Daily Health News Blog

People who meditate regularly say it provides mental, spiritual, and physical benefits. Even some mainstream doctors recommend meditation to help treat chronic pain, high blood pressure, and other ailments. How it works is not fully understood, though research is accumulating--and encouraging. Meditation helps you draw attention inward and calm the mind. It comes in many forms, which typically involve combinations of postures, breathing, sound, visualizations, and/or movement. Transcendental Meditation, for example, focuses on a mantra, which can be a word, phrase, or sound that is repeated with every slow breath. Zen Buddhist meditation involves sitting in special positions as you direct your awareness to your posture and breathing. Another popular form is mindfulness meditation, which also comes out of the Buddhist tradition. You practice being aware of the present by observing your thoughts, feelings, and sensations, without making judgments or allowing yourself to think abo...