Meditation: The Ultimate Art

Meditation is generally popular among all people around the world to get rid of stress, anger, depression and other negative feelings. Meditation is an important tool to achieve mental clarity and health. Research has shown that Meditation can contribute to an individual's psychological and physiological well-being. This is accomplished as Meditation brings the brainwave pattern into an alpha state, which is a level of consciousness that promotes the healing state. There is scientific evidence that Meditation can improve blood pressure and relieve pain and stress.

Benefits of Meditation

• Improved blood pressure.
• Higher skin resistance. Low skin resistance is correlated with higher stress and anxiety levels.
• Drop in cholesterol levels. High cholesterol is associated with cardiovascular disease.
• Improved flow of air to the lungs resulting in easier breathing. This has been very helpful to asthma patients.
• Deep rest-as measured by decreased metabolic rate, lower heart rate, and reduced work load of the heart.
• Lowered levels of cortisol and lactate-two chemicals associated with stress.
• Reduction of free radicals- unstable oxygen molecules that can cause tissue damage.
• Greater creativity.
• Decreased anxiety and depression
• Improved learning ability and memory.
• Increased self-actualization.
• Increased feelings of vitality and rejuvenation.
• Increased happiness.
• Increased emotional stability.

Spiritual Benefits of Meditation
The longer an individual practices meditation, the greater the likelihood that his or her goals and efforts will shift toward personal and spiritual growth. Many individuals who initially learn meditation for its self-regulatory aspects find that as their practice deepens they are drawn more and more into the realm of the "spiritual." So where does Yoga fit into all this? Yoga begins with the physical body and moves deeper within, to the innermost core of being. Most of you must be familiar with the different physical postures of Yoga – Asanas, often crazy-looking movements that contort the body! In fact there are 8.4 million asanas! They are there just to make the body flexible and strong to master one Meditation Asana, in which the practitioner can sit comfortably for a long time meditating Similarly Pranayama (breathing) practices train the mind and the body’s energy system for Dhyaan (meditation). Meditation Asanas The main purpose of the meditation asanas is to allow the practitioner to sit for extended periods of time without moving the body and without discomfort Only when the body has been steadied for some time will meditation is experienced. Deep meditation requires the spinal column to be straight and very few asanas can satisfy this condition.

Sukhasana (easy pose)

• Sit with the legs straight in front of the body
• Bend the right leg and place the foot under the left thigh.
• Bend the left leg and place the foot under the right thigh.
• Place the hands on the knee.
• Keep the head neck and back upright and straight, but without strain. Close the eyes.
• Relax the whole body .the arm should be relax and not held straight.

for more details please visit our wesite http://www.vivekanandneedam.org