As a reader of this blog, you know by now that meditation is linked to all kinds of health benefits—physical, mental, and spiritual.

I’ve written about many studies that have shown meditation to be beneficial for certain issues, such as insomnia or stress. However, I ran across one study that is more general in nature. What I like about this study, which links meditation to better overall well being and health, is that it really shows how meditation benefits everyone.

The study centered around participants who were considered “long-term” meditators, which simply means that they had been meditating for at least two years. What researchers found is that these people were more than 10% better off than the general population.

The original article linking meditation to better health and well being was published at MedicalXpress. The lead researcher had some interesting things to say:

“’We found that the health and wellbeing profile of people who had meditated for at least two years was significantly higher in the majority of health and wellbeing categories when compared to the Australian population,’ said Dr. Ramesh Manocha, Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of Psychiatry, Sydney Medical School, who led the research.”

According to Dr. Manocha’s findings, it is the periods of mental silence that really produced the results. The majority of study participants, 84%, reported experiencing periods of mental silence at least once or twice per day.  The length of this mental silence was simply defined as “more than a few minutes at a time.”

While Dr. Manocha and his team expected “that there would be some differences between the meditators and the general population we didn’t expect the findings to be so pronounced. We repeated large components of the survey several times to confirm our results and got the same outcomes.”

Dr. Manocha concluded that his research, along with that from other clinical trials, makes a strong case for meditation as a primary strategy for prevention. I couldn’t agree more.

While the study doesn’t provide anything that most of you reading this blog didn’t already know, I always find it fascinating when scientific studies back up what the sages have known for centuries.

If you haven’t started your meditation practice, why not take 5 minutes today and give it a try? You’ve got nothing to lose and so much to gain—even if it’s just better overall wellbeing and health. Who doesn’t want that?

For more information and to have most of your questions answered, please read the original article at MedicalXpress.

Enjoy, and happy meditating!

Pretty presumptuous title, huh? But when the definition of the meaning of life comes through one of my primary mentors, I am interested and want to pass on the wisdom I’ve gained.

As most of my readers know, I was educated extensively at Chopra Center University, which was founded by Dr. Deepak Chopra and Dr. David Simon. While Deepak Chopra, physician, friend, and consultant to the stars, is a household name these days, Dr. David Simon isn’t quite as familiar.

Dr. Simon and Dr. Chopra were partners for more than 20 years, founding The Chopra Center together. Though Dr. Simon wasn’t as well known as Dr. Chopra, he was equally interesting and credentialed.

Both men have degrees in medicine, Dr. Simon as a neurologist, Dr. Chopra as an endocrinologist. Both have studied Vedic wisdom and ancient Indian texts. In fact, David and Deepak used to jokingly say that they probably crossed in the air, Dr. Simon on his way to India and Dr. Chopra on his way to America.

I’ve have been so very fortunate to have much interaction with both of these amazing teachers over the last several years. Especially with Dr. David Simon. That’s why his untimely passing earlier this year was such a shock and an immeasurable loss.

You might be familiar with a conscious business consultant named Max Simon. Max is the eldest child of Dr. David Simon, and he is a respectable and accomplished man in his own right. I’ll let you check out Max’s credentials for yourself. I bring him up because he is the one who posted a video about a recent conversation he had with Deepak Chopra. During that conversation, Deepak imparted some timeless and compelling wisdom on Max. Max was kind enough to share that wisdom in a video presentation.

Please enjoy Max’s video. I’d be curious as to what you think of Deepak’s theory on the meaning of life. Personally, I find it enlightening and compelling. I’m sold. 

Enjoy, and happy meditating!

A few of my articles have discussed when it’s best to meditate. I covered the topic last year in my post about the practical aspects of meditation and have mentioned it a few other times. However, since there seems to be a bit of reader confusion, I figured I should clarify the point a bit, especially when it comes to meditation and sleep.

This is from my article published in October 2011:

“The best time to meditate is shortly after waking, preferably between 5am and 7am. While some people jump out of bed and go meditate, I have a habit of doing a couple of minor physical activities, such as making my bed, so my body knows that I’m awake and doesn’t want to fall asleep again in meditation.

“Many traditions recommend meditating twice per day. If that is the case with your technique, the next best time to meditate is early evening, preferably between 5pm and 7pm.

“Don’t try to meditate just before bed. Using meditation as a tool to fall asleep is counterproductive. If you do this, your body will associate meditation with sleep and you’ll have a VERY hard time staying awake long enough to complete the practice.”

You want your meditation practice to become just that—a regular practice, distinct from any other activity. Over time, you’ll find that your body and mind become accustomed to the practice, making it easier for you to enter a meditative state quickly.

Meditating at the same time every day, in the same place every day, and in the same sitting position every day are just a few of the habits that can help your body learn that it’s time to meditate.

When you meditate right before bedtime, however, you’re likely to fall asleep. Your body already associates lying down in general with sleeping, so you’re at a disadvantage if you’re not meditating in a sitting position. Your body also knows when it’s bedtime, so if you lie down (even if you sit down) and close your eyes around bedtime, you are probably going to fall asleep before you conclude your meditation.

Since we know that meditation and sleep are not the same thing and that meditation provides its own enormous set of benefits, you’re sabotaging your own practice if you set yourself up to fall asleep during every meditation.

The other downside to meditating right before sleep—even if you can stay awake every time—is that meditation tends to make your mind clearer and more alert. Many of my students tell me that they feel much clearer mentally and more physically energized after completing their morning meditation. In fact, many wouldn’t miss that early morning appointment with themselves because it prepares them for their day, sharpening their minds and increasing their stamina.

In conclusion, remember that not all bodies are the same. I give the best meditation advice I can, but in the end you know yourself better than I do. Whatever time you choose to meditate will likely be the best time for you.

I hope this has been a helpful article for those who have expressed confusion about timing their meditation. Happy meditating!

I have stated my opinion in several articles on the practice of incorporating music into meditation. Since there seems to be some confusion about my position on this topic, I though it made sense to clarify.

