Meditation, Black Health and Wellness

Meditation is a practice in which an individual focuses their mind on a particular object, thought or activity to achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm state.

​We often hear about the benefits of meditation. Meditation can be a useful tool to help soothe the mind and relieve stress, but what exactly is meditation? Let’s start by explaining that meditation is a state of consciousness. It is not a thought or an idea but rather a practice in which an individual focuses their mind on a particular object, thought or activity to achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm state. For example, an individual could focus on observing their breath as it goes in and out of the body.

Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years so it isn’t new fad or trend. Many people associate meditation with religion and spirituality but in actuality you don’t have to subscribe to any religion or spiritual belief system to meditate. It can be practiced by anyone.

​It’s a way for you to focus on the present moment by breathing deeply, quieting your mind, relaxing your body and being aware of what's going on around you—including any thoughts or emotions that arise. You don't have to chant “ohm” or sit cross-legged on the floor; there are many simple ways to meditate that are easy for beginners.

Meditation can help you focus on the present moment.

​Your mind wants to take you on an adventure. You may have daydreams of your future or fantasies about what other people think of you. Or maybe you’re thinking about how this or that could have worked out better in the past. But all of those things mean that you’re not focused on the present moment, which can be a real problem if it’s happening during your workout. That’s why one of the most important benefits of meditation is an ability to stay present.

When people who meditate are asked what it means, they often say something like “being focused on the here and now” or just “being present.” What does that mean? For one thing, it means being more aware of your surroundings, even if you don't feel anything about them in particular. It also means having a better sense of yourself—how you're feeling physically and emotionally—and feeling less conflicted between those things and whatever else is going on around you at any given moment.

Meditation can help you manage stress.

​Meditation can help you manage stress. Stress takes a toll on your body. It causes physical changes that can lead to major health problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Meditation helps you stay calm and avoid these problems by focusing on the present moment.
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You're sitting at your desk, trying to get work done, when all of a sudden you remember how you forgot to grab milk at the store on your way home last night. You don't usually drink milk, but your mom is coming to visit this weekend, and she loves her coffee with creamer. What if she drinks too much coffee and realizes there's no creamer? She'll be unhappy about it and that will make for an awkward weekend...

Or maybe—just maybe—you could be present in the moment. Maybe you could realize that this whole situation can wait until later today or even tomorrow, when you have time to go get some creamer from the store. Or maybe you could do what I do and avoid the entire situation altogether by skipping out on the whole “coffee” thing and just drinking water instead (which is free!). You could focus on what's in front of you right now:

the overdue report due tomorrow morning that only has two sections left to write;

your sister's birthday party coming up next week;

the article waiting for a rewrite before 8 pm tonight

and so on.

Meditation may reduce blood pressure.

​Another key area where meditation has a clear benefit is in blood pressure. After just two weeks of consistent practice, it may help you achieve mild reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. If you do it for 50 minutes each day over the course of several years, your blood pressure will likely stay low, even when you aren't meditating.

If you are new to meditating and want to see if it works for lowering your blood pressure, try this: Sit up straight on the floor or in a chair with an open posture (think arms resting on thighs, hands open). Close your eyes and take deep breaths until you feel calm. Be sure to keep your back straight! Practice this technique daily for five minutes at first, then slowly increase the amount of time you spend meditating until it’s at least five minutes long. That said, there’s no limit to how much time you can spend meditating—the sky’s the limit! Incorporate meditation into your everyday routine by taking breaks from work to practice simple breathing exercises wherever you are. You can also use meditation as a way to bring mindfulness into other daily activities like washing dishes or doing laundry instead of watching TV.

To measure how well meditation is working for reducing blood pressure, take note at what point during each session does the deepest relaxation occur-it could be after only one second or two seconds into a session! Then write down how long these periods last so that later on when measuring from those same points again (exact length should be noted) results show changes are happening within them (for example: going from "too shallow" breathing patterns before starting any sort of yoga/meditation practice).

Meditation helps manage pain and other condition symptoms.

​Pain can be a debilitating condition. When you're in pain, it's hard to sleep, get work done or maintain relationships. Meditation might help you cope with the pain and other symptoms of chronic pain like fatigue.

How does meditation help with chronic pain?

There are many ways that meditation can reduce your chronic pain. The American Heart Association suggests that meditation helps improve health by reducing stress, anxiety and depression. These conditions have been shown to exacerbate conditions like arthritis, headaches and backaches.

Meditation helps manage pain and other condition symptoms.

Meditation may seem like something only "woo-woo" people do, but it has many health benefits and may be effective in helping you manage your chronic pain, says Timothy McCall, MD, a board-certified internist and Yoga Journal author who specializes in using yoga to treat chronic diseases. "It is not meant to replace conventional medicine," he says. "But it can be used as a powerful adjunct."

How does meditation help with chronic pain?

Stress and anxiety often make pain worse by increasing your sensitivity to it. Meditation releases stress hormones like cortisol and strengthens feel-good hormones like melatonin in the brain—a combination that helps reduce both physical and emotional discomfort. And if you're feeling more positive about yourself because of your practice, that alone might help take the edge off your symptoms. Studies show that meditation also decreases inflammation in the body—and inflammation can worsen many types of chronic pain, such as fibromyalgia or arthritis pain.

Meditation can be done anywhere at any time.

You can meditate while laying down, sitting, walking, running and even while eating. You can meditate instead of sleeping or while you’re asleep (I know… Right?!) and there are many places where meditation is practiced including in the open air, in silence or with sound. You can do it with your eyes open or closed and there are various techniques that you employ to achieve a focused state.

Want More?

​As always, I appreciate that you have read through this blog post.  I hope that you’ve become curious to find out more about some great picks for Black Children.  Read our other post, "Black People Meditate" for more suggestions.  We ask that you consider purchasing your books from our Black owned business, Afriware Books, Co.  If there is a title you’d like to purchase that is not mentioned here, or could not be found on the website, feel free to email us at:  [email protected]