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You can think of it or not, but we leave in the mad world where everything is not like it was a just a couple of centuries ago. Our forefathers inhaled fresh air, enjoyed crystal water and produced natural food. What do we have today? Having the same physiology as it was 4 or 5 generations ago modern humans lead insane lives! We consume unclean water and extremely harmful soft drinks, stuff our mouths with fast food, inhale polluted air and hear constant urban noise around us. As for the emotional and nervous tension, it is absolutely unbearable. Our speed of life makes us be in a hurry 24/7, we are overworked and stressed in our family lives, we don’t have enough rest and sleep to do extra work and make our carriers. We never give a thought to the fact that our body requires some time to relax and restore, what is more, our head requires some rest, too. Unfortunately, the bulk of personalities realize the fact when they fall seriously ill. Don’t become one of them! Think ahead and turn to absolutely safe and highly effective practice known for centuries - meditation.

“Did it occur to you that individuals who meditate on a regular basis are happier, healthier and enjoy longer life expectancy than those who don’t?” This utterance is rather hackneyed today, but is it true or not?

What it meditation? It is a unique concentrating practice where the essential task is to slow down the normal whirl of thoughts filling the mind. There are all kinds and sorts of meditation. Maybe you will be surprised to read that a prayer is also a pure meditation as it is. In addition to this kind of concentration natural for all believers there are Transcendental Meditation, mindfulness meditation, Zen meditation, Buddhist meditation and Taoist meditation.

Meditation is the realm of complementary medicine that unlike official medicine it does no fail to forget that personalities have more than a mere ill body. Meditation perceives humans as unique creatures having an inseparable unity of intellect, body and soul. Meditation teachers know for sure that you cannot be healthy and happy with your life if your brain is full of hatred, anger and disappointment. The interesting fact is that more and more official doctors prescribe their patients meditation as a way of managing many health troubles. With meditation you can:

- lower your blood pressure;
- improve the general state of persons with angina including their exercise performance;
- let humans with asthma breathe easier;
- get rid of insomnia;
- relax after everyday stressful day of life.

Meditation is a inherent activity for every person, that is why it is up to you to make up your mind where you will practice meditation. Some individuals prefer to master meditation at home. It is very simple with all the instructional books and audio CDs available. Others prefer to find a good teacher.

With all its simplicity meditation can offer you a number of options. There are several approaches to meditation. Here are some tips for you how to meditate.

1. Focus on your breath - keep your attention on the feeling of the stream of air going in and out of your nostrils. This is so called “mindfulness meditation” - the meditator should learn to be “mindful”, i.e. aware of the present moment of time, but his or her consciousness should be free of any judgments and reactions.

2. Focus on your body - keep your attention on the sensations in your body: pain, warmth, discomfort, tension etc.

3. Focus on any word or phrase you like - keeping your attention on a word or phrase is called a “mantra”. Its major task is to keep your mind free of any distracting thoughts.

It is wrong to think that you should always sit during meditation. It is normal to lie down, to stand or even to have a strall. If for some reason sitting still is difficult for you, feel free to combine meditation with other practices such as yoga or tai chi - you will get double pleasure and positive effect!

The use of meditation for healing human body and soul is not new. All contemporary meditative techniques are the product of years and years of work and mental experiments of patients around the world. The healing power of mediation has been known and practiced for thousands of years. Its cornerstone is tradition and religion; its effect is health and inner harmony! To tell you the truth, all religious groups turn to meditation in one form or another.

It is doubtless that of all the religions Buddhism is a “father of meditation” - it is the best known and the most practiced sort of meditation in the world. Buddhists use the practice of meditation for reaching real wisdom and compassion and for seing reality as it is. Buddha followers believe that our usual state of mind is very shallow - it is both limited and limiting. Meditation broadens human horizons and makes it possible to reveal our conscious and unconscious possibilities profoundly.

The sad fact is that in spite of its unique history and rich traditions, meditation has been undeservedly ignored by the representatives of official medicine and only during the past three decades the medical science concentrated on the studies of clinical effects of meditation on health. The 1960s started with shocking medical reports of yogis and meditation masters from the mysterious East who could demonstrate extraordinary bodily control and could consciously stay in altered states of their minds - and this is where studies of self-regulation and voluntary control over the autonomic nervous system launched! The pompous scientific world was shaken when refined scientific instrumentation proved that impossible things can happen! Now doctors specializing in stress-related disorders had a unique way of treatment without awful side effects typical for drug treatments - it was the art of meditation! It proved to be a valuable tool for stress reduction, and what is more, men and women and physicians enjoyed both the process of healing meditation and the health benefits available with regular trainings!

But the biggest surprise was still to come! After some time of scientific research of meditation this activity turned out to be perfect not solely for changing the brain’s function in the short term. The medical facts demonstrated that regular practice of meditation produces a miraculous long-term positive effect! So, Transcendental Meditation in particular guarantees you a healthy state of relaxation including decreased heart and perspiration rates, decreased pulse rate, low concentration of cortisol in your blood (it is a major stress hormone) and increased activity of the part of your brain responsible for rest and relaxation! Famous doctor R. Keith Wallace studying Transcendental Meditation found out that during meditation the body gets the most profound rest imaginable. Paradoxically, your brain and mind become clear and more alert - your reactions are faster, your creativity and efficiency is greater and your comprehension of the world is broader!

Unlike Transcendental Meditation, Taoists think that our emotions are ruled by the Fire energy of the heart. When you cannot control your emotions, this fire energy flares upwards and burns your life energy and clouds your mind. But you can cope with that! Your willpower, on the contrary, is controlled by the Water energy located in your kidneys. If you do not control this energy, it flows down through your sexual organs, weakening your spirit and dissipating your life. So, Taoists believe that when you sit motionless doing nothing and thinking of nothing, i.e. when you are meditating your Fire and Water are in harmony. Water energy from the kidneys goes up to your head via the Central and Governing channels. At the same time Fire energy from the heart goes down into the Lower Elixir Field in the abdomen. By means of this right circulation of two energies and through this mental alchemy in the body your mind becomes calmer, cooler and more controllable, while your sexual energy becomes really enjoyable!

Meditation is probably one of the safest activities possible. It is wonderful for persons of all ages and states of health. However, you should know that in humans with bad psychiatric cases, there have been a few reports in which regular meditation has worsened the state of their mental health. If you have a psychiatric issue, please, talk to your mental health professional before starting the practice of meditation.

One more vital point - if you take drugs on a regular basis never stop taking them before you have completed the course. The fact is meditation cannot give you stable relief at once - in requires some time to work! If you cannot stand queuing up in the waiting room of your practitioner to get your prescription, find a trusted internet pharmacy online where you can purchase drugs no prescription required legally. Take definite steps to make your life better right now! And let healing mediation be your trusted guide.