If there is one single good habit that you must cultivate beside exercise, it is meditation. Meditation is not a religious or intellectual activity. It involves an attempt to widen our consciousness and be alert our true self. It attempts to quiet the mind .Usually we find it difficult to control our mind. Meditation helps us to achieve this. If practiced correctly, meditation can be a powerful antidote to depressive thoughts.

The benefits that are gained from daily meditation are immense.

The physical benefits are:

1. Boosts the immune system
2. Decreases oxygen intake
3. Regulates blood flow
4. Relaxes the nervous system
5. Increased air flow to the lungs
6. Regulates body weight
7. Better skin
8. Relaxes muscle tension
9. Slows down aging process
10. Conserves energy
11. Lessens anxiety attacks
12. Reduces cholesterol level
13. Promotes vitality and wholesomeness

There psychological benefits are:

14. Builds self-esteem
15. Increases creativity
16. Improved learning and cognitive functions
17. Stabilized emotions
18. Improved relationship with self and others
19. Lessens the risk of mental illness
20. Helps in developing will power
21. Develops intuition
22. Increased empathy
23. Less prone to aggressive behavior
24. Increased sense of responsibility
25. Better response to stressful events
26. Greater tolerance
27. Increased job satisfaction
28. Growing wisdom
29. Increased self-actualization
30. Balanced personality

The brain is an electrochemical organ using electromagnetic energy to function. Electrical activity emanating from the brain is displayed in the form of .There are four categories of these brainwaves. They range from the high amplitude, low frequency delta to the low amplitude, high frequency beta. Men, women and children of all ages experience the same characteristic brainwaves. They are consistent across cultures and country boundaries.

BETA – 13-30 cycles per second – awaking awareness, extroversion, concentration, logical thinking – active conversation. A debater would be in high beta. A person making a speech, or a teacher, or a talk show host would all be in beta when they are engaged in their work.

ALPHA – 7-13 cycles per second – relaxation times, non-arousal, meditation, hypnosis

THETA – 4-7 cycles per second – day dreaming, dreaming, creativity, meditation, paranormal phenomena, out of body experiences, ESP, shamanic journeys.

DELTA – 1.5-4 or less cycles per second – deep dreamless sleep.

During meditations brainwaves alter. The cross from beta to theta.
Studies in the field of meditation shows that once close your eyes to meditate, your body begins to shift into a state of restfulness that is much deeper than deep sleep, and yet you are awake. Going along with the restfulness is a whole set of changes: blood pressure decreases, your heart rate decreases slightly, your breath rate slows, and your muscle tension decreases.

The rate of change is startling. Within the first 3 minutes, oxygen consumption drops by 10 to 17 percent. Oxygen consumption is a good indicator of how much work the body is doing, and when you are resting, oxygen consumption drops. In deep sleep, as you get more and more restful, oxygen consumption drops over the course of hours, so that after about 4 or 5 hours, it has decreased by 8% or so. So think of the deepest, most refreshing sleep you have ever had and double that.

Author Bio: A. Majid is is committed to bring the best out of himself and help other to achieve theirs. For more tools on meditation, go to Self Help 101

Category: Self Help
Keywords: meditation, brain, brainwaves