Instructions for 3 meditation techniques to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke

Recently, more and more people are turning to meditation to reduce stress in life. Not only does it help the body relax, meditation also has a direct impact on the brain and reduces the risk of disease.

To understand the effects of meditation, it is first necessary to analyze the brain's response to stress.According toABCThe autonomic nervous system in the human brain is responsible for controlling automatic responses to stress. The autonomic nervous system is divided into two branches: the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, which play an essential role in handling these responses.

Specifically, the sympathetic nervous system helps people cope with or avoid stressful or potentially dangerous situations, known as the “fight or flight” response. The parasympathetic nervous system balances the sympathetic nervous system, returning the body to its original, natural state.

In many cases, these two nervous systems have opposing functions. If the sympathetic nervous system causes an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and the release of stress hormones such as cortisol, the parasympathetic nervous system counteracts these factors to balance them out.

Studies show that all meditation methods are helpful in managing stress. Specifically,Meditation helps reduce heart rate and cortisol levels.Besides, tMeditation and yoga contribute to reducing diastolic blood pressure (lower blood pressure) by about 3-8 mmHg and systolic blood pressure (higher blood pressure) by about 4-5 mmHg compared with other activities.

While these numbers may seem small, they're important because a reduction of just 2 mmHg can significantly reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke, according to a 2014 study in the US National Library of Medicine.

If you want to practice meditation, you choose one of three main types:open monitoring, focused attention, and automatic self-transcending meditation.

With open meditation, instead of a specific object, the practitioner focuses all of their attention on all aspects and experiences they encounter without judging or delving into them. For example, you feel the surface you are sitting on while meditating.

In concentration meditation, the meditator focuses on a specific object such as the breath, an imaginary object, a mantra, a body part, or an external object. In this way, they are controlling their concentration while meditating. Whenever the mind wanders away from the object, they try to bring the attention back to it.

Finally, Transcendental Meditation involves chanting in Sanskrit, which anyone can do without much effort or concentration. Over time, the chanting will gradually disappear as one’s enlightenment increases. The most important thing is to relax the mind. Simply sit with your eyes closed and practice twice daily for 15 to 20 minutes each time.

Choose a meditation method that you feel comfortable with and practice regularly and consistently. You can also change or combine meditation methods at different times. It is important to note that meditation techniques do not lean completely towards open meditation or focused meditation, but are similar and intertwined.