First off, I do not agree with using music or any other type of artificial device (headphones, binaural beats, nature sounds, etc.) in your daily meditation practice. The purpose of meditation is to turn your attention inward, to reduce outside noise and take you deep into yourself. Music and other artificial stimuli exist outside yourself, and the sound will tend to draw your attention outward.

That being said, I think it’s great to supplement your daily meditation practice with other techniques. If you’ve completed your morning meditation, perhaps try adding some light, quiet music to your evening meditation. Or if you’re going through a particularly stressful period, try relaxing and meditating with music that’s designed for that purpose after you’ve completed your daily meditation practice.

I feel the same way about biofeedback machines and products like Holosync. I think they are fantastic, but I think they should be used in addition to your regular meditation–not instead of.

At the bottom of this post I’ve included an example of a multimedia presentation incorporating music and some relaxing visuals. This is the kind of thing that is perfect to supplement your meditation practice. If you need some relaxation, give something like this video a try, perhaps just before bedtime. As you know, if you’re a regular reader, I absolutely do NOT advocate meditation right before going to sleep, so this video (or something similar) is a fantastic alternative.

Enjoy the presentation, which combines royalty free new age music with images taken from the author’s trip to Colorado. Happy meditating!

Insomnia is a condition affecting more than 1.5 million Americans every year, according to a 2006 national analysis conducted by the National Institutes of Health. While I don’t have statistics for other countries, I am relatively certain that today’s stressful times have people worldwide suffering from sleepless nights.

If you’re struggling with insomnia, you already know how difficult it is to get through a day on just a couple of hours sleep. You likely feel not only tired but perhaps disoriented, “spaced out,” disconnected, foggy headed, and maybe even dizzy. Chances are you aren’t making good decisions (if you can even make them at all), and it’s likely that your brain isn’t working as well as it should when it comes to problem solving and other day to day activities. Your physical energy is low, and you just don’t feel like yourself.

But did you know that lack of sleep contributes to a number of other health problems and diseases? Obesity is a big one. If you’re having trouble losing weight, take a look at your sleep habits. Getting enough quality sleep is key to maintaining proper weight.

According to an article by Dr. Joseph Mercola, some of the other consequences of too little sleep are:

• High blood sugar levels and an increased risk of diabetes
• Accelerated aging
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Depression
• Increased risk of cancer

Insomnia can also exacerbate certain diseases and conditions, including:

• Parkinson’s Disease
• Gastrointestinal tract disorders
• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Kidney disease
• Multiple sclerosis (MS)
• Behavioral problems in children

Dr. Mercola also states, “According to another study, people with chronic insomnia also have a three times greater risk of dying from any cause.  Sleep deprivation can even cause changes in your brain activity similar to those experienced by people with psychiatric disorders, and your body does most of its repairs during sleep, so not getting enough of it can impair your immune system, leaving you less able to fight off diseases of ALL kinds.”

To read Dr. Mercola’s entire article, click here: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/06/18/a-third-of-americans-dont-sleep-7-hours.aspx.

Drugs aren’t the answer to insomnia. In fact, drugs really aren’t the answer to almost any disease, in my non-medical opinion. (Remember, I’m not a medical professional, and I’m not giving medical advice. I’m stating an opinion.) Drug induced sleep isn’t natural sleep, and it won’t keep you healthy over the long term.

The good news is that meditation can help with insomnia. An article published in US News and World Report details a study in which researchers divided participants with insomnia into two groups. One group practiced meditation. The other group received information on improving health through nutrition, exercise, weight loss, and stress management but did not meditate.

“After two months, the meditation group reported improvements in sleep quality, how long it took to get to sleep, total sleep time, total wake time, sleep efficiency and depression, the researchers reported.”

To read more about the study, you can go here: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/sleep/articles/2009/06/09/meditation-may-help-put-primary-insomnia-to-bed.

Yet another wonderful reason to incorporate meditation into your life!

Enjoy, and happy meditating!

In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a big fan of alternative medicine and natural healing. J

While I realize that there’s a place for our western (allopathic) medical system—particularly for treatment of traumas and emergencies—I strongly believe that nearly all disease can be treated successfully through the use of alternative therapies.

I should state that I’m not a doctor or any kind of licensed medical health practitioner, and I’m not offering medical advice. I’m simply stating an opinion. And there are plenty of physicians and other health care professionals who wholeheartedly agree with me. Even the famed Dr. Oz tends toward natural healing. Then there’s Dr. Joseph Mercola, Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Al Sears, Dr. Andrew Weil, and Dr. Deepak Chopra, to name a few.

What got me on this tangent today is a piece I read in the Huffington Post. The article cites a recent study showing that more and more doctors are suggesting alternative therapies to patients:

“…a recent study in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine has found that three percent of people seeking out mind/body treatments, such as yoga, meditation, tai chi, deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation, are doing so based on a referral from a medical provider.”

The research found that meditation, guided imagery, deep breathing, yoga, and progressive muscle relaxation were the most suggested alternatives.

All of these practices actually tie together beautifully, and I’m proud to say that I’ve taught all of them.

If you’re reading this blog, by now you’re familiar with meditation. I assume that most of my readers are also familiar with yoga and deep breathing. Guided imagery is, essentially, guided meditation. Progressive muscle relaxation is a practice that I often incorporate into my guided meditations as well.

Though I’ve always believed in natural healing and therapies, it still excites me to see alternative medicine becoming more mainstream and accepted both by doctors and patients. I also find it encouraging that the top five recommended treatments can basically be rolled together under one larger umbrella: meditation.

You can find the original Huffington Post article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/25/complementary-treatments_n_866555.html?ref=meditation.

Enjoy, and happy meditating!

I was inspired to write this post because of an article I read on pop culture site Blogcritics.

It’s great to see meditation becoming more mainstream and accepted by people from all walks of life. A blog post on a site like Blogcritics is another great step in that direction.

