How Does Vedic Meditation Help with Anxiety?
Anxiety is one of the big reasons people come to learn Vedic Meditation. It’s an experience closely connected to the body’s stress response, and understanding that relationship helps explain why meditation makes a difference.
Anxiety and the stress response
Anxiety is a variation of the fight-or-flight response.
If the response is expressed as “fight”, we tend to experience anger. If it’s expressed as “flight”, we’re more likely to experience fear or anxiety. In either case, the mind and body are in a state of excitation.
Meditation takes us in the opposite direction
Vedic Meditation allows the mind and body to de-excite.
As the system settles, we have an opportunity to release stress and move towards a more balanced state.
What happens in the body when we meditate?
We can also see changes at a physiological level. During meditation, markers associated with stress and anxiety go down, while neurochemicals associated with happiness and wellbeing increase.
As we reduce the stress we’re carrying, it also changes how we deal with what’s happening now.
We’re clearer. We think better. We feel more positive. And that makes us less likely to become stressed or anxious in response to everyday situations.
As Michael puts it:
“Get rid of the old stuff, interact well with the new stuff.”
How quickly can things change?
This doesn’t necessarily require months or years. Michael says people begin noticing a difference within days and weeks of learning Vedic Meditation.
Vedic Meditation is taught in person over four consecutive days at London Meditation Centre and New York Meditation Center.
Find out more: London | New York
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