Posted 03/24/2008
Meditation is embraced by conventional medicine today as a perfectly acceptable means of lowering blood pressure, reducing pain, helping migraines, easing menstrual cramps, and, most importantly, reducing stress and anxiety.
Not surprisingly, people who engage in regular meditation go through life in a calmer state, live longer, develop fewer chronic illnesses, are hospitalized less often, and take fewer prescription medications. A recent study showed that people with chronic low back pain reduced both their pain and their reliance on medication by practicing simple meditation techniques.
You can learn meditation through books and audio recordings and also in groups at colleges, community centers, and hospitals. A typical recording guides you through a 30-minute meditation.
You can also learn a lot about meditation on the internet. Google breath meditation, transcendental meditation, and mindfulness meditation, read about each, and see which appeals to you.
Then, just start.
Ultimately it’s recommended that you meditate twice daily, in two 20-minute sessions, once before breakfast and once at bedtime. The more you practice, the better you’ll become at achieving a state of calm and relaxation.