What I like about the article is it’s timeliness. The author connects meditation with our troubled times, noting that the average person has many pressures and stressors every single day. Whether it’s financial worries, family trouble, employment issues, or any number of difficulties that life seems to throw at us every day, 21^st century living is complicated. It’s hard to believe, but I’ve read that we receive more information in a single day than our ancestors 100 years ago received in an entire lifetime!

The stress and pressure of daily demands wears on us mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. While there are numerous incredible remedies you can put into place to help offset the damage all this causes (proper diet, exercise, massage, other stress reduction methods), meditation is the only single technique I know of that is able to bring all of those aspects into harmony at the same time.

Meditation, as I’ve discussed, is a simple process of quieting down the mind. It unites mind, body, and spirit, allowing you to get in touch with your true self. Meditation will help you deal with life’s challenges and will also help you understand the things that matter most to you.

The original article talks about meditation for 30 minutes to an hour. That’s great if you have the time. In fact, I recommend 30 minutes twice per day as the optimal meditation time. However, I realize that not everyone can take an hour a day—at least not in the beginning.

If you’re brand new to meditation and pressed for time, I recommend you start with 5-10 minutes of simple meditation per day. Once you commit to that short amount of time on a regular basis, you’ll see the benefits and want to increase the time you spend in meditation.

There is one thing the article suggests that I don’t completely agree with: using music in meditation. I think music is best utilized during guided meditation where you have someone taking you through a unique process that often includes visualization. Using music in daily, non-guided meditation has the tendency to draw your attention outward. In meditation, our goal is to bring our attention inward and limit outside distractions.

Once you become more experienced with meditation, you can try utilizing music. I occasionally use CDs that are designed to take my meditative state deeper, and they do produce a nice effect most of the time. However, I consider this practice to be different, or supplemental, to my daily quiet time.

If you’re interested in reading the original article, you can get to it by clicking here. Enjoy, and happy meditating!

In a recent article by Lynne Eldridge, MD, I was happy to read that there have been studies conducted on the benefits of meditation for cancer patients. The fact that meditation helps people with cancer seems like a given to me, but as always it’s nice to see my beliefs confirmed by science.

The research apparently has only required 5 or 10 minutes of daily meditation per patient, so that makes the results even more impressive. From Dr. Eldridge’s article:

“What are some of the benefits of meditation for people living with cancer? A few of these include:

• Improved sleep
• Lower levels of stress hormones (these hormones may play a role in the development and in the spread of cancer)
• Less pain
• Less depression and anxiety
• A lower level of perceived stress
• Less fatigue
• Better cognitive functioning (it may help with that annoying symptom of chemobrain)”

While I’ve touched on all of these benefits in various posts on this blog, we now have scientific trials that back up what I’ve been saying all along. Even though this research is specific to cancer patients, everyone who practices meditation has the potential to achieve these results.

Dr. Eldridge is a cancer survivor herself, and she uses meditation to help her deal with the disease. Though she doesn’t claim to know if it has increased her survival odds, the doctor says it’s done wonders for her frame of mind and has helped her stay calm and relaxed.

If you’re interested in reading the full article, you can find it here: http://lungcancer.about.com/b/2012/04/30/meditation-may-help-people-with-lung-cancer-thrive.htm.

Enjoy, and happy meditating!

I can’t imagine a more stressful role than caregiver. Those of you who are in that role, whether willingly or reluctantly, know what an incredibly difficult job you have. If you’ve never been thrust into a caregiver’s position, take a moment to imagine the enormous responsibility of managing someone else’s daily life and well being, often on a 24/7 basis.

My friends Annie Born and Suzanne Laramore have wonderful blogs, resources, and solutions for caregivers, and I highly recommend you check out their sites. Because I respect and admire those who are strong enough to accept the duties of caregiver, I was especially happy to come across some research that confirmed the benefits of meditation for caregivers.

As you know from my previous writings, meditation is an excellent remedy for stress. Since caregivers are under an inordinate amount of stress, it stands to reason that meditation could be an excellent practice for these busy people to incorporate into their schedules – even if only for 5 or 10 minutes a day. I was glad to see my theory confirmed by a study conducted at UCLA which showed that meditation greatly benefits caregivers.

Researchers at the prestigious university conducted an eight week study of 49 home based caregivers of a loved one with dementia. In randomized trials, they found that the participants who practiced meditation had improved mental AND physical health. For more detailed information on this study, you can read the article posted in the LA Times by clicking here.

This is very exciting research, since caregivers need all the care they can get! Based on the work of my friends Annie Born and Suzanne Laramore along with the amazingly positive results of this study, I’ll be developing a guided meditation exclusively for caregivers.

I’m very excited about giving back to these dedicated folks. If you’re interested in learning more about this meditation when it’s released, simply leave a comment on this post or use our contact form.

Happy meditating!

I just finished watching Fierce Grace, a documentary about Ram Dass. I’ve followed Ram Dass since the late 1980’s and have always been a fan of his work and his message, and this artful film only made me appreciate the importance of his teachings even more.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Ram Dass, he is a well known spiritual teacher in the Indian tradition. Of course, he is a huge proponent of meditation.

Ram Dass has a fascinating story. He was born Richard Alpert into a privileged New England family and educated at several ivy league universities, ultimately receiving a Ph.D. in psychology from Stanford. He went on to become a professor at the prestigious Harvard University.

It was his meeting with new Harvard professor, Dr. Timothy Leary, that started Dr. Richard Alpert on the road to becoming Ram Dass.

Alpert was intrigued by Leary’s theory that hallucinogenic drugs could open and expand human consciousness. The two began experimenting on students and were subsequently terminated from Harvard.

Each went his own way, with Alpert becoming more and more drawn to the spiritual side of life and ultimately traveling to India to explore a deeper spirituality. It was in India that Richard Alpert met his guru, Neem Karoli Baba (known as Maharajji), who gave the former Harvard professor his new name: Ram Dass.

