Meditation Provides Better Pain Relief Than Opiates

Mike Barrett

People have been experiencing the benefits of meditation for centuries. The power of meditation is often harnessed for intense and deep relaxation. The practice can be extremely beneficial when it comes to eliminating stress, and therefore can be utilized to rid the body of illness and disease as stress is a huge factor when it comes to contracting an illness.

Although the benefits of meditation are abundant, people often meditate to experience just one of those benefits – to relieve pain.

While it often doesn’t take scientific research to convince someone who meditates of the many benefits it possesses, there are many formal studies out there which prove the effectiveness of meditation. In one small study, healthy students who practiced medicine participated in four 20 minute sessions of meditation. The goal of these sessions was to train the students in “mindfulness meditation”. As many who have meditated might know, in achieving mindfulness meditation, one must focus on breathing and rid the mind of distracting thoughts.

To test the effectiveness of meditation and its power to relieve pain, the students had brain scans while a pad heated at 120 degrees laid on the back of each persons leg both before the meditation sessions commenced and afterwards. After having went through the sessions, the students reported a 40 percent decrease in pain intensity and a 57 reduction in unpleasantness. This is fabulous news and crucial for everyone to know. Instead of taking morphine or other drugs which usually reduce pain by only 25 percent, now people can go the alternative route by using meditation.

The Benefits of Meditation Go Much Further than to just Relieve Pain

Meditation brings the body into a state of focus and concentration. The more you meditate, the closer you will get to attaining not only physical relief, but also spiritual connection. That isn’t to say you must meditate to be spiritual, but it does help bring you closer to reaching your higher Self. Through meditation many people find peace of mind and happiness. The benefits of meditating are incredibly vast with people experiencing anything from a relief from asthma to increased confidence. The popularity of alternative practices are becoming so popular that even doctors are prescribing meditation as treatment.

If you want to relieve pain, skip past the drugs and try meditating. It may be one of the best choices you’ve ever made due to the high likely hood of stumbling across so many other benefits that could potentially stay with you for a lifetime. Meditate and experience the benefits for yourself.

Mike Barrett writes for Natural Society.