The Benefits of Meditation

Wednesday, October 31st, 2007

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A growing number of studies by research centers affiliated with prominent universities indicate that mindfulness-based techniques are beneficial  to the mind and body in children and in adults. Among the many known benefits conducive to better learning are:

•     Improved mental clarity and focus
•     Improved focus and concentration
•     Improved perception and memory
•     Empowered decision making skills
•     Increased emotional stability
•     Reduced stress, anxiety and depression
•     Improved overall health and enhanced immune
•     Increased self-esteem, confidence and happiness

 

136 patients practiced meditation for 20 minutes a day. Results indicated there was an overall 28% reduction in medical symptoms, 38% reduction in distress, 44% in anxiety and 34% in depression. The patients had sustained these improvements in a follow-up study one year later.

- An 8-week study by Reibel and colleagues in 2001

 

Mindfulness increased control of attention and “less negative internal chatter – what one girl described as ‘the gossip in my head, I’m stupid; I’m fat or I’m going to fail math.’

- Findings of a mindfulness study at Stanford University, co-directed by Dr. Saltzman

 

 “In one classroom, the children went from having the most behavioral problems in school, as measured by the number of visits to the principal’s office, to having zero behavioral problems, after only two to three weeks of instruction,”

- A pilot program in six Vancouver public schools, grades four through seven, funded by Bright Lights Foundation (now The Hawn Foundation)

 

Meditation techniques helped improve mood disorders, depression, and self-harming  behaviors like anorexia and bulimia.

- A study of teenagers by Kaiser Permanente in San Jose, California

 

MBSR program has been found to reduce not only chronic pain but also high blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Evidence also suggests MBSR can help improve one’s ability to handle stress and alleviate depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and eating disorders.

- Jon Kabat-Zinn, the founder of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program (MBSR) at the University of Massachusetts Medical School

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