Returning to America with a new identity and a new purpose in life, Ram Dass immediately attracted a large following. His first published work, Be Here Now, has been one of the best selling books in the world and was an immediate hit when it was published in 1971.

Since that time, Ram Dass has transformed thousands of lives worldwide with his message of love, spirituality, and meditation. Even after suffering a debilitating stroke in 1997, Ram Dass has persevered. He’s never lost his faith, nor has he lost his wonderful attitude and presence. Now 80 years old and wheelchair bound, Ram Dass still radiates joy, acceptance, and compassion. And he’s still working. His most recent book, Be Love Now, was just published this past November.

My extremely brief biography doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the fascinating and purposeful life of this extraordinary teacher. If you’re at all intrigued, I highly recommend any of his books, and I especially recommend the documentary, Fierce Grace.

While this article doesn’t directly cover any meditation topics, it does point you in the direction of a wonderful teacher who wouldn’t be who he is without meditation, which is an integral part of his teachings. I hope you’ve enjoyed this change of pace, and happy meditating!

One of my mentors, Dr. Deepak Chopra, is a well known public figure. I came across a video he created for the equally famous Dr. Mehmet Oz on the topic of meditation.

While Dr. Chopra covers three distinct topics in the video, I was primarily interested in his discussion of meditation and the law of attraction. I’ve had several students ask me about this very topic, and I’ve personally instructed some who wanted to learn how to meditate strictly to improve their ability to manifest their desires.

Can meditation help you utilize the law of attraction? My personal belief is that it absolutely can help. While I don’t have any scientific evidence to support my assertion, I can tell you why I believe this to be the case.

Meditation takes you to a place that’s quieter, a place with fewer thoughts and less congestion, so to speak. When you’re quieter, more settled, more in touch with yourself, you get clearer on what you want. When you’re clear, your ability to manifest improves exponentially.

As I mentioned, I don’t have any scientific evidence to back up my belief. I also don’t claim to be an expert on the law of attraction. But I can tell you that I am better at achieving my goals and desires with a daily meditation practice.

In the video he created for Dr. Oz, Deepak Chopra covers the definition of meditation. He then guides you through a very effective healing meditation and concludes with his discussion of meditation and the law of attraction. You can view the video right here: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/deepak-chopra-meditation.

Incidentally, if you’re not familiar with the concept of the “Law of Attraction,” you can read about it here: http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Definition_-_Law_of_Attraction.html.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about yet another benefit of meditation. Happy meditating!

In my last article, I noted that the BBC videos I posted covered a few topics, including meditation for pain relief. That particular topic seemed to spark some interest, so I thought I’d delve a little more deeply into this specific benefit of meditation.

What I found was research indicating meditation provides greater pain relief than morphine. That’s pretty exciting stuff!

The best article I found on this groundbreaking discovery actually quotes the lead author of the study, who goes into detail about how the research was conducted. You can read the entire article here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2011/04/07/meditation-leads-to-greater-pain-relief-than-morphine/.

One of the things I found particularly interesting is that study participants only received a little over an hour of meditation training, and all of them had zero experience in meditation. That just goes to show that anyone can meditate and reap immediate benefits.

The benefits of meditation are many, and they are very significant. Some of them aren’t immediately apparent for many people, but pain relief seems to be a benefit of meditation that shows up for everyone right away. In fact, all study participants received pain relief.

If you’re interested in trying meditation for pain relief, Jon Kabat-Zinn has an audio just for that purpose. You can check it out at Sounds True.

Jon Kabat-Zinn is a well known name in the meditation field. If you’re not familiar with him, here’s his bio from the Sounds True website:

“Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, is the founder and director of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and associate professor of medicine in the Division of Preventative and Behavioral Medicine. His clinic was featured in 1993 in the public television series Healing and the Mind with Bill Moyers. Jon Kabat-Zinn is the author of Wherever You Go, There You Are and Full-Catastrophe Living: Using Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness.”

Enjoy, and happy meditating!

I ran across a couple of interesting videos on the BBC website. They’re not very long, but I do like that you get a lot of information about various benefits of meditation in the few minutes it takes to watch them.

The two video series starts out talking about how meditation can make you happier, which is fascinating in itself, but it also goes into some other benefits of meditation as well, including pain relief. You can check it out right here:

This is the second installment, which shows the brain scans promised at the conclusion of the prior video. Very interesting stuff! We find out that the brain scans show meditation as an effective tool for pain relief, and we also learn that meditation can help us become less self centered. Watch the wrap up here:

Note that the narrator is speaking specifically about Mindfulness Meditation, which I wrote about here: http://www.guidedmeditationsonline.com/mindfulnessmeditation/.

While there are many different types of meditation, I do believe that all sitting meditations offer the same type of benefit. When anyone asks me what the best kind of meditation is, I reply, “The kind you’ll do.” What I’m trying to say is that there is no absolute best form of meditation. The important thing is that you are meditating in some manner, shape, or form. Simply getting into the meditative state on a regular basis produces enormous benefits (which, if you’re a faithful reader, you know I discuss on a regular basis).

If you are interested in learning to meditate, browse the the archives of this blog. I’ve talked about most of the major techniques and have given instructions for most of them as well. If you’re still not sure where to start, try Simple Meditation.

If you come up with any questions regarding specific techniques, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Enjoy, and happy meditating!

I’d like to say that meditation makes you smarter. It sounds great and is VERY appealing (at least to me). But you’ll have to determine that for yourself after reading the articles on this blog. I’ve got another little tidbit, though, that just might edge you in the direction of that “meditation makes you smarter” thing…

Scientists have discovered that meditation, when practiced regularly over time, actually increases the speed at which the brain processes information.

The study was conducted at UCLA and involved 50 meditators vs. 50 non-meditators. Researchers took brain scans of both groups and found that the scans of those who practiced meditation showed larger amounts of gyrification in the brain.

