What Is Meditation, What Are The Risks/Benefits, And For What Conditions Is It A Useful Treatment? (Are Certain People Better Candidates Than Others?)

Roberta Lee, M.D, Beth IsraelABCNEWS.com

Question: What is meditation, what are the risks/benefits, and for what conditions is it a useful treatment? (Are certain people better candidates than others?)

Answer: Meditation is a focused awareness on internalizing your tension to your breath or to a mantra or to sensations in your body. And it's designed to stimulate relaxation or a sense of mindfulness or moment-to-moment awareness. There are many forms of meditation and the benefits are that it enhances the relaxation response. It revitalizes you; it can help you feel like you're gaining energy. I use it often in my practice with patients to help them de-stress. It enhances what's known as the relaxation response, which we all know that many people are stressed at this time.

So I found meditation extremely useful. I can't really think of any downside to doing meditation.