Is Mindfulness Meditation Worth All The Hype It Is Getting These Days?

Everywhere you turn in the psychotherapy and self-help world these days, people are talking about mindfulness meditation.  Is it worth all the hype?

My short answer: yes.

For a couple of decades, scientific studies have been demonstrating the power of mindfulness and meditation to:

• lower blood pressure and respiratory rate
• decrease muscle tension
• help with stress management
• decrease anxiety and depression
• increase self-actualization
• help with pain management

And now, amazingly, neuroscience research is documenting how the actual physical structure of the brain changes with mindfulness meditation, strengthening those parts of the brain that support executive functioning, integrative thinking, and compassion.

This research is documenting what many people have experienced for centuries:  mindfulness meditation helps you feel more peaceful, more centered, and more connected to spirit.

I once heard someone say that when you first sit down for meditation, your brain is like a bull raging in a very small pen.  But over time, the raging bull will have a huge meadow to roam in, and occasionally he will be surprisingly content.

However, beginning a meditation practice can be a challenge.  Because of that raging bull, initial attempts at meditation can be almost painful, and often people end up feeling, "I'm not doing this right" or "I just can't meditate."

This is why I recommend a course to learn meditation.  While it seems simple, meditation is actually very hard to learn.  Sitting with other people, and realizing that most people are having the same difficulty "taming" the mind, can be enormously reassuring.  It is also easier to make the effort to practice regularly when you feel accountable to a class.

Meditation classes can be found at a variety of places, including:

• Town Continuing Education Programs
• Offerings at Local Churches, Temples or Community Centers
• Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction courses, which are time limited, non-denominational courses offered by instructors across the country.
• National Organizations, which have locations across the country, such as the Insight Meditation Society or Shambhala Meditation Centers

If you've been thinking of learning, why not do a little googling right now, and sign up for a class?



Jack Kornfield's Guided Meditation: Six Essential Practiceshttp://<a target='new' href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=i3FwvFglNQk&offerid=180450.10000027&type=2&subid=0">Guided Meditation [Download]</a><IMG border=0 width=1 height=1 src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=i3FwvFglNQk&bids=180450.10000027&type=2&subid=0" >