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Meditation: Worth giving it a try

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April 1, 2021

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Firstly, I would like to invite you all to participate in a very short body scan meditation exercise. Find a comfortable position, preferably lying down. Observe the space around you. Take a deep breath, fill up your lungs, and exhale slowly. Repeat this for the rest of the exercise. Do not block your thoughts. It is normal to have a lot of thoughts going through your mind. Try to just observe them and let them go. Lead your attention towards your feet, notice your sensations, pressure, discomfort or pain and breath it out. When you breath out, imagine that your discomfort is leaving your body. Perform this exercise for every part of your body, moving up the legs chest and arms until you reach your head.

Here is a video that can offer more guidance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS2yDmWk0vs

The article will cover the following points:

  • What is the body scan meditation?
  • What is the purpose of meditation?
  • What are the benefits of meditation?

What is the body scan meditation technique?

The body scan technique is a type of meditation. It is ideal for periods in which you are feeling tense, physical discomfort, and stress which is causing physical symptoms such as headaches and backpain [5]. What is important to know is that these symptoms can be connected to your emotional state. The body scan meditation technique acts as a “mental scan”. This technique releases tension while you pay attention to body parts and sensations starting from the feet towards the top of the head. During practice, you must focus more on your body, rather than your breathing [2]. By engaging in this, you increase awareness to your whole body, detecting any discomfort, pressure, or pain. The main goal is to familiarize yourself with your pain and figure out a way you can regulate it [5]. After the sessions, you may notice that you are feeling relaxed. By regularly practicing the body scan meditation technique, you can train your mind to stay present [8].

What is the purpose of meditation?

Meditation can be characterized by a state of calmness and relaxation [3]. It is a habitual process with long term effects [7]. In fact, individuals who know how to meditate show changes in their brain activity, and specifically their amygdala (which is responsible for the regulation of emotions and motivation), even at times when they do not meditate [4]! There are many different meditation styles that involve different consequences. However, all types have certain points in common [3]: a distraction-free location, being in a comfortable posture; either sitting or lying on your back, maintaining a focused attention, and holding an open mental outlook.

The main purpose of meditation is for you to “link” with your deep inner self [4]. This process occurs without the direction of the mind [6] and it has been found to be effective in both a physical and a psychological aspect [4, 7, 9].

What are the benefits of meditation?

As mentioned before, meditating involves benefits that are both mental and physical. It is interesting to see how many advantages this process actually promotes.

These benefits [1, 4, 7] involve decreased levels of stress; this may in turn lead to lower levels of anxiety, better concentration, decreased fatigue and better sleep. Moreover, meditation increases attention capacity, enhances sleep by relaxing you and by managing thoughts that can lead to insomnia, and helps in the treatment of depression. In general, it aids in improving your emotional health by better self-image and creating positive thoughts, formulates a better understanding of yourself, and also contributes to the increase of empathy. When it comes to addictions, meditation helps in dealing with substance abuse since it enhances self-control. Additionally, this technique decreases age-related memory loss, helps in chronic pain treatment (when used in combination of medical care and/or physical therapy), in psoriasis treatment, and also reduces blood pressure as it decreases blood vessel tension by calming nerve signals involved in heart coordination.

In conclusion,

it has been found that meditation can benefit both our physical and mental health through many different techniques. However, you must be patient to see meaningful results since meditation is beneficial in the long-term. Body scan meditation is found to be effective for relaxation. Yet, there are many more meditation techniques available. You may wonder what type of meditation is right for you. Well, that depends. We urge you to try different techniques and explore which suits you best!

If you want to read more about mindfulness take a look at one of our other articles “About Mindfulness: Stop and Breathe”.

Here are some interesting sources on the topic:

  • Insight Timer App & Headspace app

References

  1. 10 Things We Know About the Science of Meditation. (2018, November 12). Mindful. https://www.mindful.org/10-things-we-know-about-the-science-of-meditation/
  2. Liles, H. (2020, October 9). 4 health benefits of body scan meditation, and how to practice it. Insider. https://www.insider.com/body-scan-meditation  
  3. Meditation: In Depth. (2016). NCCIH. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation-in-depth
  4. Powell, A. (2018, April 9). Harvard researchers study how mindfulness may change the brain in depressed patients. Harvard Gazette. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/04/harvard-researchers-study-how-mindfulness-may-change-the-brain-in-depressed-patients/
  5. Release Tension With This Targeted Meditation Technique. (2020). Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/body-scan-meditation-why-and-how-3144782
  6. Sharma, H. (2015). Meditation: Process and effects. AYU (An International Quarterly Journal of Research in Ayurveda), 36(3), 233. https://doi.org/10.4103/0974-8520.182756
  7. Thorpe, M. (2020, October 27). 12 Science-Based Benefits of Meditation. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/12-benefits-of-meditation#1.-Reduces-stress
  8. Vader, K. (n.d.). Body Scan Meditation. HelpGuide.Org. https://www.helpguide.org/meditations/body-scan-meditation.htm
  9. Walton, A. G. (2018, January 17). 7 Ways Meditation Can Actually Change The Brain. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2015/02/09/7-ways-meditation-can-actually-change-the-brain/?sh=23a0646e1465

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