10 Ways It Makes Your Life Better

Meditation benefits are numerous, but what are the ones that really help us feel great mentally, emotionally and physically? Most of the studies summarized above reference mindfulness and transcendental meditation, however this is simply because they are the most widely researched types. Practiced correctly, meditation can be the easiest and most enjoyable thing you ever do. For something to be difficult, it requires effort, struggle, stress, and stamina.<br><br>Professor emeritus Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder and former director of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, helped to bring the practice of mindfulness meditation into mainstream medicine and demonstrated that practicing mindfulness can bring improvements in both physical and psychological symptoms as well as positive changes in health, attitudes, and behaviors.<br><br>Fortunately, one of the benefits of meditation is a tool that helps reverse the impact that fight-or-flight and ego responses have on our minds and bodies. Mastering your mind through meditation guides you to consciously create any reality that you want and live your best life, Cassidy says.<br><br>Since ancient times, meditation has been used as a way to help people feel more at peace. A study conducted in France and Spain at the UW-Madison Waisman Centre indicates that the practice of mindfulness meditation produces a range of genetic and molecular effects on the participants.<br><br>A small study of 19 recovering alcoholics found that participants who received meditation training reported a reduction in the severity of relapse triggers, which included depression, anxiety, stress, and cravings. Sometimes, however, journalists and even scientists (who should know better) have overstated the physical and mental health [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT-VP6x2tKs&feature=kp 100 benefits of meditation], which has fed growing skepticism about mindfulness.