Yeah, I know. That’s an odd term. Gyrification is the “technical” term for the amount of folding in the cortex. Apparently, there is already tons of evidence indicating that the more folds you have in your cortex, the faster you process information.

What’s even more exciting is that scientists found a direct correlation between the amount of folding and the number of years a participant had been meditating. In other words, the longer a person had been meditating, the more the cortex was folded.

This suggests that as you progress in your meditation, your brain becomes faster and faster over time. Sounds pretty good, right? Just another one of the long term benefits of meditation.

As this study so adeptly demonstrates, the benefits of meditation are cumulative. That’s something science has proven repeatedly and that long time meditators can absolutely back up. It’s great to see even more evidence to support the long term benefits of meditation.

I found the original article on Gizmodo.com, and you can read it here: http://www.gizmodo.com/meditation. If you’d like more technical information, the Gizmodo article was based on an abstract published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience and as reported by Medical Express, which also published a great deal of scientific information from the study.

Enjoy, and happy meditating!

Today I read the most fascinating article by Dr. Mark Hyman. It’s called “How the Dalai Lama Can Help You Live to 120.” As a sidenote, if you’re not familiar with Dr. Hyman, I recommend that you check him out at http://www.drhyman.com. As a good friend of mine said, “He’s a genius.”

The article has a number of fascinating points and is well worth your full attention. Of course, I zeroed in on the parts of the article that had to do with even more unbelievable benefits of meditation.

Dr. Hyman discusses a conference he attended a couple of years ago. It was focused on longevity and Tibetan medicine. The list of attendees is so impressive that I’m not going to recount it here (I’d take up way too much space!), but I suggest you read the article to learn about the lineup.

The part that had to do with meditation involves the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is arguably the most important nerve in the body. It resides in the brain and is the control center for your immune system. What Dr. Hyman learned at the conference was that relaxation, meditation, and other ancient practices actually activate the vagus nerve.

Through a meditation practice, you can use the vagus nerve to reduce inflammation (which my research indicates is at the root of most, if not all, illness—but that’s another topic entirely). That is HUGE! The possibilities here are staggering! Imagine reversing heart disease or cancer through meditation. If we can control the vagus nerve, which in turn can activate the genes that control inflammation, it would seem that meditation could serve as a vital tool in the fight against major disease. Very exciting stuff!

As if that weren’t enough, Dr. Hyman also learned at this conference that our bodies can regenerate at any age. Our own adult stem cells can be turned into liver, bowel, lung, and skin cells.

And how are these stem cells activated? Through the vagus nerve! So, being in a meditative state can activate the vagus nerve, and the vagus nerve can activate stem cells and “tell” them to regenerate our organs and tissues.

The last benefit I’d like to mention involves the brain. According to Dr. Hyman, “Scientists have even shown how meditation makes the brain bigger and better.  They’ve mapped out the brain function of ‘professional meditators’ by bringing Tibetan lamas trained in concentration and mental control into the laboratory.

The result?

They found higher levels of gamma brain waves and thicker brain cortexes (the areas associated with higher brain function) in meditators.”

I don’t know about you, but I’m more excited than ever about meditation. It’s great to keep finding loads of new scientific evidence to report to you, but it seems like it just gets better and better.

At this point, I have to wonder why anyone would NOT meditate. The benefits are huge and undeniable.

To read the full article, go to Dr. Hyman’s site by clicking here: http://drhyman.com/blog/2010/08/25/how-the-dalai-lama-can-help-you-live-to-120/.

Enjoy, and happy meditating!

OK, I admit it. I’m a geek about health. Natural health and alternative medicine, specifically. So I keep very much up to date on the latest developments in that arena.

Lately, there’ve been a lot of studies conducted on anti-depressant medications. Not surprisingly, they’re being found ineffective and downright harmful to your health.

I’ve even read some research that indicates low serotonin levels may have little to do with depression, especially extended depressions. And even if serotonin imbalances do contribute to depression, there are lots of ways to naturally boost and balance serotonin. For example, exercise is one of the easiest and most accessible things you can do to increase serotonin levels.

Those of us who understand total integrated health (mind, body, spirit) have long known that meditation is one of the best tools you can use to beat depression. When I recently read an article about western medicine finally admitting that meditation is useful in the treatment of depression and mental illness, I was very excited. It’s encouraging, to say the least, to see natural medicine and healthy living becoming more mainstream.

As the author of the article states, there’s been little progress in the treatment of mental illness over the last 200 years. While meditation isn’t an overnight cure, for those willing to stay the course and implement other holistic strategies as well, it seems that meditation is an effective treatment for depression and other mental illness.

To read the original article, which includes a lot more detail about why meditation treats mental illness and depression, please visit the Natural News website by clicking here: http://www.naturalnews.com/035061_meditation_treatment_mental_illness.html.

Enjoy, and happy meditating!

Have you ever been relishing a peaceful environment while reading or studying only to find yourself jarred out of your delicious meditative state as the neighbor fires up his lawnmower? Or perhaps you’ve been stuck in front of a screaming child on a LONG flight? I’m sure everyone has been in this kind of situation. You’re wanting to focus or enjoy some quiet time when outside noise, completely out of your control, infiltrates your personal space.

How do you deal with situations like this? Is it easy for you to tune out (without the use of headphones or some other noise cancelling/masking device, of course)? Some people are naturally better at filtering out this background noise than others. It turns out that this ability has to do with being able to modulate brain waves called alpha rhythms.

A recent Harvard University study shows that people who meditate have a better ability to tune out unwanted environmental noise. Researchers followed a group of people enrolled in an 8 week meditation class and studied them against a control group who did not meditate. While we all have the ability to turn down the volume on outside noise to some extent, the results of the study showed that those who meditate could regulate their alpha rhythms better and faster than those who don’t meditate.

I really enjoyed reading about this study because it is yet more scientific proof that meditation is an excellent way to improve overall focus. It’s like exercise or nutrition for the brain, which is one of the multitude of reasons to start your own daily practice.

