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In this blog, I offer some useful, practical advice for using your Meditation Machine.
WHEN SHOULD YOU USE YOUR MEDITATION MACHINE : Everyone’s different, and each of us will find a time that’s appropriate for us for using our Meditation Machine. Some people prefer to use it in the morning, perhaps shortly after they get up as a way of starting the day right. Others like to use it in the evening, perhaps after getting home from work as a way of releasing the stresses of the day. There are no absolute rules.
The important thing is finding a time that suits you and fits in with your lifestyle.
If you suffer from sleep problems, then it’s probably good to use your Meditation Machine just before you go to bed. It will relax you mentally and physically and get your brain in the right state to trigger good quality sleep.
ACCOMPANYING EXERCISE: Physical exercise complements the mental exercise you get when you use a Meditation Machine. Using your Meditation Machine after physical exercise, (particularly exercise that involves stretching or slow movements such as yoga, t’ai chi and pilates),can be very rewarding.
CHOICE OF LOCATION: Choose a room where you will not be disturbed. Take the phone off the hook, turn off your mobile and computer. It’s important that you give this time to yourself and your location needs to be suitable. Choose somewhere that isn’t too warm and dry, and not too cool either. A pleasant temperature will help you to remain relaxed.
POSTURE: The important this is to find a position that is most comfortable for you personally. If you are uncomfortable while you are using your Meditation Machine, then you will be distracted from the meditative state. The more comfortable your physical body is, the deeper the state of mind you will achieve.
Although it is perfectly possible to use your Meditation Machine when lying down, most people agree that sitting in an upright position is better as this provides the best flow of breath and, as many traditions believe, the best flow of energy through your body.
DURATION: Your Meditation Machine will contain programmes with different durations. Most people seem to like using their Meditation Machine for between 20 and 30 minutes.
It’s all right to finish a programme before it naturally ends and when you first start using your Meditation Machine you may find that a 5 or 10 minutes session is enough for you
BREATHING: If you feel a great deal of physical tension when you you use your Meditation Machine , place your focus onto your breath. Your body may not be used to holding itself still like, even during sleep, so you may find it twitches and moves involuntarily, but by focusing on deep, relaxing breaths, you’ll allow your physical state to become completely still too.
— Ivor Murray is the MD of Meditations-UK, an innovative company that sells technology-led aids to help you relax and de-stress. Their main products are Meditation Machines – small, portable machines that use natural light and sound to gently guide you into calm, relaxing states of mind and body, easily and automatically.
— Ivor Murray is the MD of MeditationsUK, an innovative company that sells technology-led aids to help you relax and de-stress. Their main products are Meditation Machines – small, portable machines that use natural light and sound to gently guide you into calm, relaxing states of mind and body, easily and automatically.
You can find out more about them at www.MeditationsUK.com or www.MindSpa-UK.com, or telephone 020 8371 0436
My last blog described how during meditation our brainwaves shift down from the beta pattern of normal consciousness to the slower alpha rhythms or, in deeper meditation, to the even slower theta state. In this blog post, I want to explain how and why Meditation Machines help people to meditate effectively.
A researcher called Grey Walter discovered in the 1940’s what become known as the ‘frequency follow response’, whereby brainwave patterns would follow the frequency of flickering light. There is a direct correlation between the frequency of the flickering light and the frequency of the brainwaves, the tiny electrical impulses emitted by the brain.
Scientist Gerald Ostler realized in the 1970’s that sounds could have a similar effect to the patterns of flickering light. He introduced the concept of binaural beats which occur when one ear perceives a pure tone of a differing pitch than the other ear. The brain then takes over and harmonizes the two different pitches and brings them together as one whole. The brain then follows these binaural beats creating a state of relaxation and the reduction of tension.
Meditation Machines take advantage of this knowledge about flickering lights and pulsing sounds to create relaxation or other mood changing effects. A system consists of a small, hand-held unit, stereo headphones and special glasses inset with light-emitting diodes (LEDs). During a session, these lights flash and are synchronized with specific sound patterns that are heard through the headphones.
By presenting the pulsed audio and visual stimulation to the brain, after a short time, your brain begins to resonate , or entrain, at the same frequency as the stimulus. (This is similar to the relaxing effect you might experience by gazing at a gently flickering flame or listening to soothing music).
The tone, frequency and other parameters of the light and sound stimulation vary the effect and Meditation Machines have many different types of sessions built into them for relaxation, meditation, stimulation, creative visualisation and so on.
In addition to entrainment, the imagery created by the visual and auditory stimulation provides a focus for your mind and quiets internal dialogue or chatter. The various areas of your brain begin to integrate into one whole, harmonious unit as experienced by masters of meditation. This entrainment and integration is passive and occurs naturally without your conscious effort.
At MeditationsUK, we offer a range of machines across a wide price range. We hope that this allows everyone to find a machine that is within their budget.
As you go up in price through the range, the Machines tend to increase in quality in terms of the sound and, in particular, the special Light Glasses. Additionally, we’ve found that different machines tend to be better for certain purposes.
