Mindfulness is a state of being that is practiced through meditation. There are many definitions of mindfulness depending on the culture of the person describing it (Gunaratna, 2015). One definition is that mindfulness is the act of bringing full awareness and connection to each present moment as it arises (Gunaratna, 2015). While being mindful, one is aware of thoughts, feeling, emotions, and how the body is experiencing the senses, without judgment (Gunaratna, 2015). There are many types of meditative practices. For example, in Vipassana meditation, "...we train ourselves to see reality exactly as it is, and we call this special mode of perception 'mindfulness.' This process of mindfulness is really quite different from what we usually do. We usually do not look into what is really there in front of us. We see life through a screen of thoughts and concepts, and we mistake those mental objects for the reality" (Gunaratna, 2015).
In a mindful state, there are two main ways that the mind is engaged. We can call these the internal participant and the internal observer. The participant is experiencing emotions, sensations, narratives, thoughts, ideas, and visual formations. The observer is objectively watching the participant attentively without engaging. In the unmindful state, the observer perpetuates the narratives in the participant by labeling, analyzing, criticizing, and categorizing mental formations. In the mindful state, the observer watches the thoughts/sensations in the participant without getting involved, and/or the observer gently pushes the contents of the participant, out of the mind.
Some of the ways that one can meditate include:
1. Focusing on an object
2. Focusing on the breath
3. Repeating a mantra
4. Repeating a loving friendliness mantra (Metta)
5. Conducting a body scan
6. Walking
7. Doing Qi gong exercises
8. Exercising Yoga
9. Practicing transcendental meditation
10. Practicing Taoist Contemplation meditation
In all types of meditative practices, one sits, stands, or lays comfortably, closes the eyes, relaxes the body, and concentrates. When the mind wonders, focused attention should always be brought back to the breath, body, mantra, object, and feelings of Metta, depending on the style of meditation that is used. During focused attention, thoughts are compassionately removed from the mind when they are noticed.
Who can Practice Meditation?
Anyone can practice meditation, regardless of age, ethnicity, nationality, religion, and sexual orientation (Gunaratana, 2015). Though meditative practices may encompass aspects of religion and spirituality, the act of meditation does not require them. Meditation may be religious, practical, relaxing, and/or therapeutic, depending on how one chooses to practice it.
Meditation is an evidence-based practice that has been proven to reduce anxiety and depression in many reputable studies. If you suffer from symptoms of anxiety such as excessive worry, fear, doubt, shame, guilt, negative ruminations, panic attacks, and sweat episodes, meditation may be helpful to you (Anderson et. al., 2014). Similarly, if you suffer from symptoms of depression such as extreme sadness, reduced motivation for pleasurable activities, quick weight gain and weight loss, low self-esteem, and anger, meditation may also be beneficial to you as well (Avila et. al., 2016; Depression, 2019). If you have frequent thoughts of suicide or suicidal thoughts, meditation can help you under the supervision of a health care professional.
What makes meditation an evidence-based practice is not only the subjective accounts in research, but also the objective accounts on the physiological effects seen in the brain.
For example, serotonin (a neurotransmitter) levels has been seen to increase as a result of meditation (Hambin, Krishnakumar, Lakshmanan, 2015). A characteristic of depression is low levels of serotonin (Hambin, Krishnakumar, Lakshmanan, 2015). Norepinephrine (a neurotransmitter) levels have been seen to decrease as a result of meditation (Hambin, Krishnakumar, Lakshmanan, 2015). A characteristic of anxiety is high levels of norepinephrine (Hambin, Krishnakumar, Lakshmanan, 2015). These are some of the many examples of how meditation changes one’s physiology towards wellness, and away from anxiety and depression (Hambin, Krishnakumar, Lakshmanan, 2015).
In some studies, fMRI detected a decreased activity was seen in the left dorsal Amygdala (which is associated with emotional reactions), and increased activity was seen in the Dorsal & Ventrolateral PFC (which is associated with thought regulation) (Goldin et al., 2009)
Meditation increases neuroplasticity and grey matter in the brain (Mercadante & Tadi, 2020). Grey matter helps dictate memory and emotions (Mercadante & Tadi, 2020). Increased neuroplasticity describes a state in which the brain has more and/or stronger neuron connections (Mercadante & Tadi, 2020). Such connections strengthen physical and mental skills (Mercadante & Tadi, 2020).
Meditation decreases:
· Stress
· Negative Ruminations
· Blood Pressure
· Muscle tension
Meditation increases:
· Gyrification
· Memory ability
· Self-awareness
· Compassion
· Empathy
· pain tolerance
· Learning abilities
· Emotional regulation
· Immune system strength
· Self-Esteem
. Ability to sleep
· Concentration
(National Institute of Health, 2016; Thorpe, 2017)
the Historic Purpose of Meditation
Early documentation of the mental craft comes from Asia and dates back to 5,000 BCE to 3,500 B.C.E (Meade, 2020). Daoic, Dharmic, and Abrahamic traditions all have a rich history of integrating meditative practices (“contemplation” is the term in the Abrahamic traditions) (Ramaswamy, 2020). All of them also share several core values such as honesty, wisdom, mindfulness, compassion, and peace, etc. (Ramaswamy, 2020). Though the purpose of meditation in Daoic and Dharmic traditions are expressed differently, they all share the common belief; that the purpose of meditation leads to the liberation of suffering and that the liberation of suffering is the ultimate goal (Ramaswamy, 2020).
