Meditation and Ayurveda

Ayurveda is a traditional and ancient health care system dating back to the Vedic age of India. Primarily attributed to Dhanvantari, as medical science, Ayurveda uses extensive natural healing practices that work on ailments and enhance the overall wellness of the human mind and body. It doesn’t only focus on the physiological elements of the disorders but also analyses the psychological factors. Compared to other healing processes, Ayurveda prioritizes curing the root cause of the ailment rather than treating the symptoms.

For Ayurveda, the human body and the universe are one entity, and for a healthy life, one must establish a balance between the two. It also focuses on the rhythmic work of the human body, mind, and soul. So, any Ayurveda package includes a combination of herbal and medical therapies, followed by a curated diet, yoga, and Meditation. We have already discussed the relationship between the two sisters of the natural medical science – Yoga, and Ayurveda. In this blog, we will explore the history of Meditation, its benefits, and its connection with Ayurveda.

Meditation:

Meditation is a practice followed to train alertness and awareness. It helps individuals attain a mentally and emotionally calm state of mind. Through mindfulness, chanting of mantras, or focusing one’s mind on a particular object, activity, or thought, practitioners, train their minds not to wander off.

Meditation, also called Dhyana, is an ancient Indian practice, and its earliest records are found in the Upanishads. As per Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Meditation is all about having become calm and concentrated. This way, one senses the self, also called atman, that exists within oneself. Many religions, including Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism, practice Meditation as a spiritual and religious practice. It is considered an ideal spiritual practice that gets the practitioner’s mind back into balance and provides inner peace. It also helps one achieve focused attention and an increased state of awareness.

“Through the study of books one seeks God; by meditation one finds Him.” Saint Pio of Pietrelcina

Meditation is the English translation of the word “Dhyana,” taken from the Sanskrit root word – Dhyai. The meaning of the word is to meditate or ponder. It is most commonly practised by sitting in different postures with eyes closed and mind trained to focus on one thought, preferably the inhalation and exhalation process. Many practitioners also prefer using aids like prayer beads or undergoing simple oral or video training.

People with ailments like depression, anxiety, insomnia, restlessness, and other psychological conditions are often prescribed to have sessions of Meditation. It also helps practitioners control their negative thoughts and heal internally. The practice includes a collection of techniques that encourage body and mind integration.

Benefits of Meditation:

Recent scientific studies show that Meditation can have both psychological and physiological effects. After regular practice sessions, the practitioners can easily reap benefits like lowered stress, controlled respiration rate, changes in brain wave patterns, and decreased heart rate.

Some of the additional emotional, psychological, and health-related advantages of Meditation include the following:

• Increased awareness of oneself.
• A greater understanding of others’ perspectives.
• More effective management of symptoms brought on by depression, anxiety disorders, sleep problems, high blood pressure, and pain problems.
• Alterations to many facets of awareness and attentiveness.
• Better techniques for managing stress.
• Enhanced working memory, improved emotional well-being, and enriched immunity.

Evidence also suggests that Meditation significantly impacts the human brain. Studies using brain imaging methods have discovered that frequent Meditation causes structural changes in the brain.

Constantly analyzing the mind is a strategy used in Meditation. It entails stilling the mind and concentrating it on a single idea. Stopping the waves of the mind will allow one to find inner peace. Our bodies become incredibly calm when our minds transcend the realm of activity owing to the close connection between the body and mind. It has also been found that during the profound state of rest obtained via Meditation, the metabolic rates of the human body decrease to levels far more profound than those generally achieved during sleep. Deep-seated stress and exhaustion can be relieved thanks to this deep level of rest for the body and mind. In light of this, Meditation and other Ayurvedic therapies vastly improve the mind-body system’s capability to heal oneself. In fact, scientific studies also suggest that this self-repair even occurs at the DNA level.

Meditation and Ayurveda:

According to ancient Ayurvedic literature, Mental Health is one of the eight main divisions of Ayurveda. The aspects of restlessness and lethargy are known as rajas and tamas in Ayurveda, which are considered the causes of sickness (doshas) at the mental level. Ayurveda aims to encourage the Sattva guna, which indicates completeness, calmness, and existence in balance with one’s surroundings. It believes in increasing the Sattva through Yoga practices and the treatment of the mind, for which Meditation is a primary therapy. It believes that the quiet meditative mind can inherently cure itself.

To experience the power of Ayurveda and Meditation and for a completely rejuvenating vacation, we suggest you book an Ayurveda package at Harivihar. Its rejuvenating and curative treatments help cure many ailments in the human body through Ayurveda, Yoga, and Meditation. For more queries, please click here!