What is meditation?

Meditation began as a religious practice thousands of years ago. Many people practice meditation today, whether they are religious or not. There are many types of meditation such as mindfulness, Vipassana, Transcendental Meditation, Zen, and prayer. Some types of meditation can involve moving, but here the focus is on meditation you do while you are seated. If you have trouble sitting, it is also fine to do these meditations with your body in other positions.

Meditation can be done for different reasons. It can help people handle stress better, improve concentration, and gain more awareness. One of the most popular forms of meditation in health care settings is mindfulness meditation. With this form of meditation, you focus your attention on the present moment. You can bring your mind into the present moment using many different exercises, such as focusing on your breath, tuning into your senses, repeating a word or phrase (mantram), or bringing your awareness to different parts of your body.

The key is to not judge yourself when distractions come up in your body or mind, and to just notice these thoughts as they come up. Our minds will naturally wander. This is a practice of simply noticing this without judgment and then trying to come back to the present moment again. A simple seated meditation is offered below.

How can meditation help me?

You do not need a medical diagnosis for meditation to improve your overall health and well-being. Meditation can relax your mind and body and help you deal with stress and pain.¹ The more you practice meditation, the more it can help your mind and body.²

Many studies show that meditation can help people cope with issues like stress, cancer, trouble sleeping, anxiety, and depression.^3-7 A small study showed that a particular type of mindfulness-based intervention, Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy, may help posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in combat Veterans.⁸ Meditation can also help with long-term pain, multiple sclerosis, and peripheral neuropathy.^9-11 (Peripheral neuropathy is when the nerves of your different body parts send signals to your brain that may be interpreted as numbness, burning or pain.)