Are you searching for a certain health benefit, such as decreased anxiety or lower blood pressure? Though proponents of most self meditation practices claim health benefits, frequently these claims of benefit cite scientific research that was actually conducted on other forms of meditation, and not on the practice being promoted. Yet research has clearly shown that not all meditations give the same results. If you’re selecting a meditation for a specific health benefit, check the research being used and verify that a particular benefit was actually done on that specific meditation technique and not on some other practice. While you are looking into the research, be sure the study was peer-reviewed and published in a reputable scientific or academic journal. If a study showing a specific benefit, such as deep relaxation or reduced anxiety, was replicated by several other research studies on that similar practice, then the science is more compelling.
When it comes to reducing stress and anxiety, scientists have again found that all meditation practices are not equally effective. Practices that employ concentration have been discovered to actually increase anxiety, and the same meta-study found that most meditation techniques are no more effective than a placebo at reducing anxiety.
Do you need meditation to lower your blood pressure? The Transcendental Meditation technique is the only mind/body practice that has been shown both in independent clinical trials and meta-analyses to significantly lower high blood pressure in hypertensive patients. To determine if a particular form of meditation has scientific evidence supporting a specific benefit, you can do a search at PubMed or through Google’s academic search engine, Google Scholar. There are over a thousand peer-reviewed studies on the various forms of meditation, with the Transcendental Meditation technique and mindfulness meditation being the most extensively researched practices, respectively. Look into the fields of self meditation and unlock the beautiful power of your calm mind.
