Meditation as explained simply is an act of training the mind. The ultimate aim is to relax the mind and make it more focused.

Normally one’s attention and thinking is diverted  to all activities they are doing or has  to do or things done in the past. Result is, the mind is working all the time and has not even a moment to relax.  It becomes chaotic when much stressed, thus clouding the thinking and decision making. Mind is the chief executive director of the body and governs all bodily functions.  When it is stressed, the body also becomes stressed. This situation creates problems like mental tension, anxiety, insomnia, among others. Physical health is also affected by mental stress. Due to  mental tension one can experience dryness of mouth and palpitations. Many problems like hypertension, diabetes, asthma, heart attacks, peptic ulcer, among others, are induced and aggravated by mental tension.

It is better to prevent these problems by keeping the mind relaxed and more focused positively. Meditation helps to achieve this.

Different thinkers and institutions teach different ways for meditation. All the techniques provide the same end result of total mental relaxation. In one method, person is taught to sit straight and focus on a point in the middle of the forehead for about 20 minutes. Some advocate looking constantly at the glow of a red bulb or candle placed in front of eyes. In another method, the individual is asked to sit straight with eyes closed. They are then advised to repeat one word constantly in the mind for about 10 minutes daily. It is said that after some days of practice, when the person sits to meditate, the word he was thinking will automatically disappear from his mind. Thus, the mind will become thoughtless, a state of supreme relaxation, which is useful for good health. It also improves self discipline, enabling one to make healthy life style choices and quit addictions, thus improving health.

People who have experienced   absolute relaxation of mind say that being 10 to 15 minutes in such a state is as refreshing as whole night’s sleep.

Meditation is also useful in improving worldly gains. When the mind is totally relaxed, a person can work with greater concentration. Decision making faculty is improved. When one takes correct decisions in life and does quality work they automatically climbs up the ladder in their respective fields.

One can pick up the way of his or her choice. Ideally it is said that meditation should be initiated in the presence of a learned and experienced  teacher, a Guru. But  even without a Guru one can start trying to meditate, through guidance available on you YouTube or CDs. Even if the practice done is not perfect, it will not harm somebody in any way.

There are certain pre requisite conditions for starting meditation. First is the stomach should be empty. Therefore it should be done either early in the morning or two hours after any major meal. One should sit calmly and do some deep breathing before starting meditation. Deep breathing helps one to focus on it better. Keeping the mind happy and full of enthusiasm and positive thoughts adds to the benefits of meditation.

No day is better than today. So  one  can start to meditate from today. To obtain  good  results regularity is the key word.

Dr Rachna Pande is a specialist in internal medicine at Ruhengeri Hospital

rachna212002@yahoo.co.uk