MEDITATION-CONQUER THE STRESS
The benefits of mindfulness meditation, increasingly popular in recent years, are supposed to be many: reduced stress and risk for various diseases, improved wellbeing, and a rewired brain. But the experimental bases to support these claims have been few. Supporters of the practice have relied on very small samples of unrepresentative subjects, like isolated Buddhist monks who spend hours meditating every day, or on studies that generally were not randomized and did not include placebo control groups.
Put most simply, meditation is a way to train the mind. Most of the time, our minds are wandering — we're thinking about the future, dwelling on the past, worrying, fantasizing, fretting or daydreaming. Meditation brings us back to the present moment, and gives us the tools we need to be less stressed, calmer and kinder to ourselves and others.
To meditate mindfully demands ''an open and receptive, nonjudgmental awareness of your present-moment experience,'' says J. David Creswell, who led the study and is an Associate Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Health and Human Performance Laboratory at Carnegie Mellon University. One difficulty of investigating meditation has been the placebo problem. In rigorous studies, some participants receive treatment while others get a placebo: they believe they are getting the same treatment when they are not. But people can usually tell if they are meditating. Dr. Creswell, working with scientists from a number of other universities, managed to fake mindfulness.
Mindfulness meditation isn't about letting your thoughts wander, it isn't about trying to empty your mind, either. Instead, the practice involves paying close attention to the present moment — especially our own thoughts, emotions and sensations — whatever it is that's happening.
It's important to approach your new meditation practice with a healthy outlook. Try to be relaxed, curious and friendly. Staying in touch with these qualities will be useful as you encounter some of the inevitable ups and downs of meditation. If you find yourself striving too hard or criticizing yourself, take a few deep breaths and give yourself permission to relax and take it easy. Remember, the purpose of meditation isn't to achieve perfect control over your mind or stop thinking altogether. The intention should be to bring a more compassionate, calm and accepting approach to whatever happens.
By CHIRAG JITENDRA SAMANI
CA Student
At Skill-Set & Will-Set to be A Chartered Accounant
Students Skills Enrichment Board (ICAI)
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