To read the entire article about the Harvard study, go the New York Times site by clicking here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/health/research/03regimens.html

Enjoy, and happy meditating!

I came across an article in Men’s Journal that discussed a study the US Marine Corps conducted a few years ago. The study was intended to determine whether meditation could help soldiers stay calmer and focused on the battlefield. After all, one small error in a war zone could mean the difference between life and death.

According to Men’s Journal “The results of the Marines’ experiences, published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Emotion, showed that the men who embraced meditation walked out of pre-deployment training with minds that were more agile than those who didn’t. They also reported improved athletic performance, relief from anxiety, better sleep, and stronger memory.”

Those are all expected results of meditation, but just like I loved seeing ABC reporting about the benefits of a regular meditation practice, I think it’s incredible to see that even the military has taken an interest in this ancient “technology.”

What’s even better is that most of these Marines had never meditated. So it just goes to show that it doesn’t take an experienced monk or yogi to reap meditation’s many benefits.

The style of meditation practiced by the Marines was Mindfulness Meditation. I wrote about this style, and you can read more about it here: http://www.guidedmeditationsonline.com/mindfulnessmeditation/.

I highly recommend the Men’s Journal article, which you can read here: http://www.mensjournal.com/meditation-fit-for-a-marine. It’s followed by some tips on how to get started with Mindfulness Meditation. Enjoy, and happy meditating!

I came across an impressive meditation article on, of all things, the ABC News website.

There are several great videos about the benefits of meditation on the site (you’ll have to sit through some commercials, unfortunately), but the first four and a half minute video is well worth the wait since it concludes with a brief clip of the Dalai Lama.

A second very brief video discusses the benefits of meditation for war veterans, which I also covered here http://www.guidedmeditationsonline.com/meditationbenefitswarveterans/.

The third meditation video, also quite short, discusses meditation to improve attention span.

Below the video feed is an article with tips for beginners.

If you read my blog regularly, you probably won’t find anything new in the tips or in the videos. However, it’s always great to read another perspective and perhaps see things in a new way because the writer was able to frame facts or ideas differently.

If you do take a look at the ABC site, I’d love to hear what you think of it. While, again, it may not present anything new to readers of this blog, I absolutely love the fact that ABC (you can’t get more “mainstream” than that!) reported on meditation in such a factual and positive manner.

Here’s the direct link to the article on ABC’s website: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/meditation-101-tips-beginners/story?id=14182979#.T4ZTR9Vyvkc.  Enjoy!

I recently read an article discussing the potential meditation holds for improving memory, specifically for Alzheimer’s patients.

While I haven’t read the results of the actual study, I’m not surprised that meditation has been clinically shown to improve memory. I’ve found that my focus and memory improve significantly due to my meditation practice. Many of my students have reported similar results.

Why does meditation improve memory? I’m purely speculating here, but I think there are a few reasons that meditation could help us remember things better.

First off, meditation is a period of time where you are simply being, not doing. It’s a few minutes (to a few hours for those die hard meditators!) of quiet time that allow your brain to literally take a break. As most of us in the western world realize, our lives are busy and our brains are flooded with continual input and information. Meditation is that bit of quiet time that takes the brain away from the stresses of everyday life. Meditation lightens the load on the brain, so to speak, opening up room for all kinds of other things—including improved memory.

Another reason that meditation might be helpful in improving memory is because you’re really practicing a type of focus during meditation. I know this may sound odd, but in most forms of meditation you are actually very focused. The goal of most meditation is to clear the mind as much as possible. I always teach that you shouldn’t ever berate yourself for having thoughts during the meditation process, as it’s totally normal. And thoughts WILL come and go. However, your intention to clear your mind is really a form of focus. Practicing focus on a daily basis is a way of disciplining the brain, which in turn could lead to memory improvement.

While there could be a number of other reasons that meditation improves memory, I’d like to touch on one final point. One of the key reasons that many of us, particularly in the West, learn meditation is to reduce stress. I’m sure I don’t need to go into detail about stress and what it does to the body, since it’s commonplace for nearly all of us. Meditation has been proven in countless clinical studies to reduce stress on the mind and body. Reducing stress is akin to cleansing the body and mind, releasing toxins and allowing room for new information and experiences. It stands to reason that your memory has a good chance of improving when your stress levels are reduced.

The benefits of meditation are endless. It’s exciting to read about a clinical trial that shows yet another reason why everyone could benefit from a daily meditation practice. Who doesn’t want to improve memory? Another reason to begin a regular meditation practice today!

Healing meditation, as the name implies, is a technique aimed at healing a specific ailment within the physical, mental, or emotional body. It’s a simple form of meditation which can be done on your own or, ideally, in a guided format. Healing meditation can be applied to anything from the common cold to the emotional pain experienced in divorce. If you have a condition that’s toxic to your being, you can use healing meditation to help.

I’ve found that healing meditation has the best results when you use a guided audio to take you through a very deep process. If you’re interested in this type of meditation, we offer customized healing meditations based on your specific needs. You can contact us here for more information.

The easiest way to practice healing meditation on your own is to use visualization techniques. White light is considered a healing and/or purifying energy in many cultures worldwide and is quite effective when utilized in meditation. To begin your own personal healing meditation right away, follow these simple steps:

