Meditation is new mood booster
Monday 12 April 2010
Good news! If you’ve been feeling a bit low lately and want a mood-booster in time for spring– new research shows that meditation works alongside a good diet and exercise in the battle to keep your mind and body healthy.
The technique, called transcendental meditation or TM, simply involves a daily chanting.
It may sound straight from the hippy-era of the 1960s, but two new studies have found TM is effective in lowering blood pressure as well as for treating psychological problems and fighting off depression.
U.S medical expert Dr Robert Schneider said: “The transcendental medication programme may improve mental and associated physical health in older high-risk subjects”.
The studies, which were carried out in America, looked at 100 people aged over 55 and found that those who practiced daily meditation had a 48 per cent lower chance of experiencing feelings of depression.
As well as boosting those happy endorphins, meditation can also reduce anxiety, improve your sleeping pattern and increase your creativity. If you need any more persuasion to give it a try, further research last year found that meditation techniques led to a 47 per cent less chance of strokes and heart attacks in a studied group.
And you will be joining generations of celebrity fans – most famously The Beatles, who became devoted to the technique after meeting its creator Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1967. They grew beards and were initiated at a weekend retreat in Wales.
We are not suggesting you go to such extreme lengths…. But here’s a quick guide on how to feel the benefits of transcendental meditation:
Spend twenty minutes a day meditating with your eyes closed:
The technique lowers blood pressure by keeping blood vessels open. If you have time, Yogi suggested thirty minutes in the morning and thirty minutes in the evening. He said if one percent of the population did this there would be 1,000 years of peace!
Sit quietly and concentrate:
It is easy to do as it does not require deep concentration, just an attempt to find your “inner peace” using positive thinking.
Choose a mantra to repeat:
It can be anything you want – just repeat – easy!
Will you be giving meditation a try?
By Jessica Flood