The Benefits of Meditation

Frederic Rosenfeld, psychiatrist

Lyon, France
The main benefit?
You feel better.
The Latin root for the word
‘meditate’ is medeor, meaning ‘I
cure.’
It is the same root for medicine.
Meditation is medicine for the mind.
I heal myself
Shamatha is a Sanskrit word for tranquility
inner peace and calm
Vipassana is a Pali word for penetrating insight.
or mindfulness
It means that we observe things ‘as they are.’
not as we would like them to be.
 Taoism is a Chinese term for
Taoism is a Chinese
‘the term for ‘the way.’
way.’
The Chinese philosophical system always combined
medicine and meditation.
It was inspired by tai chi.
It was inspired by tai chi

and qigong
Chi is inner air, prana or energy.
The proper attitude of the meditator is trust . . .
she feels no fears
and has
no doubts . . .
And no expectations.
Expectations are obstacles to seeing things clearly.
identified the BIG FOUR
(1) a calm environment,
(2) muscular relaxation,
(3) letting go or ‘let it happen’ attitude,
(4) focus on an object such as a candle
flame or the breath.
medicine, psychology and physiology have
discovered what benefits of meditation?
(1) lower blood cholesterol levels,
(2) Qigong strengthens the immune system,
(3) anti-aging effect (Lazar),
(4) lowering of pain from rheumatism,
(5) relieves symptoms of digestive disorders (e.g., IBS,
or irritable bowel syndrome),
(6) accelerates the healing of skin disorders such as
psoriasis,
(7) accelerates healing for stroke
What did Richard Davidson find regarding the brains of
meditators versus the brains of non-meditators?
 He found that different parts of the brain are activated
depending on mood. When we are happy, joyful or
calm, brain activity is primarily focused on the left frontal
lobe and in the left amygdala. When we are sad or
angry, the right frontal lobe and amygdala are active.
His research also revealed that if a person
is born sad, he or she keeps this tendency
for life (genetic predisposition).
However, meditation can help. Davidson found that the
more someone meditates, the more the emotional
landscape shifts toward a positive outlook.
What is a ‘mindful’ attitude towards ‘thoughts’?
One observes the flow of thoughts dispassionately
and non-judgmentally.
A mindful reaction
to emotions is to
watch them
dispassionately and
non-judgmentally.
Meditation

1) facilitates neuronal connections

2) helps us connect to the ‘thinking’ head
and
the ‘feeling’ body
3) connects us to others
4) connects us to the world around us
5) offers medical and psychiatric benefits,
and
6) connects us to the inexpressible (spiritual)
The end.