1. Determine how long your meditation will be. I recommend 30 minutes.
2. Become very clear on the issue you wish to heal through your meditation.
3. Sit comfortably in a quiet, private location where you will not be disturbed. Make sure to take all the usual precautions, such as turning off your phone and silencing all outside noises as much as possible.
4. Close your eyes and allow your body to relax.
5. Turn your attention to the issue you want to heal. Set the intention for your meditation and be very clear that you are meditating to heal the specific problem you identified in step 2.
6. Take three deep breaths, inhaling as deeply as possible and exhaling completely.
7. Once you’ve completed the three deep breaths, just notice your breath. You don’t need to practice any specific breathing technique. Just notice your breath, follow it in and out for 2 or 3 minutes.
8. Focus intently on the issue you wish to heal. If it is a physical issue, focus on the part of your body where it exists. If it is mental or emotional, focus on the feeling, mood, thought, memory, or emotion that is causing the problem.
9. Visualize white light filling the affected part of your body (or mental/emotional issue) and literally dissolving the illness or pain.
10. See the light completely removing any trace of the issue.
11. Expand the white light through your entire physical, mental, and emotional body. See yourself filling up with white light.
12. When your meditation time is complete, end by seeing yourself filled with white light, whole and complete, healthy and vibrant in every way.
13. Cease the visualization and sit easily with your eyes close for about 5 minutes. During this time, you can wiggle your fingers and toes, adjust your seating position, turn your attention outward to sounds or smells in the environment, or do anything that helps bring you back into the material world.
14. After about 5 minutes, slowly open your eyes and resume normal activity. If you feel at all light-headed, simply sit for a few more minutes until you’re ready to get up and move around.

Keep in mind that healing meditation is not a substitute for medical or psychological treatment and is not meant to diagnose or treat any illness. I’m not giving medical or psychological advice, just a tool that I and many others have found helpful.

Happy meditating!

I’ve discussed the benefits of meditation in many of my articles, and I’ve also stressed that meditation is good for everyone. Meditation has been scientifically shown to produce life enhancing results in a variety of areas, and it has proven to be an invaluable tool for millions of people from all walks of life for the last 5,000 years.

I think that most of us would agree we owe our veterans, especially war veterans, a debt of gratitude. They risk their own lives to defend our country and our freedom. Whether or not you agree with the political aspects of war and the military, there are people just like you and me serving our country in so many ways every single day. With the state of the world today, I’m not sure where we’d be without them.

You could find heart-wrenching stories about veterans anywhere. You may even be a veteran yourself or there may be someone close to you who has suffered emotionally and/or physically as a result of military service. Those who serve our country often suffer in ways we civilians cannot imagine. One of the most common maladies plaguing our veterans is post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

While I’ve long known that meditation can be of significant value to those suffering from PTSD, I was very pleased to read a recent article from Leila Levinson writing for the Huffington Post. It chronicles the story of a World War II veteran who struggled for years after returning from the war. In 1975, he learned Transcendental Meditation, which turned his life around.

Today, Jerry Yellin is very involved in helping our veterans lead better lives with the help of meditation. I applaud his efforts and recommend that you visit his website, Operation Warrior Wellness, a division of The David Lynch Foundation. If you live in or will be visiting the Los Angeles area, they are having a fundraiser on December 3.

For more details about the fundraiser and to read the entire Huffington Post article, click on What Meditation Did For Me: A War Vet’s Story.

Guided meditation is meditation with a specific goal or intended outcome. It’s my favorite kind of meditation because it provides all of the benefits of meditation while helping you achieve a particular desire.

When you practice guided meditation, you are taken through the process by someone else. While meditation is always an effortless process—it is more about doing than being—when you work with a guide, the practice becomes even easier. Plus, you get the benefit of achieving a desired outcome, such as stress relief.

You can work with a meditation instructor in person or, more commonly, you can listen to pre-recorded audios to guide you through the process of meditation. You can also find a script and record it yourself, then listen to your own voice taking you through your practice. However, many people find this to be the least desirable way to experience guided meditation for a couple of reasons. First, it can be difficult to listen to your own voice and secondly you have no way of knowing whether the script you’re using is an effective one.

If you decide to try guided meditation, it’s important to find the instructor that’s right for you. Be sure to check the teacher’s credentials so you know that he or she has been appropriately trained. Also, read some of the teacher’s books, articles, or newsletters, and try to listen to a sample meditation so that you get a better feel for whether that particular meditation teacher is right for you. Not every instructor is right for every person, so it’s really important to find the right fit. If you choose the right teacher, you’re much more likely to achieve positive results quickly.

What kinds of goals and desires can be achieved with the help of guided meditation? The list is practically endless. Here are some examples:

• Stress Relief
• Relaxation
• Overcoming Limiting Beliefs
• Increasing Confidence
• Finding Inner Peace
• Improving Relationships
• Finding Love
• Weight Loss
• Healing – Physical, Mental, Emotional, Spiritual
• Motivation
• Health and Wellness
• Spirituality
• Abundance
• Prosperity

If you have a goal or desire, guided meditation can be a highly effective tool in helping you achieve it. It’s important to keep in mind, however, that it isn’t an “instant fix.” It takes practice and repetition to really see the results of your practice. That’s why meditation downloads are such a wonderful way to take full advantage of this powerful technique.

Here at Guided Meditations Online, we offer something really unique and exciting. In addition to our meditation downloads, we can actually customize a guided meditation for your specific goals. We send you a comprehensive questionnaire and, after reviewing it, create a guided meditation just for you, using your name and addressing all of your goals and desires.

If you aren’t quite clear as to what it is you want, we also offer one-on-one coaching sessions where you’ll crystallize your intentions. After the session, which will be recorded and sent to you, we’ll create your custom guided meditation!

Remember that these meditations can be used over and over again to help you achieve your goals and desires.

If you’re interested in learning more, please contact us here.

Happy meditating!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: meditation is not a religion, it does not require a certain belief system, nor does it interfere with your existing religion or belief system. Meditation is merely a tool to enhance and enrich life. It can also be used for very specific purposes, such as stress reduction. There isn’t anyone who wouldn’t benefit from a daily meditation practice.

When it comes to spirituality, there are many definitions. Chances are you have your own version—even if you don’t believe in the concept of spirit. Meditation is not automatically a spiritual practice, and even people who do hold spiritual or religious beliefs don’t always feel comfortable using meditation as a tool for spirituality. That being said, meditation CAN be an incredibly powerful spiritual tool.

Most people are familiar with the concept of prayer. Prayer is a method of talking or sending. Meditation, when used in a spiritual manner, is a form of listening or receiving. Whether you have a concept of God, the universe, or simply your higher self (soul), meditation can be used as a tool to connect. This article will explore how and why it works.