If you’re not sure which Meditation Machine will be best for you, please contact us either by email or by phone on 020 8371 0436 and we’ll be happy to advise you.
— Ivor Murray is the MD of MeditationsUK, an innovative company that sells technology-led aids to help you relax and de-stress. Their main products are Meditation Machines – small, portable machines that use natural light and sound to gently guide you into calm, relaxing states of mind and body, easily and automatically.
You can find out more about them at www.MeditationsUK.com or www.MindSpa-UK.com, or telephone 020 8371 0436
Our brains are made up of millions of nerves that each give off a tiny electrical impulse. This activity can be registered as brainwaves by placing electrodes on the scalp, amplifying the signals and displaying them on a computer monitor. This method of measuring is called electroencephalo-graphy (EEG).
There are four main type of brainwaves and they are each associated with certain mental states.
Beta: These waves are active in the brain during normal waking mind states. The person is fully awake and alert, someone reading or engaging in an activity such as giving a talk or responding to questions is experiencing constant Beta waves.
Alpha: When a person is relaxed their brain activity slows from beta waves into alpha waves. This is when we feel quiet restfulfulness and relaxed well being. The “alpha state” is where meditation starts and you begin to access the wealth of creativity that lies just below our conscious awareness. It is the gateway that leads into deeper states of consciousness.
Theta: Theta waves appear when the person enters a near sleep state. this is a state in which day dreams, memory and the highest state of creativity is reached. Theta brings forward heightened receptivity, flashes of dreamlike imagery, inspiration, and,sometimes, your long-forgotten memories. It can also give you a sensation of “floating”.
Delta: This is the state achieved during sleep whenever you don’t dream. It is a deep, physically and mentally restful state of being. This final state is a place of complete psychophysiological stillness and calm.
Research using equipment to measure brainwave activity during meditation has found some fascinating results. Brainwave activity undergoes widespread change during meditation. Meditators quickly moved from a very alert state of beta waves into a relaxed alpha wave state. Experienced meditators may move into an even deeper state of relaxation where theta waves begin to appear and the individual experiences a complete sense of inner stillness.
In separate research of Buddhist meditation, scientists found that dormant areas of the brain awoke during meditation whilst normally active areas reduce their activity or became inactive. At the peak points of meditation, the scientists found that the brain activity had reduced its capacity for spatial awareness, giving the individual a sense of floating and complete physical release.
This is just a simple introduction to brainwave activity during meditation, and in my next blog, I’ll talk about how brainwaves are affected by Meditation Machines.
— Ivor Murray is the MD of MeditationsUK, an innovative company that sells technology-led aids to help you relax and de-stress. Their main products are Meditation Machines – small, portable machines that use natural light and sound to gently guide you into calm, relaxing states of mind and body, easily and automatically.
You can find out more about them at www.MeditationsUK.com or www.MindSpa-UK.com, or telephone 020 8371 0436
In today’s blog, I wish to give a brief introduction to one of the Meditation Machines that we use to introduce and inspire people to use meditation to improve the quality of their lives. MeditationsUK is the world’s leading authority on Meditation Machine Technology and experience has taught us that our technology can really be a huge help to people coping with stress, insomnia, depression, memory and concentration problems.
Our biggest selling Meditation Machine is called the MindSpa . As you can see in the picture, it’s like a walkman, with stereo headphones for aural stimulation, and glasses to provide a visual stimulus at the same time. The combination of sound and lights automatically helps to ease you into a meditative state. The synchronized use of gentle flickering lights and soothing pulses produces a relaxed state of mind and also allows the body to become restful.
 MindSpa Meditation Machine The MindSpa carries a ringing endorsement from the Co-Creator of NLP, Dr. Richard Bandler who has this to say about it :
“”I have devoted 35 years to developing tools to make the human brain more user friendly. I find the MindSpa to be of the most important new tools that can open the doorway to better quality of life.
I use the MindSpa on myself….I use the MindSpa on my clients. The results I get are astonishing. Better learning, sleeping, thinking…… the list goes on and on. I intend to use this device to create opportunity, success, and freedom.
Let the future be more wonderful! ”
We don’t just sell our Meditation Machines, we develop an ongoing relationship with our new customers through email contact. Our customers love the personal contact that we maintain as we help them get the best out of their meditation technology. We help people to use their Meditation Machines effectively and provide free tips and advice on getting the best experience.
In my next blog, I’ll discuss the topic of brainwaves and meditation, it’s importance will help you understand further how meditation technology works!
— Ivor Murray is the MD of MeditationsUK, an innovative company that sells technology-led aids to help you relax and de-stress. Their main products are Meditation Machines – small, portable machines that use natural light and sound to gently guide you into calm, relaxing states of mind and body, easily and automatically.
You can find out more about them at www.MeditationsUK.com or www.MindSpa-UK.com, or telephone 020 8371 0436
These days, it’s essential that we’re able to find a point of calm and stillness in our lives. This modern life is filled with stresses and anxieties about money, relationships, health and many other personal matters. These pressures can contribute to a physical and mental decline in health.
