Meditation and Depression

Everyone knows that meditation is very effective against stress and depression. But hardly anyone practices it. The reason behind this can vary, either you don't know where to start or you can't find time for it. Also there is one misconception that meditation needs lot of time and determination. This article is all about clearing these myths.

Myth number 1 - Meditation is very difficult to perform without a teacher/guru.

Tell me, do you need a teacher to breath properly? The answer is no, then why do you think that something as simple as meditation needs a teacher. As a matter of fact meditation is all about relaxing and breathing in a control fashion. You just can't go wrong with it.

Myth number 2 - Meditation needs lot a specific place and environment.

Imagine that you are traveling in a plane and you need to get rid of stress. What do you do? Do you wait till the plane lands so that you can go to some park to meditate? No you don't have to wait that long. You can perform meditation in the plane in your seat itself. And passengers around you won't even notice it. Meditation is all about freeing your mind from the surrounding and peaceful environment just makes that process easy, but if you don't have a choice then also you can perform it.

Myth number 3 - Meditation needs lot of time. You can perform meditation even for 5 minutes. And Trust me, its going to benefit. Its next to impossible to find time to go for a regular meditation and yoga classes in our busy life. But you can always find 10-15 minutes to perform breathing exercises to relax your body and mind.

And in the end I would like to teach you one very simple but effective meditation technique. Its so simple that you might not believe its effectiveness.

But first one small test. Close your eyes and think of anything in this world. Yes, you can think of anything except - monkeys. Go on, close your eyes and try thinking of anything other then monkeys.

I can bet that the only thing that came to your mind were monkeys. Thats the reason why blocking something out doesnt work.

Ok, now we can start with my meditation technique. To start, just sit in a comfortable position - on floor or on a chair. Close your eyes and relax. Now this is the "secret" behind this method which was taught by my guru when I visited India. Close your eyes and let your thoughts flow over seamlessly. Blocking undesirable thoughts or focusing on a particular thought won't work. So just close your eyes and relax, accept all the thoughts that come to your mind but dont pay attention to them, they will pass.

10 minutes is all thats needed to do this meditation, but it can relax you and can give you piece of mind for the whole day.

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What is meditation?

Meditation usually refers to a state in which the body is consciously relaxed and the mind is allowed to become calm and focused. Several major religions include ritual meditation; however, meditation itself need not be a religious or spiritual activity. Most of the more popular systems of meditation are of Eastern origin, though there exists also various forms of Christian, Jewish and Muslim meditation.
Meditation as a form of alternative medicine brings about mental calmness and physical relaxation by suspending the stream of thoughts that normally occupy the mind. Generally performed once or twice a day for approximately 20 minutes at a time, meditation is used to reduce stress, alter hormone levels, and elevate one's mood.
A discipline in which the mind is focused on a single point of reference. Employed since ancient times in various forms by all religions, the practice gained greater notice in the post war US as interest in Zen Buddhism rose. Meditation is now used by many nonreligious adherents as a method of stress reduction; known to lower levels of cortisol, a hormone released in response to stress. Enhances recuperation and improves the body’s resistance to disease.
Meditation is an easy and simple way to balance a person's physical, emotional, and mental states. It is easily learned and has been used as an aid in treating stress, anxiety, pain management, and as part of an overall treatment for other conditions including hypertension and heart disease. Research shows that meditation decreases the heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen consumption, and even decreases blood pressure.