what are the benifits of meditation?

[jbmmaster]

I was wondering since im new to meditation what kind of benefits do you get from doing it?

I started to feel a tingling feeling on my face and really strong on my hands and fingers it was pretty exciting to me, is this because of strong chi circulation? maybe i shouldn't concentrate on this sensation and keep trying to focus on my breath.

when i meditate i lye on my back and put my knees up in the air then i put one hand over another over my dan tien, I believe thats what its called. The reason why I do this meditation posture is because when i do the cross legged one the circulation in my legs and feet get cut off and i dont know if this is harmful or not.

Any comments please

[Former castleva]

http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20501&highlight=meditation

Do forgive me.The link has seen it´s better days.
Quickly,I searched for any back-up;
http://www.mcg.edu/news/2003NewsRel/meditation.html

[jbmmaster]

A trick with sitting cross legged is to use your mind to lead blood through the locked joints.

I cant say im experienced enough to do this. Must i use YI (intent) for this to be possible.

[Buddy]

Take a look at "Taoist Yoga" by Lu Kuan Yu. This issues is addressed.
Buddy

[Repulsive Monkey]

In the short term - reduced stress, better sleep, better metabolism, brighter nature, better clarity, keener perception

Long term - enlightenment.

[TaiChiBob]

Greetings..

Ultimately, when you get past the ritual and other such distractions, you arive at complete clarity.. When you can quiet the mind (stop the mental chatter.. thought).. you can begin to "live in the moment".. thought is what separates us from being in the moment.. Martial Artists know this wisdom from years of training, they understand that the time it takes to "think" a strategy is the time it takes an opponent to find a target that is "lost in thought"..No visualizations, no chants, no rituals, nothing can replace the effects of being present as you create yourself moment by moment.. being present in the moment allows you to connect with the full awareness of who/what you are.. without the mental chatter (which is the prejudiced voices of your mentors describing what your experience are or should be rather that letting you determine that value for the current "you").. without the mental chatter, we can instictively/intuitively know and effect self-healing, we can deal with life from the perspective of our natural inclinations rather than the contrived structure of our indoctrinated personalities..

That being said, of course i realize the value of rational thought and logical structure, but it should play a supporting role to the wisdoms inherent to our "natural" selves.. experience life's events in quiet clarity, understand your natural inclinations.. then, apply the necessary logic and structure to complement that natural understanding.. too many people have forgotten how to have a natural experience, they rely solely on the preprogramming of social culture to make their way through this wonderful gift we call life..

For me, the benefit of meditation is living Life with unconditional sincerity and as much clarity as my feeble mind can muster.. meditation has served me well.. Taiji and Qigong are superb meditations once you learn the nuances of movement and breath.. i sense that we already know all this, we just need to shut-up the voices in our head and reconnect.. (is it just me, or does everyone else hear those voices, too?)..

Be well.. it's just another perspective..

[SanSoo Student]

Improved concentration, Better insight, and possible Nirvana..

[Nexus]

The benefits of meditation are in direct relationship to what benefits you want! That is the beauty and blessing of meditation. You get from it exactly what you want to get from it, with enough will and intent of course.

You can meditate to achieve stillness of mind, to attain an improved imagination, to help collect your thoughts, to become inspired and more creative, to simply sit back and relax.. oh the list goes on and on. you could use it to plot out a murder (pre-meditated -- see where they get the term now?) or to plan out a wedding!

But here is my two cents. Meditation involves mind and body. To gain the best results, having excellent posture is critical, meaning your back is straight, but relaxed, and your breathing is steady, full and in harmony with the intent of the meditation.

Good posture brings your mind and body into the "here and now" which is ultimately a great goal of meditation.

Wish you the best

[Gold Horse Dragon]

MINDFULNESS

[Taijiquan ninja]

i learned in psycholagy that when in deep meditation the brain releases alpha waves wich are the same waves realeased in the lightes level of sleep. that means that one benifit of meditation is a clear and relaxed mind that will become more creative because as a human begins to enter the alpha wave level of sleep they enter a state called the hypnogogic state in wich the mind is more creative and ideas flow more freely. i belive that a mix of concious dreaming (basicly meditation) allows for both a relaxed mind and an extremly creative state afterwords. its my theory that the numbness and tingling feelings experienced afterwords is an effect of the hypnopompic state that occurs when waking from sleep a state of numbness and general out of body feeling resulting in the oh so good feeling after a deep meditation.


(Additonal) sorry last night i just clicked submit and logged off b/c my friend logged on to yahoo messenger and it was time to talk girls... sooooo anyway here it goes.
Meditation can also be achived i have discovered or at least a state of it when playing a video game. if you just let you mind go out of focus and let your subconsious take over your mind will enter a trance-like state and youll be sitting there one minitue all like "mother F-ing aliens die die die!!!" the next youll just be staring and drooling and then youll after about an hour say "whoa what the crap where was i?" ive done this several times i wouldnt suggest this form however because this one is weird since your eyes are constanly moving and you dont blink the entire time wich makes them really dry and sore. lol plus one time i almost died because i forgot to breath i suddenly realized my chest hurt really badly and looked away from the screen and started breathing again. this is my own personal opinion though i think it it meditation because you are sort of out of it, your fingers/hands/and legs get all tingly. oh yeah and your face gets really warm.