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MEDITATION SPECIAL

bliss factor

Mind | MEDITATION MASTERCLASS

NATURAL HEALTH 51

The practice of meditation improves ourmental and physical health, reduces

stress and is even said to heal certaindiseases. But how do you get started?

Stephanie Holland explains all

Meditation can help to reduce stressand heal your mind, body and spirit.Regular practice can also nourish and inspire yourlife. Embark on the journey of a life-long, renewingpractice by finding the right style for you.

If you’ve ever thought of meditation as sittingin a lotus position and staring into space whileyou think of ‘nothing’, think again! “Anyone who’stried not to think will know what this is like,” saysJillian Lavender of the London Meditation Centre.“You try not to think and you end up thinkingabout not thinking, and that keeps the mind

active! Meditation is actually to step beyondthinking to arrive at a state of being: a state ofpure consciousness which is not diluted bythinking. It’s not about sitting around with oureyes closed, it’s about experiencing that balanceand that bliss and stabilising that in ourawareness so that we can live it.” So what arethe benefits? “Improved mental and physicalfunctioning,” says Jillian, “expansion ofawareness; more bliss and more balance in life;more of a sense of calm; more of a sense ofwho we are, and the feeling of being grounded.”

“Doctorsare prescribingmeditation for

everything from stressand anxiety to highblood pressure”

bliss factor

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What can it do for you?The idea that meditation is good for yourmind-body health is nothing new. “There issuch an unambiguous body of research tosay that meditation, if practised correctly, willdeliver the most effective way to releasestress, normalise the nervous system andenhance brain functioning,” states Jillian.

Doctors around the world areprescribing meditation for everything fromstress, anxiety and clinical depression tohigh blood pressure, cholesterol,cardiovascular disease and HIV: research atUCLA in California reports that meditationcan stop the decline of CD4 T cells in HIV-positive patients.

But how is this level of healingpossible? “When we [meditate], weexperience that least excited state – ourground state – then our body settles down

to a very deeply resident state and thatprofound rest allows the body to heal, purifyand normalise,” explains Jillian. The upshot isthat meditation is now hitting the mainstream:Tonbridge School in Kent has introduced it as aregular subject on the curriculum; there are callsfor it to be made routinely available on the NHSand athletes are using breath meditation to aidrecovery after exercise.

How do you do it?The goal of meditation is to step beyond thinkingto arrive at the source of thinking. “There is a stateof consciousness that is beyond thinking andwhat we need is a simple technique to accessthat,” explains Jillian. This might involve anythingfrom visualisation and affirmation to the practice ofyoga, tai chi and the use of colour or sound.Much like food and medicine, techniques differ notonly in terms of ingredients, but also effect.

Anything to do with thebreath is great for health,healing and regeneration saysMark Zaretti of Pure Energy

!Define your goal for meditation practice.

Goals surrounding mind, body and health

such as relaxation, increased energy or

healing might be achieved through

affirmations, yoga or breath techniques. If

spiritual growth is your goal, energy or

spiritual meditation might suit you.

!Attend an introductory talk or meet the

teacher to get a good idea of what’s

involved. You need to be able to relate to your

teacher, their lifestyle and what they represent,

says Jillian.

!Attend a class or retreat to experience it,

suggests Caroline: “If it doesn’t [work] or if you

don’t like it, then try another one!” If it feels

difficult or gives you a headache, it might not

be right for you, says Jillian: “We want to

engage in a practice which feels natural.”

Meditation in Canterbury, Kent: “Tai chi, yoga andbreathing experiences use the energy in breath toliterally imbue the body with more vigour, morevitality and healing.”

If you’re lacking structure and discipline in yourlife, techniques that involve visualisation oraffirmation are effective because they bring aboutincreased mental awareness. “Colour meditation isgreat for emotional work,” adds Mark. “Emotionsare colour and colour is emotion, so any timeyou’re doing energy work with colour, you’reeffectively working on the emotions.”

Finding the right style for youSifting through hundreds of techniques from manytraditions might seem daunting, but there is anadvantage: the variety ensures that there’ssomething for everyone.

