, and many of the other factors that contributeto superior performance. Plus, specific meditations havebeen devised to enhance performance in a variety of ac-tivities, ranging from sports to schoolwork.

Aligning with a deeper sense of purpose. When youpractice making the shift from doing and thinking to be-ing (one way to describe this is fully experiencing thepresent moment with love and without ego), you'll dis-cover how to align yourself with a deeper current ofmeaning and belonging. "For instance, you might get intouch with personal feelings and aspirations that havelong remained hidden from your conscious awareness,"suggests Bodian.

"If there's any such thing as a magic bullet that canhelp you survive and even thrive throughout the 21stCentury, then meditation is it," assures Bodian. "If you al-low it to become a regular part of your life, it will relieveyour stress, disappointment, fear, anger, outrage, andhurt while focusing your energy, making you more effec-tive, and even improving your mental and physicalhealth."

Stephan Bodian is the author of Meditation For Dum-mies®, 3rd Edition. He is a licensed psychotherapist andformer editor of Yoga Journal, has practiced and taughtmeditation for over forty years, and has written exten-sively on meditation, stress management, and spiritual-ity. His articles have appeared in Fitness, Cooking Light,Natural Solutions, and other national magazines. - NL -

Tips for Beginning Meditators

Meditation is simply a mental discipline by whichwe move beyond the conditioned, "thinking"

mind into a deeper state of self-awareness.

• Find a quiet environment without distractions,especially at the beginning. If you meditate tomusic, be sure it's calm, soothing, and repetitive soyou don't get distracted by listening to it.

• Whether you sit on a chair or cross-legged on thefloor or a cushion, make sure that your spine isupright with head up. If you are slumped, yourmind will drift and you'll deny yourself the benefitof getting extra oxygen into your lungs.

• Try and keep your eyes open; just lower your eyesand soften your gaze.

• Relax all your muscles. Some people find it helpfulto systematically tense and relax each muscle,beginning with your feet and working upwards.

• Be present in the moment and focus on whateveryou place in the center of your awareness-such asyour breath streaming in and out of your body.Don't try to regulate your breathing. But if you'rehaving trouble settling in to your meditation, trycounting your breath. On the outbreath, silentlycount "one," then "two," and up to "four."Whenever you notice your thoughts have strayed,simply return to "one." Many people find it helpfulto say a mantra while visualizing breathing in goodenergy and letting out bad energy.

• When you notice thoughts or emotions, gently letthem go, without judgment, by returning yourfocus to your breathing.

• Set aside some time each day and commit to usingit to meditate, until it becomes routine. (They don'tcall it "practice" for nothing!) Start with tenminutes and don't force yourself to meditatelonger if you are not ready to. When it feels right,add a few minutes and build up to a half hour or so.That's a length that allows you to settle your mindwithout causing too much stress on your body.

—Wendy Priesnitz

Learn MoreMeditation for Dummies by Stephan Bodian (Wiley, 2012)

Guided Mindfulness Meditation CD by Jon Kabat-Zinn(Sounds True, 2012)

Quiet Mind: A Beginner's Guide to Meditation CD and bookby Susan Piver and others (Shambhala, 2008)

Page 22 wvwv. NafuralLifeMagazine. cam

Copyright of Natural Life is the property of Life Media and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple

sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print,

download, or email articles for individual use.