Meditation:
What is it?: Meditation is a state of relaxation and peace. Makes the body and mind think and concetrates on thoughts. It helps with stress and calms people down. It helps with stress related dieases.
Purpose of Meditation: The Purpose of Meditation is to relax the person and bring them into a peaceful state. Some people use meditation as for stress relive purposes. Others use meditation for training purposes like what I do. (Example: Martial arts )
Others use it through pray or being one with God. (Religon purposes) People say that through meditation they became more aware of there surrondings, self-discipline and concentration. These Two diffrent reason are split up into two major sections. Religous Meditation where a person is trying to connect to a divine or focus meditation which is for health and personal reasons.
Diffrent kinds of meditation:
Samadhi: A meditation technique that makes the person constrates on a certain word, image, person or idea. Use in the hindu and buddhist traditions. Its also use in Christianity (Gregorian chant), and Jewish Kabbalah.
Anapanasati: Meditation that constrates on breathing and focusing on breath.
Vipassana: Focusing not only on breath but also your suroundings. Having insight.
Both Anapanasati and Vipassana meditation are part of Buddhism. These are some of the techniques that they use to progress and ultimately lead to enlightenment ( A high state)
Clinical studies for meditation:
In 1972, transcendental meditation
(Definition of the WIKIPEADIA.COM:technique comprises the silent mental repetition of a simple sound known as a mantra, allowing the repetition to become quieter and quieter, until it disappears and one is left conscious, but without thoughts. This is the goal of the inward stroke of meditation and is called pure consciousness. Together with the mind, the body has come to rest too, and starts to clear out "stress". This means bodily activity, and therefore also mental activity in the form of thoughts...)
affected a patient metabolism by lowering the biochemical of stress, such as lactic acid, and by decreasing heart rate and blood pressure.
Meditation is often used in hospitals for chronic or terminal illness to reduce complications associated with increased stress.
From
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditation#Strategies_common_to_many_formsDr. (Herbert Benson of the Mind-Body Medical Institute, which is affiliated with Harvard and several Boston hospitals, reports that meditation induces a host of biochemical and physical changes in the body collectively referred to as the "relaxation response" (Lazar et.al, 2003). The relaxation response includes changes in metabolism, heart rate, respiration, blood pressure and brain chemistry. Benson and his team have also done clinical studies at Buddhist monasteries in the Himalayan Mountains. Among other well-known studies within this particular field of interest we find the research of Jon Kabat-Zinn and his colleagues at the University of Massachusetts who have done extensive research on the effects of mindfulness meditation on stress (Kabat-Zinn et.al, 1985; Davidson et.al ,2003).
One of the most important invitatons to study the clinical effects of meditation comes from The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet. The Dalai Lama has had many dialogues with Western scientists about this subject and it was at the top of the agenda when he visitied Massachusetts Institute of Technology in September 2003 for the "Investigating the Mind conference".)
Dark side of Meditation: If meditation to done improperly or too intensely can cause psychological and physiological problems. Some side affects are uncomfortable kinaesthetic sensations, mild dissociation and psychosis-like symptoms, depression, relaxation-induced anxiety and panic, paradoxical increases in tension, impaired reality testing, confusion, disorientation and feeling 'spaced out'.
My Procedure: For 10 days Use this meditation before Kung fu training:
Everyday for 30 minutes. To Improve my attentiveness and more focus
{Basic Meditation}
Sit your back against a wall and begin the meditation by closing your eyes and taking in a deep breath through your nose. Let this breath be deep and fill up your belly. When the breath reaches the bottom open your mouth and allow the breath to just fall out without any force. Repeat this several times until your mind and body become more relaxed and integration begins to happen. At this point raise your eyes (still closed) so they are looking up at a 45% angle as if you are looking out the very center of your forehead. Clear all other thoughts from your mind by imagining a 1" shaft of pure white light coming up through the center of your body from the base of your tailbone all the way up to the top crown of your head. Breathe into this shaft of light for a few minutes and then expand the light outward from the shaft core in all directions at the same time by using your breath as the catalyst until the light extends about a foot past your physical body. Take another deep breath, holding the breath for a count of 8. Then release out the mouth any tension or stress in your being. Take a second deep breath holding for the count of 16, releasing it out the mouth with any un-supporting thoughts. Take a third deep breath holding for a count of 32, releasing out the mouth, cleansing the spirit. Now breathe naturally and continue to use light and breath to push out of you any unwanted energy or thoughts mentally, physically, emotionally or spiritually. You can use some relaxing music to enhance your state of meditation. Carry this heart space throughout your day. Claim this (inner) space in the universe as your own, living your vision with good purpose. now this isnt timed so you can do it for as long as you feel,can be from 20 too 3 hours if you wanted.
Day 1:made me calm a bit and made me sleepy during class. Didn't last as long. Got trieder quickly.
Day 2: Feel more calm and not as sleeply. last a 5 minutes longer then usual. Did well
especially in the cardio work.
Day 3: Are teacher try to trick use with hits and I didn't fall for it. More aware of my surrounding and work alittle harder.
Day 4:Fully awake and felt rejuvenated after I did meditation and acually did better and I notice I lasted longer in the cardio workouts and feel more alive.
Day 5: No change but I notice my endurance got better and awareness too.
Day 6: More focus when doing punches and kicks. More focus on plyrometrics exercises.
Day 7: Nothing change just feel a bit better and relax
Day 8: Wasn't that tense doing my kicks and punches. I felt kind of loose after my workout sessions.
Day 9: Begining to breath a little easier and
notice that my endurance is getting better.
Day 10: Last day of meditation. Change my meditation a bit because wanting to see if I get a diffrent reaction. Now focusing on myself looking deep in myself.
Result from my test it show that there was some improvement in my training mainly on focus and power in my hits. Encurance improve.
Conclusion: Meditation is calming thing to do and everybody should do it. It could eliminate road rage. Even though we just found out recently the benifits of meditation we still don't know everything. Who knows. One day the answers for tumors in the brain and cancer might be Meditation.