Meditation is a technique many individuals use to achieve mental clarity or reach calm emotional well-being. Practicing meditation is beneficial for individuals to understand who they are and what their abilities may be, and it’s a popular practice due to its positive effects.
This mindfulness technique has been found highly beneficial for those who are battling illnesses such as cancer. Meditation is often used to alleviate symptoms of depression, anxiety, fatigue, chronic pain, and stress related to a cancer diagnosis. Grab your meditation mat and let the peaceful feelings begin.
There are three stages of mediation.
Stage #1: Dharana
During this stage, one is expected to Observe their thoughts and feelings while in the moment. This form of concentration is often challenging. While present at this moment, one will begin to have a whirlwind of emotions race throughout their mind. During this period, you may be questioning how accurately you are doing this mindfulness exercise or if it’s even working. You must utilize this stage to draw your attention toward an object. The purpose of this focus is to become what you have drawn your attention to. Many people focus on earthly objects such as the sun, sea, light, or a tree.
Stage #2: Dhyana
During the second stage, Dhyana, the overall goal is to observe silence and begin the meditation process. During this mediation stage, your attention slowly drifts away from the thoughts and feelings that were first racing throughout your mind. You begin to draw your mind to the silence of the world around you, and you start connecting to the object to which you have relayed your focus.
Stage #3: Samadhi
The last step of the mediation process is called Samadhi. Samadhi is viewed as the absorption part of the meditation cycle. During this step, the mind has entered its most concentrated state. This portion of meditation results in a partial or sometimes complete lack of awareness. When this occurs, the nervous system is no longer aware of its surroundings.
After the meditation process is complete, you will experience a sense of calm resulting from the deactivation of your sympathetic nervous system during meditation. Although, most of the positive side effects of meditation are not activated by the brain immediately. Meditation takes a few weeks of practice to access the full benefits it gives you.
For cancer patients, this practice can be very beneficial in alleviating depression & anxiety, fatigue, chronic pain, and stress.
Depression and Anxiety
Meditation uses a sense of tranquility to reduce the negative thoughts and feelings that may be crowding your mind. Cancer often opens up new fears of the possibility of loss, disturbs one’s quality of life, and so much more. Battling depression and anxiety while fighting cancer has the ability to make one’s recovery much more challenging. By using meditation as a coping mechanism, it can ultimately increase one’s will to keep fighting.
Fatigue
Many cancer patients often struggle with fatigue resulting from the damage of healthy cells while in treatment. Fatigue may also be a side effect associated with your body’s healing process. Meditation is a great way to reduce symptoms of tiredness by calming the mind, and it even can be utilized as a form of rest if appropriately used.
Chronic Pain
Cancer is associated with multiple forms of pain, ranging from chronic to dull. While meditating, the mind’s attention is focused on one’s breath rather than the pain throughout the body. Although it does not eliminate this pain, it has the ability to calm the mind and allow the mind to accept the discomfort at hand.
Stress
Cancer can bring extreme amounts of stress to patients and their families. When a person is stressed, it often results in Increased blood pressure as well as heart rate. Meditation can significantly improve coping with stress by reducing cortisol levels throughout the blood.
Meditation is a powerful mindfulness practice to utilize for cancer patients or anyone who may be facing a challenging time in life. Meditation allows the body to decompress and reach a sense of tranquility that it often is not given a chance to access.
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