“Some people are really drawn to rights, ritualsand devotions, and some of the more religiousaspects of practice,” says Caroline Jones ofLondon Insight Meditation. “Others, includingmyself, at the beginning are drawn to the moresimple, more secular approaches.”

3 ways to find the right style for you:

Troubleshooting tips“I find it very hard to think of nothing.” You don’t have to. Accordingto Mark, the brain is, by nature, a‘cheeky monkey’. Tools like mantra andbreathing exercises are used to give yourthoughts an anchor; you don’t have toworry about trying to think of nothing!

“I don’t want to change mydiet or shave my head.” Not necessary. If a particular style ortechnique is at odds with your lifestyle or your beliefs, it’sprobably not right for you.

“I just don’t have the time.” Then meditation is for you! Jillian’s students report

that an investment of 20 minutes a day meansthey actually gain time. How? “They have

energy; they make better decisions; theyare able to concentrate and their

memory improves along withtheir physical wellbeing,”

reveals Jillian.

52 NATURAL HEALTH

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Mind | MEDITATION MASTERCLASS

Vedic meditationAt a glance: Vedicmeditation extends fromthe Vedic civilisation inancient India, theoriginal source ofmeditation, yoga andayurvedic medicine. Itliterally translates to “ofthe Veda” which meanstruth or pure knowledge.Known in scientific circles as anautomatic self-transcending technique,it is said to deliver the experience of steppingbeyond activity to arrive at the least excited stateof pure awareness, known as the state of being.Mantra is integral to Vedic meditation; it has avery specific vibration that has the effect ofleading the mind to this less excited state.

Also known as: Transcendental meditation orTM. This is the trademarked term for a style ofVedic Meditation, started when Maharishi MaheshYogi initiated a revival of meditation in the 1950s.

What does it involve? Sitting comfortably in achair with your eyes closed, you’re taught how touse a personal mantra to settle down yourawareness and bring about a state of ‘restfulalertness’. This state of rest is many timesdeeper than sleep and allows the body to heal,purify, restructure and rebalance. This is practisedfor 20 minutes in the morning and evening.

What will I experience? A sense of relaxation,ease and wellbeing combined with the sense ofcontact with that pure, inner, serene delight ofbeing! Thoughts will naturally come into yourhead, but this is to be expected and you’ll learnwhat these mean.

What the research says: “What we seeuniquely with Vedic Meditation is a very holisticfull brain functioning (front and back brain), bi-hemispheric coherence between left and righthemispheres and increased brain activity that isparticularly associated with the relaxationresponse,” says Jillian.

Find out more: Visit the London MeditationCentre website: londonmeditationcentre.comand the TM organisation website: tm.org

NATURAL HEALTH 53

What’s your type?Here we’ve compiled a summary ofthree different meditationtypes to get you started

“Techniquesthat involve

visualisation oraffirmation bring about

increased mentalawareness”

Meditation Qx_Slim At Home 27/06/2011 15:02 Page 3

Vipassana meditationAt a glance: Vipassana meditationextends from the Buddhist traditionand translates to ‘seeing deeply’,referring to the ability to see the truth ofour experience. Known in scientificcircles as a combination of focusedattention and open monitoringtechniques, it is said to cultivatewisdom through the mindfulcontemplation of thoughts, feelings,emotions and bodily actions in thepresent moment. Vipassana helps usachieve a balanced mind andexperience more compassion and love.

Also known as: Insight meditation ormindfulness meditation. Vipassana alsorefers to a specific technique cultivatedby SN Goenka in the 1960s.

What does it involve? You’ll receiveguidance on how to pay more‘focused attention’ to what’shappening in your mind and body inthe present moment. You will be giventools to help you become more mindfulof your body, thoughts, feelings andemotions. Tools to anchor attentioninclude breathing techniques, ornoticing sensations in the body oraspects of your surroundings. Youlearn to direct kindness and friendlinesstowards yourself and others.

