Yoga and Meditation

Yoga has become a global phenomenon over the last several decades. What started out thousands of years ago in the East as a meditative practice has now evolved into a modern lifestyle

So What is yoga?

Yoga is a Sanskrit word translated as “yoke” or “union.” To yoke means to draw together, to bind together; or to unite. Its aim is to yoke or create a union of the body, mind, soul, and universal consciousness. This process of uniting the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of ourselves is what allows yogis to experience deep states of freedom, peace and self-realization.

Yoga is an ancient system of physical, mental and spiritual practices that have been passed down through the generations from teacher to student. Yogic practices include breathing techniques, postures, relaxation, chanting, and other meditation methods. There are many different styles of yoga, each with their own unique focus and approach to creating a unitive state.

About Meditation

Meditation is a practice that involves focusing or clearing your mind using a combination of mental and physical techniques.

Depending on the type of meditation you choose, you can meditate to relax, reduce anxiety and stress, and more. Some people even use meditation to help them improve their health, such as using it to help adapt to the challenges of quitting tobacco products.

The practice of meditation is thousands of years old, and different forms come from around the world. But modern science has only started studying this practice in detail during the last few decades. Some of the biggest leaps in science’s understanding of meditation have only been possible thanks to modern technology.

On the outside, someone who’s meditating might not seem to be doing anything other than breathing or repeating a sound or phrase over and over. Inside their brain, however, it’s an entirely different story. Modern diagnostic and imaging techniques, like electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans, show that meditation can positively affect your brain and mental health.

So how do you meditate

There’s no one correct way to meditate. That’s because meditation can take many different forms. Experts have analyzed meditation practices and found that some common processes happen across different meditation forms.

These are:

Body-centered meditation 👉 This is sometimes called self-scanning. Doing this involves focusing on the physical sensations you can feel throughout your body.

Contemplation 👉 This usually involves concentrating on a question or some kind of contradiction without letting your mind wander.

Emotion-centered meditation 👉 This kind of meditation has you focus on a specific emotion. For example, focusing on how to be kind to others or on what makes you happy in your life.

Mantra meditation 👉 This kind of meditation involves repeating (either aloud or in your head) and focusing on a specific phrase or sound.

Meditation with movement 👉 This type of meditation can involve focusing on breathing, holding your breath or performing specific body movements. It can also involve walking while focusing on what you observe around you.

Mindfulness meditation 👉 This form of meditation is about staying aware of what’s happening at the moment rather than letting your mind wander and worrying about the past or future. It can also involve a similar approach as body-centered meditation, using what you feel throughout your body as a foundation for your awareness of the world around you.

Visual-based meditation 👉 This kind of meditation involves focusing on something you can see (either with your eyes or by concentrating on a mental image).

Why does meditation work?

Your brain is an unimaginably complex

organ. There’s always a certain level of electric activity going on there regardless of whether you are sleeping or mentally alert, engaged in activities or engrossed in meditation. Scientists have been trying to determine exactly what the effects of meditation are on the mind and body.

When you train your brain to be alert and relaxed during meditation, you not only heighten your emotional intelligence, you also strengthen your mind. And a strong, resilient mind naturally enhances physical well-being.

Thanks to advances in technology, researchers and healthcare providers can see how meditation affects our brain. It has been found to enhance cognitive functions, emotional regulation, attention, self-awareness, reduce stress, controls anxiety, promotes emotional health, reduces age related memory, generate kindness and positive thoughts, helps fight addictions, improves sleep, help control pain, can decrease blood pressure and many more benefits which already confirmed by medical researchers.

Scientific studies on the effects of meditation on human health, mind and body is still continue.