It is difficult to identify exactly which religion meditation came from and where in Asia it came from. What is certain, is that several significant spiritual leaders in different parts of Asia helped popularize meditative practices as spiritual/religious practices. Some of such figures are Siddhartha Gautama also known as the Buddha (In India), Lao-Tze (in China), and Doso (in Japan) (Meade, 2020).
What does it mean to have no thoughts in the context of meditation?
To have pure awareness is to feel and acknowledge sensations generated by the 5 senses without creating a verbal/visual story out of it. For example, if you are mediating and feel air grazing on your arm, you will acknowledge the feeling without thinking “where did that come from? I wonder if the A.C. is on…” etc. Alternatively, you will simply just feel the sensation without judgement. If a visual image comes to mind after feeling the sensation, gently push it out of your mind.
Depression, Anxiety, and Meditation
Depression and Anxiety are the most frequently occurring mental disorders in the United States. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 48 million people suffered from Depression in America and about 57 million people suffered from Anxiety pre-coivid-19 (WHO, 2015). Post covid-19 in June 2020, Americans suffering from anxiety increased threefold, and those suffering from depression have increased fourfold (Barger, et. al., 2020).
Adding to covid-19 stressors, the political state of the world has made conditions extremely difficult to be at peace with oneself. Meditation is so important to practice during these turbulent times. It reminds us that even in midst of uncontrollable variables, there are still some things that we can control for the betterment of our mental health: our thoughts, emotions, and sensations.
Bringing Meditation Into Your Life:
How do you reap the benefits of meditation? By practicing it at least 8 minutes a day. Yep, with only 8 minutes a day, you can gain the full benefits that meditation offers! Here are a few exercises you can try:
Body scan
Set an alarm for 10 minutes. Make sure the alarm is ideal for notifying you when the meditation has ended. Get in a comfortable position. You can sit in a chair, lay down, or sit on the floor. Make sure that you feel confident that you can stay in this position for a full 10 minutes with minimal movement.
Slow your breathing down. Take deep long breaths. Do a body scan where you start from the crown of your head, to your temples, forehead, eyebrows, eyes, nose lips, jaw, and so forth, to the tips of your toes. You can get specific so that you are scanning smaller regions as you complete the scan from top to bottom. While scanning, notice any sensations. Release all tension in the body parts completely before moving on to the next one. Remember to breathe deeply, slowly, and calmly.
When emotions, images, thoughts, or anything else comes into your mind, gently push them out of the mind and return your attention to your body scan. After completing the body scan, you may return your attention back to certain body parts if you notice that there is any remaining tension. Drop the muscles and completely relax them. The muscles should feel heavy and loose when tension is released.
If you have gone minutes before noticing that the mind is lost in a train of thoughts, do not dwell on it! This is normal for beginning meditators. Be kind to yourself in this new learning experience! Notice that it happened, and gently bring your attention back. Concentration is a skill that takes practice and dedication. A part of the meditative process is being kind and patient with yourself.
Metta-Loving Friendliness Meditation
Start the same way that is mentioned in the body scan technique above. Shorten the amount of time spent on the body scan so that your attention can be dedicated to a Metta mantra. Say in your mind “May I be well, may I be happy, and peaceful”, very slowly, intentionally, and peacefully. Repeat these words throughout the whole 8-10 minutes.
The purpose of this mantra is to generate the self-loving feelings and sensations that arise from mentally saying these words. Thus, it is more important to generate the feelings of self-compassion, rather than it is to merely repeat the words in the mantra. If your mind wanders, compassionately bring your concentration back to the Mantra and the feeling that it generates. Do not label or judge your experience. Do not perpetuate your thoughts.
After this session, if you think that the mantra did not work for you, try another mantra that generates self-compassion in your own words.
Meet the Author: Dushyanthi Niyangoda
Dushyanthi is a graduate student intern (from Johns Hopkins University) who strives to empower adults with their energy source, values, creativity, and their belief systems. Her strength is to help others align their core values with the healing power that comes from Trauma. Through CBT, talk therapy, BT, Adlerian, person centered, Freudian, Narrative and feminist-based therapy, she helps guide clients towards their visions of wellness.
She specializes in meditative practices and creative outlets for stress management. She helps people understand the source of their suffering in order to reduce their anxiety, depression, transitional worries, and/or distress. Her immediate goal is to help others develop deep self-awareness so that they can manifest their dreams and act in accordance to their purpose. Her dream to create a relaxing and holistic environment, where people can make loving movements into their authentic self, as they unpack their trauma and difficulties.
When she is not doing school work or seeing clients, she works with DJ’s and MC’s as a brand ambassador/professional dancer. She also goes on long hikes, takes vacations to clear water beaches, writes poetry, does yoga, creates dance pieces, exercises in her living room, meditates, and visits her family.
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