Spiritual Meditation vs. Health Focused Meditation

Cultural practices developed over thousands of years ago in South Asia continue to be practiced today by people around the world. Modern science confirms what the ancient yogis experienced first-hand: meditation and other mindfulness practices have empirically verifiable health benefits, such as the alleviation of stress. Meditation practices, however, were used traditionally not to relieve stress and other factors characteristic of modern life, but to recognize the connection between embodied human beings and the divine in order to have insight into one’s true self and the world around them. Spiritual practices indigenous to many religious traditions around the world guide their followers to a way of living that leads to enlightenment and liberation. In this presentation, we compare traditional practices with the contemporary use of these techniques for health and wellness. We are interested in comparing these because we want to learn which practice is more effective overall and what benefits we can get from each of these practices