Lifting the lid on meditation Cambridge News, 3 August 2011 No longer solely associated with crossed legs and humming noises, more and more people are reaping the benefits of meditation. Lydia Fallon finds out why Enjoying a moment of complete calm in the hectic world of today can be increasingly hard to come by. But learning how to clear your head from the babble of everyday thoughts for just 15 minutes a day could improve your concentration, reduce your stress levels and boost your wellbeing. Meditation originated 5,000 years ago in India but became popular in the West during the swinging sixties by Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Gwyneth Paltrow and Gisele Bundchen are both celebrity fans and Paul McCartney has even spoken of the stabilising influence it had on The Beatles during the height of their fame. Jonathan Hinde, of the Cambridge transcendental meditation centre, has been practising meditation for over 30 years and sees first hand the impact it can have on a person’s life: “Doctors say 70 to 80 per cent of people that they see suffer from stress related conditions. We are talking about problems like high blood pressure, insomnia, ulcers, and migraines. These conditions are our body’s response to overload,” explains Jonathan. “Modern medicine generally offers only short-term solutions to these conditions, but meditation has been shown to help, because it gives the mind and body a unique state of deep rest. It is this rest that allows the body to release the stresses that have accumulated over a lifetime, and therefore get rid of the problem at source. “ Meditation is as much a physical experience as it is a mental one, with many physiological changes taking place during the practice – breathing and blood flow are just two examples. Recent research by the University of California has also shown that people who meditate have bigger brains and stronger connections between different parts of the brain. Heather Hancock, a company director, who started meditating in November last year, turned to the practice as a last resort: “I felt like I was on a hamster wheel and couldn’t stop it,” she explains. “I’d heard meditation was a stress release and read an article about the physiological changes that can take place, I just thought if it works it works and if not, at least I’ve given it a go.” But Heather couldn’t have prepared for the massive impact it had on her life: “I just thought ‘my god everything is so much more vivid’ and I’d really start to notice things I never had before,” Heather enthuses. “My whole life settled down, there was no clutter in my mind anymore and I started to do things in a lot less time; something that used to take three hours now takes one." Transcendental Meditation, which is what Jonathan and Heather practice, is simple to learn because it uses the natural tendency of the mind. It involves a simple mental practice for 15 to 20 minutes twice a day. Jonathan believes the best way to understand it is to imagine your mind is like an ocean: “On the surface of the ocean there is a lot of activity, but as you dive down the activity becomes less, and on the ocean bed it is completely silent. The mind likewise has many different levels of activity, and within all of us there is a deep level that is completely silent, still, non moving. Transcendental Meditation allows us to contact that level in a natural way.” Although many magazines claim to offer “tips and tricks” for successful meditation, Jonathan believes that it is something that can only be taught: “You can’t force it,” he explains. “The moment you start putting effort into it, you are keeping the mind busy and lively and trying out such tips will mean effort.” Jonathan offers a course in transcendental meditation which includes a no obligation introduction talk to find out what it’s all about, and then four hour and a half sessions to learn the technique. This is followed by a six month follow-up programme to see that you are enjoying the benefits. Meditation may not be to everybody’s taste but Jonathan welcomes sceptics: “A lot of people think that meditation is going to be too difficult but I welcome a sceptical attitude, after all the only way to find out is to try.” For more information call Jonathan on 01223 411362, email him at jonathan@meditation-cam.org.uk or visit the website. lydia.fallon@cambridge-news.co.uk