What will I experience? You will havean acute awareness of what you arethinking or feeling at that givenmoment. However, rather than thinkingor feeling it, you will instead be moremindful, regarding it as an observation.In the short-term this may result in a greater senseof calm and the ‘bliss-factor’. Longer term, youmight notice greater intuition, enhanced cognitiveperformance and a more relaxed state of being.

What the research says: Recent researchconducted by the University of

Massachusetts Center forMindfulness in the US

showed thatmindfulness

meditationcaused

a thickening of the cerebral cortex (the area of thebrain that plays a key role in memory, attentionand awareness) in areas associated with theintegration of emotions and attention. Resultssuggest that the long lasting effects includeenhanced learning ability, memory, self-awareness,compassion and introspection.

Find out more: Visit the London InsightMeditation website: londoninsight.org and theVipassana Meditation Centre website:dipa.dhamma.org/noncentre.html

Energy meditationAt a glance: Energy meditation helps us toexplore an expanded state of consciousness bydeveloping awareness of the faster energy planesthat surround us: energy fields, aura, energycentres or chakras. In doing so we become more

aware of who and what weare. Levels of awarenesscorrespond to ourunderstanding of the sevenchakras: physical, etheric(known as the crystal body),astral (emotional), lowermental, higher mental, intuitiveand atmic (or atomic; thefastest manifest vibration).Awareness beyond the atmicpoint is spiritual and this iswhere pure energy lies. Theidea is that everything isenergy and you can tap intoit, given some instruction.

Also known as: Spiritualmeditation

What does it involve? Firstyou learn techniques toachieve stillness, such asbreathe, advanced mantra orKundalini meditation. You arethen ‘attuned’ by yourteacher in three stages: stageone gives you awareness ofenergy as light, sound andstillness; stage two enablesyou to become morespiritually aware and at stagethree you realise a limitlessstate of being.

What will I experience?Increased intuition as yourawareness moves beyond thephysical, mental andemotional body and yourspiritual awareness is

heightened. You might experience enhancedperception of light and sound energy, stillness,space and internal clarity.

What the research says: “There is little researchas this meditation has the ability to take the personbeyond those parts that research can explore:mind, body and emotions. This energy createsthese lower levels and so all aspects of thepersonality are better supported and the personalso gains spiritual awareness,” explains Mark.Personal testimonials include less stress anddeeper relaxation; improved sleep; an increasedsense of peace and wellbeing; increased self-esteem; the ability to make calm and betterchoices and improved intuition.

Find out more: Email Mark Zaretti at PureEnergy Meditation for practitioners all over theUK: info@pureenergymeditation.com

!Sit or lie down, close your eyes and take a moment to get comfortable.!Somewhere in the body there will be a dominant sensation. It can be

anything – a tightness in the chest; maybe pressure in the temples.!Gently bring your attention to that sensation. There is no need to

concentrate or focus – simply let your attention rest there.!After a moment, that sensation will start to dissolve and another

sensation will become primary. Let your attention move to this newsensation in the body.

!Again, after a few moments, this will begin to dissipateand another part of the body will draw yourattention. Continue in just the same way.

!After a few minutes, you’ll naturally findyourself thinking other thoughts. Slowlyopen your eyes. You should feel calmerand ready to deal with the demands of life.

Try it yourself This simple meditation allows the mind to settle down and stress andtension to be released from the body. Known as the body feelingtechnique, it has been provided by Jillian Lavender of the LondonMeditation Centre.

54 NATURAL HEALTH

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Mind | MEDITATION MASTERCLASS

“Vipassanameditation helps

us achieve abalanced mind and

experience more loveand compassion”

Be open and curious Meditation is a challenging path of exploration and discovery. “I think themost important thing is to be open, to be curious and to follow some simpleinstruction,” advises Jillian. The experience? Beyondanything you could possibly imagine, says Mark:“When you discover meditation it’s a bit likebeing plugged into the mains. When you watchsomeone who’s struggled all their life finallyrelax, finally love themselves and who theyare; that’s what has value. They’re seeing theworld for the first time, and it’s beautiful.”

NATURAL HEALTH 55

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