This lesson teaches students about meditation, how it is used to reduce stress, and its benefits. The students do a short meditation exercise and discuss their experiences. Meditation has been used for centuries in Chinese cultures and involves focusing attention on an object or the breath to quiet the mind. Regular meditation has been proven to reduce stress and anxiety by lowering blood pressure and producing a calmer state of mind. Brain imaging studies also show meditation is associated with increased folding of the outer brain layer, which may improve cognitive processing.

1. Unit 5 CAM Project
Lesson 2 Lecture Meditation
Lesson Summary: This lesson teaches the students what meditation is, how it is
used in daily life. Why it is used and what good benefits come from it over time in
the form of stress reduction.
Lesson Content:
In this lesson, the students in engage in a short meditation sequence from the
handout and then talk about how it makes everyone feel afterwards. One by one
each classmate will share one thought about meditation, it can be one word, just for
fun. They will learn how to calm the mind and realize acknowledge thoughts
through a process of bringing the mind back to the thought openness of empty
space. Finally focus will shift to why meditation can be a great stress relief tool.
Why do people use Meditation?
Meditation has used for centuries in Chinese cultures. There are now many forms of
meditation. It has a long history of use for increasing calmness and physical
relaxation, improving psychological balance, coping with illness, and enhancing
overall health and well-being says the National Institute of Health. Although there
are many different styles and types of meditation, most of them have four basic
elements in common: a quiet location with the least amount of distractions as
possible; a specific, comfortable posture (sitting, lying down, walking, or in other
positions); a focus of attention (a specially chosen word or set of words, an object, or
the sensations of the breath); and an open mind (letting distractions come and go
naturally without judging them). These are all important in getting into the state of
mind.
Considerations
Meditation is safe for everyone involved in the sitting or standing still postures.
There are some that involve a pose that people with say a back, knee or joint
ailments may not be able to participate in but as for most it should be fine. Consult
with your doctor before starting any exercises that you may be worried will affect
your health.
Stress Reliever
Meditation has been studied for many years now and it has been proven over and
over that its stress reduction capabilities are phenomenal. It has also been proven in
many studies to reduce anxiety and blood pressure. It does this by quieting the
mind. We often do not think how busy our minds are most days until a practice has
been done a few times and then you realize you have been missing out on something
unexpected; a quiet mind.
Studies: In a 2012 study, researchers compared brain images from 50 adults who
meditate and 50 adults who don’t meditate. Results suggested that people who
practiced meditation for many years have more folds in the outer layer of the brain.
This process (called gyrification) may increase the brain’s ability to process
information.