WELL-BEING
TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION
This unique type of meditation was introduced in the West in the mid-1950s by an Indian sage, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It is taught by teachers certified by the Maharishi Foundation and practised in effortless silence twice a day for twenty-minute sessions. It is performed in a comfortable sitting posture and a unique mantra - a sound -,is given to students to repeat when the mind wanders. The mantra helps to quiet the mind and return to conscious awareness.
ZEN
One does not need to convert to adopt this Buddhist practice, brought to Europe by Master Deshimaru in the early 1970s. He founded the European Zen Association, which in 1979 became the International Zen Association (AZI). Its main pillars: the posture - the famous lotus - and the breath. We can join a group and go to the dojo to practice by following a certain number of rules, under the aegis of a master, who corrects the foundations.
into a powerful tool for reducing stress: the MBSR ( Mindfulness-Based Stressed Medicine, in French, "reduction du stress based on mindfulness"). Today, more studies are validating its positive effects on our mind. All diligent medi- tators confirm that if they spend ten, twenty or sixty minutes sitting quietly on a daily basis, this helps them to "unplug" and take a step out of the internal circle of thoughts spinning in their head and they are able to find rest. Since the Beatles initiation into transcendental meditation in the "flower power" era, countless celebrities use meditation, from tennis man Novak Djokovic to filmmaker David Lynch. The bu- siness world also has many followers: Walter Isaacson, the biographer of Steve Jobs, the late boss of Apple, recalls that the founder of the apple brand practised Zen. "If you sit in an observant attitude, you will notice how talkative your mind is. And if you try to calm it down, it only makes it worse at first, but over time you eventually do. When you are more in the present, your intuition begins to flourish, and you can see things more clearly." said Jobs.
The only downside: while meditation can help the body and mind to relax and digest all kinds of tensions, it requires commitment. It is the consistency that makes the difference. Whether you are embarking on a daily five-minute prac- tice or longer sessions, you have to or- ganize yourself to fit them into an often already busy schedule. Joining a group and going to follow-up sessions can be a good thing to be sure that it becomes a positive habit.
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Many people practice meditation to quieten the mind and find inner peace and harmony.
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