Looking beautiful is closely associated with the inner peace and calm. Meditation has many techniques which help us in improving health and beauty. Several newspapers and journals, like Huffington Post, have been spreading the awareness of the benefits from meditation practices. Meditation has now evolved into a legitimate health craze, as research has firmly linked its practices
to everything from improved cardiovascular health to cognitive benefits. Good health is so integral to skin and beauty, it is useful to refer to some of them.
Boosts immune system. Many studies have shown a link between regular mindfulness meditation program and better immune functions; meditation could improve the immune system in older people.
Lowers blood pressure. Dr. Randy Zusman at Massachusetts General
Hospital took patients being treated with typical high blood pressure
medication and taught them a technique called the relaxation response;
more than half experienced a drop in blood pressure, sometimes even
resulting in reduced medication. Meditation could be helpful in managing the symptoms of high blood pressure.
Eases inflammation. University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Center for Investigating
Healthy Minds in the Waisman Center, identified a possible link between mindfulness meditation and the relief of inflammatory
symptoms among people who suffer from chronic inflammatory conditions.
Reduces heart risk.
A 2012 study published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular
Quality and Outcomes showed a link between Transcendental Mediation and a
reduction in heart attack, stroke and early death from heart disease. The American Heart Association also says that the stress-busting benefits of different types of meditation can be a boon to heart health.
Mind: Increases gray matter. Meditation may just be exercise for the brain. MRI scans of long-time meditators has revealed that certain
parts of brains were larger than those of a control group,
particularly in regions known for emotion regulation. Another small
study published in 2011 in the journal Psychiatry Research: showed that an eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction program
resulted in increases in gray matter in the hippocampus and areas of the
brain tied to compassion and self-awareness.
Cultivates willpower. Stanford health psychologist Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D. remarked that both physical exercise and meditation can help train the brain for willpower: "Meditation
training improves a wide range of willpower skills, including
attention, focus, stress management, impulse control and self-awareness.
It changes both the function and structure of the brain to support
self-control. ...
brain changes have been observed after eight weeks of brief daily
meditation training."
Builds focus and concentration.
A 2010 study published in Psychological Science showed that Buddhist
meditation improved focus and attention on a task that was designed to
be both boring and demanding. "People may think meditation is something
that makes you feel good, and going on a meditation retreat is like going
on vacation, and you get to be at peace with yourself," says
Katherine MacLean, who worked at
the University of California Davis. "That's what people think until they try it. Then you realize how
challenging it is to just sit and observe something without being
distracted."
Boosts cognitive function. Psychologists have identified a link between mindfulness training and increased
standardized test scores, as well as improvements in working memory. Dr. Sara Lazar, a neuroscientist at Massachusetts General
Hospital, concluded
that regular meditation may stave off the thinning of the brain's
prefrontal cortex, and in turn declines in cognitive function, later in
life.
Helps relationship satisfaction. Several
studies find that a person's ability to be mindful can help predict
relationship satisfaction — the ability to respond well to relationship
stress and the skill in communicating one's emotions to a partner.
Increases compassion.
A 2013 study from researchers at Northeastern and Harvard Universities
suggested that meditation may be the key to unlocking compassion. It showed that volunteers who underwent eight-week trainings in two types
of meditation reacted more compassionately than those who hadn't
meditated.
Physically changes the brain.
University of Oregon in a study (2012) suggested that one type
of Chinese mindfulness meditation could be associated with physical
changes in the brain -- ones that might help stave off mental illness.
Cuts emotional reactivity. American psychologists have underlined that a recent supports the notion that mindfulness meditation decreases
emotional reactivity. In a study of people who had anywhere from one
month to 29 years of mindfulness meditation practice, researchers found
that mindfulness meditation practice helped people disengage from
emotionally upsetting pictures and enabled them to focus better on a
cognitive task as compared with people who saw the pictures but did not
meditate. Mindfulness meditation helps the brain to have better control over sensations, including negative emotions.
Helps sleep.
Deep sleep is essential for healthy living. Sleep deprivation or disorder shows on the skin, and on appearance. At the2009 Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep
Societies suggested that teaching deep relaxation
techniques during the daytime can help improve sleep at night.