Eat, pray, love and meditation

Today, is the theater release of the movie, Eat, pray and love. This movie is base on the bestseller hit book of the same name, written by Elizabeth Gilbert.  She write her own memoir, about  a woman  journey, of search and self-discovery. It's the story of a woman who decide to leave everything and go travel for a year,  to take care of her own happiness. She went to Italy to find her sense of taste, in India, to learn meditation and to find the sacred in herself, and she went to Bali to find beauty and love. Through her path, you will find yourself thinking about your own life.

This bring me to today topic, meditation. You may wonder why I talk about meditation in a health blog? Well, meditation, has remarkable effect on the body and mind and it  is a great technique to decrease stress, and to improve your health. The medical profession are starting to do research on the subject. In one study, they find out that student that meditate had better grade, than the control group. The also study Buddhist monk, and find out that during meditation they could increase the activity of certain brain wave. In an another study by the Emerit university, they discover that, people who practice the compassion meditation, react better to stress link depression. So, what is meditation?

Meditation is putting our attention on the present moment. Being still and in silence inside, but in full conciousness and full awarness. Not being in the past or worrying about the futur. Meditation,  increse your health, your joy, your peace and your creativity. The question I am often ask is: How do you meditate?
First of all, you can meditate everywhere, just find a quiet space, sitting or lying down, and close your eye. Start breathing and put your attention on your breathing, and just be. If tought comme, just let it go. This will need practice. Start by 10-15 min. You may get bored, emotion may arise, that is ok, just notice it and let it go. Everything that happen during meditation is ok. I read a study lately, that showed effect on the concentration, after just 5-10 min of meditation. So time is no excuse, better litlle than nothing. You can put light music , focus your attention on a candle or any other object. You can also buy cd of guided meditation, or find some on You tube. You could join meditation group in your area. You can also meditate will walking by yourself, just contemplating the nature around you and being fully aware. Internet  have many article on the subject. But it is simple just be, and you will see, it does feel good being in the present moment.

One book that I usually recommend, when somebody start meditating is Wherever you go, there you are, from Jon Kabat-Zinn. This is a small book, easy to understand and full of exercise.

Just try meditation and like any sport you will get better with practice, and will gain many benefit in your life, on the long term.