Meditation is nature’s best healer.  It allows the body to reach a state of harmonic resonance, which puts the body into a state of regeneration.  When people feel ill, they often turn towards prescription medication without a second thought.  But what if meditation could cure and even prevent some diseases?

90% of all diseases and illnesses are either caused or aggravated by stress, and meditation is a great way to reduce the impact negative emotions have on our bodies and nervous systems.  A shift in consciousness causes a shift in biology, and when you are peaceful and calm during meditation, you release chemicals such as seratonin, oxytocin, and dopamine which help stabilize the immune system and regenerate your energy systems.  It also prevents the release of things like adrenaline and cortisol, which are completely taxing to the body.

Did you know that meditation is scientifically proven to:

1. Overcome stress (University of Massachusetts Medical School, 2003)

2. Boost your creativity (ScienceDaily, 2010)

3. Improve your sex life and increase your libido (The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2009)

4. Cultivate healthy habits that lead to weight loss (Journal Emotion, 2007)

5. Improve digestion and lower blood pressure (Harvard Medical School)

6. Decrease your risk of heart attack (The Stroke Journal, 2009)

7. Help overcome anxiety, depression, anger and confusion (Psychosomatic Medicine,

8. Decrease perception of pain and improve cognitive processing (Wake Forest University School of Medicine, 2010)

9. Increase your focus and attention (University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2007)

10. Increase the size of your most important organ – your brain! (Harvard University Gazette, 2006)

Mediation has also been show to  reduce the risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease by almost 50% (American Heart Association, 2012).  What man-made pill can do that?

“There is a true biological effect,” said Dr. Denninger, director of research at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, one of Harvard Medical School’s teaching hospitals. “The kinds of things that happen when you meditate do have effects throughout the body, not just in the brain.”

In a day and age where medication is not cheap, and prescription drugs kill 100,000 people each year, it’s time we embrace a cheaper and more natural alternative form of healing into our medical community.  Keep in mind, meditation is not just about healing the body.  It DOES do miracles for the body, but to be honest, the physical benefits are usually the last reasons why people meditate.

Meditation also leads people to self-discovery, inner peace, mental clarity, spiritual/emotional balance, and is the best thing you could do if you are experiencing a period of suffering or confusion in your life.  Unlike pills, meditation also contributes to mental, emotional and spiritual health.

Now don’t get me wrong.  Western medicine is a miracle, and if you need to take antibiotics or some other kind of medication for a health problem you have, then take it.  But nowadays, you can walk into a hospital and be like “I just feel like, icky and weird and I don’t know…” and they’ll sell you medications without even knowing what the issue is.  Meditation, combined with a clean diet and exercise, is a surefire way to turn your illness around without side effects.

For more information on meditation, here is a great video Jordan made on meditation!