Meditation can be done by anyone. It’s easy to do and for something that takes up so little time and effort the health benefits are enormous.

Here we will look at the benefits in more detail how it can reduce stress and also improve your psychological state and overall sense of wellbeing.

Meditation has been proved scientifically to combat stress and the reason is that it simply counteracts it.

What happens during stress?

During stress, the heart beats faster and blood pressure rises. The blood flow is diverted from the internal organs to the muscles as well as the areas of the brain that control muscle coordination as the body is in a state of fight or flight.

All this leads us to the feeling exhausted, anxious and stressed.

Stress is induced by stimulation of the hypothalamus of the brain relaxation can achieved by countering this stimulation by countering it with meditation.

Clinical studies have shown that Meditation can contribute to an individual's psychological and physiological well-being as meditation brings the brainwave pattern into an alpha state.

It is this alpha state which is the level of consciousness that promotes the healing state.

Meditation and stress relief

1. Decreases the metabolic rate, lowers heart rate and lowers blood pressure

2. Lowers levels of cortisol and lactate-two. Both these chemicals are a buy product of stress.

3. Reduces free radicals damage to the body

4. Improves skin resistance which lowers with higher stress and anxiety l

5. Helps reduce high cholesterol levels which some with stress and lead to cardiovascular disease.

Our lives are overloaded

Today, it seems that our lives are more stressed than ever and meditation also allows us to step back from the rat race and achieve time out.

Meditation is therefore not just there to counter stress it also helps us enrich our lives and our wellbeing.

• Increases brain wave coherence.

• Encourages creativity.

• Relives anxiety.

• Decreases irritability and improves mood

• Improves memory and concentration.

• Gives a feeling of happiness.

• Increases emotional stability.

Today, it is estimated that around 5% of all Americans practice some form of meditation and this number will increase as the health benefits of meditation are realized by more people.

Meditation is easy to do and we will look at this in further articles in this series as well as the different forms of meditation you can practice.