By Page H. Gifford
Correspondent
Cynthia Moore hosted her monthly wellness activity on Sept. 20 centered on meditation, enabling participants to learn techniques and share their experiences.
Moore began talking about her journey through discovering meditation, adding that she does it every morning.
“It helps me to function in a high-test environment,” she said. “Sitting in quiet brings peace,” Moore emphasized that in a fast-paced, stressful world, meditation offers needed calm, and that those practicing yoga and breathing techniques are experiencing its benefits.
Meditation and its various forms became popular in the ‘70s. Moore cited that in 2012, over four percent were practicing meditation techniques, and by 2017, it had increased to over 14 percent. Meditation, the practice of focusing the mind to cultivate awareness, presence in the moment, and inner calm, has two approaches: Mindfulness meditation and mantra meditation.
“There are two categories of meditation, formal and informal,” said Moore, explaining that formal is often breathing techniques, yoga, yoga nidra, with a guided meditation. “Yoga Nidra allows us to get to the innermost layers of ourselves.”
Informal often includes gardening, music, art, reading, and writing, such as journaling.
“Mindfulness meditation is paying attention in the moment without judgment and is often practiced by focusing on the breath, body sensations, or noticing thoughts and feelings as they arise.” This type of meditation promotes awareness, encourages observing without reacting, and fosters non-judgmental acceptance. People are exposed to mental overload and chaos on a daily basis, and this form of meditation helps the individual become more aware of what is happening around them without an overemotional reaction.
“John Kabat-Zinn said, mindfulness is knowing what you know without judging.”
For others, mantra meditation works by repeating a word, a sound, or a phrase to promote focus and rhythm, to anchor the mind, and create calmness.
“The repetition helps reduce distractions and deepen concentration.” She added that regular meditation has been linked to evidence-based health benefits. Researchers and cardiologists, including Herbert Benson, founder of the Mind/Body Medical Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Professor of mind/body medicine at Harvard Medical School, he studied Transcendental Meditation. Later, Dean Ornish released his data, linking meditation to lowering heart rate, blood pressure, improving sleep, and pain perception.
Studies have shown that the benefits of meditation help with emotional and mental health by reducing stress and anxiety, enhancing emotional regulation, resilience, coping skills, self-awareness, and compassion.
It not only stabilizes mental and emotional health but also improves focus, memory, attention span, slows age-related cognitive decline, and encourages creative thinking and problem-solving.
Moore suggests that for those who want to try daily meditation, first choose a practice, mindfulness or mantra, set aside 5-10 minutes daily, and sit comfortably with good posture.
“I do my practice in the morning for 12 minutes. My intention is to expand on that time.” She summed up by stating that “consistency matters more than duration.”
Moore is a national board certified health and wellness coach, a certified yoga therapist and co-founder of Hygeia Wellness Park. For more information, contact Cynthia Moore at cynhygeia145@gmail.com.
