Does Meditation cures Diseases ?

A number of people believe that meditation can cure diseases, not just psychological but physiological as well. Usually meditation is just considered beneficial for a balanced state of mind but people often practice it to get a balanced body with good immune system and good concentration power. If you ask a real practitioner of meditation about purpose of meditation then the response may not satisfy your expected answer of "good health". The main purpose of mediation is to take you consciousness to a higher level and to make you understand the purpose of life, but a normal human being who is busy in other aspects of life expects something else from meditation. His expectancy is something which is just better side-effect, not the actual objective. Apart from raising the consciousness level, some forms of meditation upgrade the health, physical capability and concentration power of brain.

Here our main objective is not to tell you about the real objective of meditation (as a guru), but to tell you about health benefits and how it can be used to treat diseases.

Most sought health benefits of meditation

• lower blood pressure
• ease symptoms of depression
• improve sleep
• reduce anxiety
• decrease pain

In India, meditation is known as Yoga which consists of various types meant for different objectives. Some yoga are just meant to make your breathing stronger, improve your muscles and increase your flexibility, which further helps you in beginning harder yoga practices. Those who are not physically capable of doing those yoga practices due to old age or medical conditions opt for other yoga practices that include sitting in a relaxed posture and focusing on your breathe, thought, object or sound. Those who practice yoga regularly, even after getting diagnosed with some diseases, often report that they feel better after practicing yoga. Some people even claim that their medication is decreased due to yoga. Indian science of Ayurveda says that diseases are caused due to imbalance of bodily fluids, and yoga experts believe that yoga has got the power to bring that balance back on track.

A quora user described how meditation saved him from extreme depression and anxiety. He shared his experiences and wrote how his personal and academic life made him suffer with depression and anxiety to a level where his limbs use to shiver vigorously before getting blank. As he practiced meditation, his condition improved. Read More.

In response to this experience some other users said that mental diseases are of two type: functional and structural. Depression is a functional disease of brain which might get cured by meditation, but they are not so sure about structural diseases like tumors and bleeding inside brain, which need surgical intervention. However this logic is not so logical because meditation is not meant for instant effects, which is necessary to cure any structural damage. Surgery is best for instant relief from structural diseases, while meditation takes months of practice to show benefits on your body. Meditation is also a science, not a magic.

According to Harvard Medical School's cardiologist Herbert Benson any medical condition caused or worsened due to stress can be cured by meditation. It improves heart rate, breathing, and brain waves. Our blood pressure and metabolism are also lowered. Several medical studies have confirmed the good effect of meditation on heart health. When it comes to brain, a study on buddhist monks have shown effective changes in those parts of brain which are responsible for attention, working memory, learning, and conscious perception.

According to an article published in newscientist.com, meditation influences the expression of those genes which affect inflammation response of body. However inflammation is a response of our body to protect us from possible infection, but in some cases the excess response becomes an autoimmune-disease itself, such as asthama, arthritis and some cardiovascular diseases. Meditation can improve the inflammation response of our body and can cure auto-immune diseases.

• According to a study published in Psychosomatic Medicine, the group which meditated for 8 weeks prior to getting flu-shot produced more antibodies for flu-virus.
• According to a study done on meditating women, PMS symptoms reduced by 58% and intensity of hot-flashes also decreased, when compared with women who don't meditate.
• New mothers can double the production of milk by meditating on images of milk flowing.
• Positive emotions like happiness also increase due to meditation.

Some experts believe that repetition is the key behind all benefits of meditation. The repetition may include anything like breathing, a sound, a word (or mantra), a prayer or a movement. There are various types of meditation and each of them is not meant of every person. Which meditation suits you depends on your body and mind. For-example Hath-Yoga (हठ योग or Hot-Yoga) is not meant for people with physical ailments and heart diseases, as it challenges the extremes that your body can bear. Similarly some meditation practices which deal with controlling the thought process can't be done by a beginner. Meditation is not something forced, but something happily accepted by your body and mind. Once you practice meditation with acceptance then it brings peace to both, your mind and body.

Even if some serious or structural medical conditions can't be cured by meditation, but it can cure from a number of normal medical conditions. Meditation definitely prevents you from a number of diseases by improving your immune system. If you want to learn meditation to improve your health, then it is not a rocket-science to learn, you can begin it after watching a few minutes of breathing meditation techniques on youtube.