We live in a culture of immediacy in the West, everything needs to be achieved now, now, now, we want instant action and reaction, instant satisfaction and gratification. The mind races and it becomes difficult to focus on anything for more than a few seconds before the next stimulus causes the mind to race once more.
These stressful conditions are a perfect opportunity to enjoy the benefits of modern meditation. Benefits include:
• Physical and Mental Stillness
• Emotional Calm
• Lower Blood Pressure
• Clearer Thoughts
There are many approaches to meditation. There are the traditional methods, such as yoga and Taoism. And there are also modern techniques that are equally valid and effective.
At MeditationsUK, we use modern technology such as the MindSpa Meditation Machine to provide people with opportunities to explore meditative practices. We believe that the combination of hundreds of years of meditation practice with the latest in scientific and technological discoveries about the brain, mood and the body, can bring benefits to everyone.
Krishnamurti said that “The greatest advance in spiritual advancement will come about with the integration of Eastern and Western knowledge”. Our Meditation Machines represent one aspect of this integration by using Western technology to enable people to meditate quickly and easily.
In my next blog, I’ll look in detail at how some of the technology we use at MeditationsUK can help people with busy modern lives enjoy peace of mind and tackle problems such as insomnia and depression.
Ivor Murray is the Managing Director of Meditations Ltd, a company whose aim is to inspire people to meditate and develop a calmer, less stressful and more fulfilled lifestyle.
Most people are aware that meditation can lead to greater spiritual development, but regular meditation is also associated with many physical and psychological benefits.
Physical Benefits
Meditation has been found to be particularly helpful for the heart. Meditators have been found to have improved blood circulation, as well as a lowered heart rate, which places less demands on the heart. Meditation has also been shown to help lower blood pressure.
An article published in the American Heart Association journal, ‘Stroke’, in 2000 demonstrated the effects of teaching meditation to people Over a period of time, the meditators showed a marked decrease in the thickness of their artery walls. The improvement could potentially bring about an 11 percent decrease in the risk of heart attack and an 8 percent to 15 percent decrease in the risk of stroke.
Many people that meditate experience increased energy throughout the day and sleep more restfully at night. Impressively, when studied, a group of people that meditated regularly were shown to have a much younger physical age than their real age.
Interestingly University of Wisconsin-Madison research team found that a short program in meditation produced lasting positive changes the function of the immune system. People who underwent eight weeks of meditation training produced more antibodies to a flu vaccine than individuals who did not meditate.
Mental Benefits
There are many key mental or psychological benefits to meditation. Some are the result of the core physical benefits, but many are the natural by-products of the mental stillness and calm offered by meditation.
Mental benefits include an increase in the individual’s capacity to focus and concentrate. This is one of the earliest benefits, quietly meditating helps to steady the thoughts and reduce the mental ‘noise’ that our sporadic thoughts create. Meditation can help with people who are experiencing depression, by helping them relax, refocus their thoughts onto a positive track.
A quieter mind significantly helps learning and memory, because your thinking has become less cluttered and you can now focus on one topic or task at a time. Anxiety levels drops as meditation aids emotional stability, and this means that you can maintain a calmer and more relaxed approach to difficult and stressful situations. It’s easier for those that meditate to take a step back from their current circumstances and get a wider perspective on the situation.
Another key benefit is the assistance that meditation offers those with sleep problems. Insomniacs often use meditation techniques to overcome their inability to sleep.
These are only some of the benefits that meditation has to offer, and there are many more. There’s no doubt that spending some time each day in deep relaxation/meditation will bring you a better sense of physical and mental wellbeing.
Ivor Murray is the Managing Director of Meditations Ltd, a company whose aim is to inspire people to meditate and develop a calmer, less stressful and more fulfilled lifestyle.
Meditation often evokes images of Ancient Eastern philosophies, chanting monks, joss sticks and sitting cross-legged in a Yoga position.
While it’s true that these traditional methods were the earliest forms of meditation, there are many modern meditation techniques that are equally effective.
Meditation is the practice of using techniques to achieve calm of mind and body. Through countless philosophies and innumerable definitions of its meaning, meditation has become shrouded in mystery. But at its root. meditation is about obtaining a quietening of the mind and tranquillity in the body.
In the West, people are bombarded with demands, needs and messages. It’s not difficult to locate the cause of much of the physical, mental and emotion stress that many of us experience. No wonder people can’t sleep and become ill and depressed. The mind is constantly racing, it cannot find pause. The body is continuously restless, it is unable to become still.
Meditation is a natural method of relieving the body and mind of the ‘noise’ of daily life. As more people become aware of the great benefits of meditation, doctors are prescribing meditation as an antidote to stress-related illness, insomnia and other health problems.
Meditation is a means of transforming your physical and mental state. It’s a way for all people everywhere to achieve clarity, concentration and a positive attitude.
Meditation is found in many guises. For example, when we are quietly listening to a piece of music, deeply accepting the sound and allowing it to affect us, this is a type of meditation.
There are many forms of meditation and I will write about some of these in the future.
Ivor Murray is the Managing Director of Meditations Ltd, a company whose aim is to inspire people to meditate and develop a calmer, less stressful and more fulfilled lifestyle.
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