Meditation is the practice of focusing your mind on a specific subject or activity to avoid distracting thoughts and get into a clear headspace and calm emotional state. There are a lot of different ways to meditate such as mindful meditation, focused meditation, or transcendental meditation. The only things you need to practice meditation are a quiet location, comfortable posture, a focus of attention, and an open attitude.
This makes meditation a super easy way to relieve stress and ease symptoms of depression, anxiety, insomnia and even reduce high blood pressure. (Meditation: In Depth). Transcendental meditation is trying to get to a quieter level of thought or pure consciousness that puts your body into a profound state of rest that eliminates stress and wakes up the brain.
A study following 96 central office staff at the San Francisco Unified School District found that those practicing transcendental meditation experienced improvements in emotional intelligence, perceived stress, general mood, stress management, adaptability, intrapersonal awareness, and reality testing (Transcendental Meditation). This study shows the benefits of meditation specifically in the workplace but with improvements in areas that are helpful in every aspect of a person’s life.
Another study showed the effect of a six-week focused meditation training on depression and anxiety symptoms in Brazilian university students found that “the meditation training was effective in reducing depression and anxiety symptoms, but the maintenance of these reductions only occurred for those who continued meditating” (Carpena). Although this study found meditation to be beneficial with continuing practice, it still showed how it could be effective for reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. Both transcendental and mindful meditation can be beneficial for your health and overall mood and outlook, it’s a practice that only requires a place to focus and be comfortable in, making not only effective but one of easiest ways a person can reduce stress.
Megan Magner
Works Cited:
Carpena, Marina Xavier, et al. “The effect of a six-week focused meditation training on depression and anxiety symptoms in Brazilian university students with 6 and 12 months of follow-up.” Journal of Affective Disorders, vol. 246, 2019, p. 401. Academic OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A571925420/AONE?u=mlin_w_berkcc&sid=AONE&xid=4b5cd201. Accessed 18 Feb. 2019.
“Meditation: In Depth.” National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2 Jan. 2019, nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation/overview.htm#hed3.
“Transcendental Meditation enhances EQ and reduces perceived stress in the workplace.” Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week, 10 Nov. 2018, p. 1566. Academic OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A561047528/AONE?u=mlin_w_berkcc&sid=AONE&xid=a489f7d1. Accessed 18 Feb. 2019.
