Benefits of meditation

The London Times has a little article online about meditation. Here's an excerpt:

Studies suggest that regular meditation for 15 minutes or more a day decreases blood pressure, lowers the heart rate and increases blood flow to the extremities. Recent research also indicates that with long-term practice, meditation may combat cognitive decline and stimulate the growth of brain tissue. It has also been linked to stronger immune responses when fighting infection.

The key to successful and calming meditation is a good breathing technique. Breath-counting is a common technique for those new to meditation and is an ideal routine for beginners.

For breath counting, I recommend assigning a number to each outbreath from one to four and then starting over.