Christine Webb, Your Health and Fitness
The stress of the holiday season can make some people lose their patience, but a type of meditation can help, centering on compassion for others, whether you know them or not.
Sally Mengel, 20, described the basic technique for meditating.
"Head down, eyes closed. Breathe in, focusing on the core, and then out, like trying to fog a glass," Mengel explained.
These are the same steps she followed while participating in a clinical trial that examines the benefits of compassion meditation.
"We've set out to examine whether or not if you train people in meditation early in life, you could change how they react to stress in ways that would protect their mental and physical health down the road," said Dr. Charles Riason, a psychiatrist at the Emory School of Medicine.
In particular, Dr. Raison looked at a type of meditation that is based on Tibetan Buddhist practices and focuses on compassion toward others.
"Using meditation to try to generate positive emotions and thoughts about everybody," Dr. Raison explained.
Raison said this type of meditation leads to health benefits.
"People that have very positive social relationships -- a lot of helpful, supportive social ties -- are much less likely to get depressed, much less likely
to get sick, less likely to die," Raison explained.
Some other health benefits to meditation: It increases blood flow and slows the heart rate, it helps lower high blood pressure, reduces anxiety attacks, and can also build your self confidence.
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