Mental Relaxation

Abstract

Meditation has been a part of most cultures and religions, both Eastern and Western, throughout the ages. The meditation methods described in various branches of Yoga are probably the oldest, while Christian prayer, Jewish meditation, Japanese Zen, Chinese Tao, Muslim Sufism, and the meditation of Hinduism and Buddhism are some other examples. Only recently, however, have medical people realized that it can be used, without any religious connotation, in the promotion of health. As a result, several hundred papers and books have appeared in the medical literature, describing the physiological and psychological effects of meditation as well as the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of its practitioners.