Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state.
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Meditation has proven difficult to define as it covers a wide range of dissimilar practices in different traditions.
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Meditation is sometimes done while walking, known as kinhin, while doing a simple task mindfully, known as samu, or while lying down, known as savasana.
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Transcendental Meditation technique recommends practice of 20 minutes twice per day.
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Meditation encouraged people to reflect on one's actions and worth at the end of each day.
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Meditation has spread in the West since the late 19th century, accompanying increased travel and communication among cultures worldwide.
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Meditation clearly advocated ways to increase the conscious awareness of an individual.
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US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health states that "Meditation is a mind and body practice that has a long history of use for increasing calmness and physical relaxation, improving psychological balance, coping with illness, and enhancing overall health and well-being.
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In Norway, another sound-based method called Acem Meditation developed a psychology of meditation and has been the subject of several scientific studies.
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Meditation lowers heart rate, oxygen consumption, breathing frequency, stress hormones, lactate levels, and sympathetic nervous system activity, along with a modest decline in blood pressure.
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Meditation has been correlated with unpleasant experiences in some people.
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