Q. I’ve found that I’m becoming more anxious lately, and some of my friends have recommended meditation. I don’t know a lot about it but have heard it’s becoming more popular. Is this something worth exploring?
A. We’ve heard from many people who are dealing with anxiety and looking for good tools to help manage it. It’s always a great idea to talk with your health care provider who may have some suggestions for you. Many people also find that developing healthy habits, including medication, can be beneficial.
According to the Mayo Clinic, meditation has been around for thousands of years, in a variety of forms, throughout the world. Meditation today is recognized as a mind-body activity that can reduce stress and promote relaxation.
In general, meditation involves focusing your attention and evading the continuing stream of ideas, urges, and worries that often crowd our minds. It can provide benefits that last long after a specific meditation session concludes, helping people tackle the remainder of their day with fresh calmness and clarity. The Mayo Clinic reports it has been found to aid symptoms of certain medical conditions, including anxiety, asthma, sleep problems, tension headaches, and high blood pressure. Meditation often involves the following components:
- Focused attention: This is focusing on a specific object, image, word/phrase (mantra), or breathing.
- Relaxed breathing: This involves slow, deep, even-paced breathing, using the diaphragm to expand the lungs and take in more oxygen.
- Maintaining an open attitude: Practice letting one’s thoughts enter and leave the mind without judging them.
Yoga is also a form of meditation. It requires balance and concentration, which helps people practicing it focus more on the present, instead of dwelling on the news or a to-do list.
Our own Healthy Living Center of Excellence offers free, evidence-based workshops that teach or incorporate practices of meditation, including tai ji quan and tai chi.
For more information about these and other HLCE workshops, visit our website at https://agespan.org/solutions/health-wellness/
By exploring these and other options, you may find a form of meditation that feels right for you.
Joan Hatem-Roy is the chief executive officer of AgeSpan, which serves the following cities and towns: Amesbury, Andover, Billerica, Boxford, Chelmsford, Danvers, Dracut, Dunstable, Georgetown, Groveland, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lowell, Marblehead, Merrimac, Methuen, Middleton, Newbury, Newburyport, North Andover, Peabody, Rowley, Salisbury, Salem, Tewksbury, Tyngsboro, Westford, and West Newbury.
First published in the Eagle-Tribune.
