"Meditation is training for the mind, helping us become less controlled by stressful thoughts and emotions" explains Buddhist monk Gelong Thubten author of A Monk's Guide To Happiness: Meditation In The 21st Century. This ancient wisdom which teaches that meditation reduces stress and increases peace is now being verified by modern science. One recent study revealed that just a single, introductory meditation session delivers a positive impact for the treatment of anxiety, one of the most common mental health disorders in the United States. Researchers recruited 14 participants with high levels of anxiety. The group was led through a 60-minute guided introductory meditation session focusing on breathing and awareness of one's thoughts. Before and after the medidtation session participants were measured factors related to cardiovascular functioning such as heart rate, blood pressure and specifically blood pressure in the aorta.
"Our results show a clear reduction in anxiety in the first hour after the meditation session, and our preliminary results suggest that anxiety was significantly lower one week after the meditation session," said lead study author John J. Durocher, PhD, an assistant professor of physiology in the department of biological sciences at Michigan Technological University. "Participants also had reduced mechanical stress on their arteries an hour after the session. This could help to reduce stress on organs like the brain and kidneys and help prevent conditions such as high blood pressure."