Breathe
A few seconds or minutes a day of meditation DO miracles on all the levels of our human conditions: physical, psychological and spiritual. It is evident to most people that we need to take care of our body, a bit less about our emotions and even less about our soul. What happen when we give attention to our minds? What happen when I raise awareness of our inter-connection?
In our daily lives, stress is probably the biggest disease of the century. It keep us and our surrounding in a viscous circle of neuro-chemical addiction creating toxins in our body. Discoveries in neurosciences link directly stress with a long list of diseases like cancers, auto-immune disorders, depression, headaches... When we meditate we can deeply transform our body on a physical level. We directly reverse the toxic neuro-chemical reaction and help release good chemicals like for exemple serotonin. Serotonin is active in constricting smooth muscles, transmitting impulses between nerve cells, regulating cyclic body processes. Meditation is an immune-system Booster, helps with blood circulation and all fluids circulations, oxygen levels, expend the amplitude of our lungs...
Serotonin, Dopamine and others neuro-chemical-transmetter are also responsible for maintaining mood balance. Meditation contributes to wellbeing and happiness of our emotional sphere. We become more positive, mindful, calm. We have better mental clarity and personal relationships.
Last but not least, meditation helps to reconnected ourselves to present, the here-and-know. We feel more grateful for what we have, we can reach a quality of peace that leads to compassion, love, consciousness and happiness. We can enter in dialogue with our soul, God, the universe, Nature, the Conscio... How ever you might want to call it.
To meditate doesn't mean to keep an uncomfortable cross-legged position for hours thinking of nothing. It is rather a daily training of our mind to be more aware and vigilant. We learn to be balanced under changing flow of life. We learn to recycle our energies and those of our surrounding. It is a cognitive reeducation that takes some time to master like when you broke your leg you need some time to re-habilitate your walking.
Some articles about brain chemicals:
http://share.upmc.com/2016/09/about-brain-chemicals/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201211/the-neurochemicals-happiness
http://technologyadvice.com/blog/information-technology/activate-chemicals-gamify-happiness-nicole-lazzaro/