Meditation

Overview

Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years and has many benefits. During meditation, you increase your focus on the present — minimizing random thoughts of everything but the moment at hand. Meditation can help with concentration, relaxation, inner peace, stress reduction and fatigue. It may also help relieve anxiety, depression, pain and insomnia. When combined with conventional medicine, meditation may improve physical health, such as heart health, rheumatologic conditions and digestive problems.

There are many forms of meditation, but most have in common a quiet location, a specific comfortable posture and a focus of attention. The method often taught at Mayo Clinic is called paced-breathing meditation, which includes deep breathing.

Why choose Mayo Clinic for meditation

• Expertise and experience. Mayo Clinic's Complementary and Integrative Medicine Program blends the best of both worlds — conventional and alternative medicine. Specialists at Mayo Clinic recognize that many complementary and alternative medicine treatments, such as meditation, can help promote physical, mental and spiritual wellness.
• Latest tools and techniques. Specialists at Mayo Clinic use a DVD to teach paced-breathing meditation.
• Evidence-based approach. Mayo Clinic doctors recommend certain complementary and integrative medicine treatments based on research that demonstrates effectiveness. The meditation DVD that Mayo developed is based on research results.

Mayo Clinic: Answers you can trust

At Mayo Clinic, we assemble a team of specialists who take the time to listen and thoroughly understand your health issues and concerns. We tailor the care you receive to your personal health care needs. You can trust our specialists to collaborate and offer you the best possible outcomes, safety and service.

Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit medical institution that reinvests all earnings into improving medical practice, research and education. We're constantly involved in innovation and medical research, finding solutions to improve your care and quality of life. Your doctor or someone on your medical team is likely involved in research related to your condition.

Our patients tell us that the quality of their interactions, our attention to detail and the efficiency of their visits mean health care — and trusted answers — like they've never experienced.

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