Meditation is a greatly misunderstood practice. There appears to be the mistaken impression that one has to sit in a certain position and meditate for hours, staring at a candle, sounding the word 'om'. This is not the case.

Put simply, meditation works by stilling our thoughts, and bringing the brain into a state of balance.

Meditation can be practiced by individuals that have no spiritual beliefs. Indeed, it is said that many entrepeneurs undertake meditation on a regular basis.

Meditation is actually a deeply grounded practice.

How it works: -
During our normal daily activities, our brains are working at Beta level, the right and the left hemisphere of the brain are usually - for the majority of people - in a state of conflict. This is called brain lateralization. What this creates is the constant mind chatter, the negative inner voice and the inability to detatch from external influences. Brain lateralization squashes creativity. Indeed it can even make everyday logical thinking difficult!

At Beta level our brain operates at around 14-30 Hz. If this rises above 30Hz, you are in an overwhelming state of stress, losing your ability to think rationally and triggering 'knee-jerk' reactions to your environment.

What regular meditation does is to raise your threshold for stress, which means that, over time, you will react less and less to external stimuli. This is called brain synchronization, which means that both hemispheres of the brain begin to come into balance.

During meditation, your brain waves lower to an Alpha state {8 - 13.9 Hz} naturally calming the brain down so that you feel more relaxed. This is the state of being that the likes of artists and athletes attain when they are 100% focused on their task. In this state, one can easily access creative thoughts, imagination and intuitive action. It is easily understood then that regular meditation will increase clarity, focus and creativity.

Beta (14-30 Hz) Concentration, arousal, alertness, cognition Higher levels associated with anxiety, unease, feelings of separation, fight or flight	Alpha (8-13.9 Hz) Relaxation, superlearning, relaxed focus, light trance, increased serontonin production Pre-sleep, pre-waking drowsiness, meditation, beginning of access to unconscious mind
Theta (4-7.9 Hz) Dreaming sleep (REM sleep) Increased production of catecholamines (vital for learning and memory), increased creativity Integrative, emotional experiences, potential change in behavior, increased retention of learned material Hypnagogic imagery, trance, deep meditation, access to unconscious mind	Delta (.1-3.9 Hz) Dreamless sleep Human growth hormone released Deep, trance-like, non-physical state, loss of body awareness Access to unconscious and "collective unconscious" mind, greatest "push" to brain when induced with Holosync®
Pictures courtesy of The Centerpointe Institute

Learning to meditate can be as simple as becoming focused on your breathing and, as such, this will always be the starting point for meditation facilitation.

Meditation is becoming widely accepted by the corporate world as a way of reducing stress, conflict in the workplace and of increasing creativity. In my experience, I find that 99.5% of individuals both enjoy it and gain notable benefits.

Five minutes a day WILL make a difference.......

Meditation practice can be flexible and tailored to both the needs of your staff, and your requirements as a company.