How do you open yourself up to receive? It’s simple: you set an intention. Before you close your eyes and begin your meditation practice, get very clear on the purpose of your meditation. Decide that you are meditating to enhance your spirituality and that you will be open to receive.

An important caveat here is to release any expectation you might have. Yes, you are setting an intention. However, you need to be open to the manner in which that intention manifests. In other words, what you receive in spiritual meditation may not be exactly what you anticipate.

The reason meditation can be a vehicle to take you closer to your spirit is largely because it’s one of the only ways to silence your constant mind chatter long enough so that you can actually tune into yourself. It’s that connection with your true self that is the basis of all spirituality.

When you enter the meditative state, you quiet your mind to some degree. Your mind will become progressively quieter as your practice grows and deepens. The quieter your mind becomes, the more you will be able to “hear.”

I can’t tell you exactly what you’ll receive when you decide to try spiritual meditation. What I can tell you is that if you don’t release your expectations, you’ll likely feel as though you’ve gotten nothing.

Connecting with your higher self through meditation can yield results as simple as a heightened sense of peace or well-being. You might gain an occasional flash of insight, or you could even receive the answer to a problem that has been plaguing you. Many people report feeling nurturing emotions like love, comfort, support, and understanding when they practice spiritual meditation. Some have had life changing revelations with this type of meditation. But again, I caution you against holding onto any kind of expectation whatsoever. Simply be open, and you will receive whatever it is that’s appropriate for you at that particular time.

Spiritual meditation can be incorporated into many of the types of meditation we’ve already discussed, including simple meditation, breathing meditation, and mantra meditation. Guided meditation is also a wonderful way in which to experience the spiritual aspect of meditation, and we’ll talk more about that in future posts.

For now, if you’d like to try spiritual meditation, keep it simple. Plan to spend 15-30 minutes in a quiet location where you will not be disturbed. As you are finding a comfortable spot and settling in for your meditation, hold your intention in your mind for a minute or two. Decide that you are practicing spiritual meditation and resolve to be open to receive whatever comes to you during your session. You don’t have to keep thinking about your intention as you go through your meditation. In fact, thinking about it will keep your mind at the level of consciousness, so after you clearly set your intention, simply release it.

When you’ve set your intention and have made yourself comfortable, close your eyes. Spend a few minutes noticing your breath. Don’t try to control your breathing, just notice the gentle flow of prana as you inhale and exhale easily and gently through your nose. As thoughts come into your mind, acknowledge them and release them, returning your focus to your breath.

Continue until your meditation time has ended. Then, continue sitting quietly and easily for 2-5 minutes as you begin to return your attention to the outside world, tuning in to noises in your environment, perhaps rubbing your eyes or neck and shifting your sitting position. Do whatever feels right for you. When a few minutes have passed, slowly open your eyes and resume normal activity.

Some people like to keep a journal handy to record their experiences in spiritual meditation, but it’s not a necessary step. You might want to take a few minutes to reflect on the experience as you go back to your regular activities, though.

If you try this technique, I’d love to hear about your experiences. You can use the contact form to talk to me about spiritual meditation or any other questions you have about meditation. Enjoy!

Body scan meditation is a technique that’s useful for beginners meditation as well as experienced meditators. It can be accomplished quickly or it can be a longer, deeper process.

The premise is very simple. You are taking your body through progressive relaxation from head to toe. This is almost like an active meditation, except that your mind is active and focused on a specific task while your body remains still. Though, I suppose your body is engaged as well since it is relaxing as you go through the meditation process. This is why body scan meditation is a special technique with a class all its own.

I’ll take you through a practice exercise so you can get a good understanding of how this type of meditation works.

First, sit comfortably in a quiet location where you will not be disturbed. Silence telephones, put pets outside or in other rooms, and hang a “do not disturb” sign on your door if need be.

Close your eyes and begin to focus on your breathing. Don’t try to control your breath. Simply follow the pattern of your breath as you inhale and exhale, always inhaling and exhaling through your nose if physically possible.

Once you begin to tune into the rhythm of your breath and start to feel yourself settling down, perhaps after 5 minutes or so (depending on how long you’ve scheduled to meditate—I’d recommend at least 15 minutes for body scan meditation), bring your focus to the top of your head.

Start to feel the muscles relaxing. As the top of your head relaxes, let the flow of relaxation move down into the back of your head, your temples, your forehead, and your face. Feel the tension releasing from each muscle as the warm, relaxing wave releases all stress. Let your lips part as your jaw goes slack. Feel the creases in your forehead release, and allow your eyes to relax back into their sockets.

When your face and head feel completely relaxed, allow the flow of relaxation to move down into your neck. Feel all the tension in your neck muscles melting away and, when your neck feels relaxed and comfortable, allow the relaxation to move into your upper back and chest.

As thoughts come and go throughout this process, acknowledge them, release them (don’t go chasing after them!), and return your focus to your body, continuing the progressive relaxation.

Continue this pattern, allowing the flowing wave of relaxation to move down through every body part. When you get to your feet, feel any stress, tension, and/or anxiety releasing down into the earth through the bottoms of your feet.

By this time, you should be feeling very relaxed. Now, bring your focus back to your breath. Notice your gentle inhalation and exhalation, not exerting any control over your breath. Simply observing.

If you have time, take another 5 minutes to observe your breathing before you slowly open your eyes and gradually resume normal activity.

Body scan meditation can take as little as 10 minutes or as long as an hour. Take as much time as you’d like for the process. If you’ve never tried body scan meditation before, I suggest allowing 30 minutes for the process so you can take your time and get a feel for what is right for you.

Even if you don’t want to meditate on a regular basis, body scan meditation can be a good tool to use when you’re feeling stressed, tired, burned out, or simply out of sorts. Give it a try next time you’re feeling overwhelmed or overloaded. I think you’ll be impressed with the results!