Why Meditation Is Important?

You have probably heard people talking both online and offline about meditation and wondered what the hype is all about. We have carried out extensive research to show you that meditation is important and why you should incorporate it into your daily life.

Why Meditation Is Important? Meditation is important for achieving and maintaining health and wellbeing. It is a tool that helps you become the best version of yourself. Meditating on a regular basis offers a number of benefits, including slowing down the aging process, lowering blood pressure, reducing anxiety and helping you become more productive.

Are you interested in improving your health and wellbeing and not sure where to begin? Or perhaps you are curious about meditation and would like to find out more information about what it entails? Read on to learn about just some of the benefits of meditating on a regular basis.

How Meditation Benefits our Life’s

Whether you are a busy professional, a parent or an everyday hardworking Australian, there are always ways in which you can better prepare your body for the day ahead or help it to rest at the end.

Approximately 200 to 500 million individuals worldwide meditate. Some of the reasons for practicing meditation regularly are:

General wellness;
Improving energy;
Aiding memory and focus; and
Anxiety relief.

Meditation originated in Buddhist philosophy as a religious practice. Individuals have been practicing meditation since the Middle Ages and now we see it implemented in a variety of settings and in a number of different ways.

Meditation has now become main stream and is largely separated from its spiritual roots. It has a variety of uses depending on each individual. Some use it to start their day, some use it to wind down from a long day at work and others use it during the day when faced with stressful situations.

Some of the different types of meditation we see practiced today are breath awareness meditation, Zen meditation and transcendental meditation.

There is a body of research that shows that meditation has a number of physiological benefits on the body. It has been revealed that meditation has the potential to control bodily processes such as heartbeat, blood pressure and body temperature when practiced regularly.

Research has also shown that practicing meditation on a regular basis can lower anxiety, increase productivity and slow down the aging process.

Investigations into the attitudes and trends on meditation have shown that it offers many benefits not just for long-term health and wellbeing but it also calms, comforts and helps build confidence on a daily basis.

Meditation is a free but powerful way to control your body and your mind. It carries with it endless, long-term benefits. Read on to find out some of the main and scientifically backed benefits of meditation.

1. It Slows the Aging Process

One of the major benefits of practicing meditation on a regular basis is that it slows down the aging process. Really!

One study found a marked physiological and biological difference between meditators and non-meditators when looking at the way we age. A United States Buddhist retreat found that meditation protects chromosomes from degenerating.

Scientists Elissa Epel and Elizabeth Blackburn from the University of California explored this concept in detail. Their research assessed mothers and found that stressed mothers had certain chromosomes that were shorter than mothers who were not. This, they say, indicates that the stressed mothers’ chromosomes were the equivalent of being 10 years older.

The findings in this research legitimise the concept that being stressed ages the human body. In light of this, it is now all the more important for you to begin incorporating meditation into your daily life.

If that does not convince you, then this sure will: one study found that meditation boosts an enzyme that delays the onset of conditions such as Alzheimer’s by 43%!

The American Society on Aging says that, “given the relative non-invasiveness, low expenses and low-risk profile of meditative techniques as opposed to other interventions, this is an exciting prospect for future exploration into the process of human aging.”

Still not convinced that you should start meditating? Read on to find out some more benefits.

2. Lowers Blood Pressure

As mentioned earlier, meditating regularly presents a number of physiological, psychological and biological benefits to the human body. Just another amazing benefit is that it can significantly lower blood pressure.

Blood pressure can be elevated for a number of reasons and one way to address this is by incorporating meditation into your daily life.

There are a number of bodily functions that are responsible for the functioning of your heart (which in turn control your blood pressure). Meditation can lower your blood pressure by relaxing the nerve signals that coordinate your heart function.

One study showed that a particular type of meditation called transcendental meditation, which involves repeating a word, sound or phrase to stop distracting thoughts from entering the mind, stimulates a certain gene that produces an enzyme that is linked with reducing blood pressure.

More recent studies have looked into this further and have found that similar improvements were achieved by practicing other types of meditation.

Doctor Robert Schneider, Director of the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention at the Maharishi University of Management at Fairfield says that, “these findings are very encouraging for prevention.”

If your doctor has advised you that your blood pressure is too high, or if you are interested in preventing your blood pressure from becoming problematic, then think about beginning meditation in conjunction with your treatment to maximise healing.

3. Reduces Anxiety

Anxiety is a cognitive state connected to an inability to regulate your emotional responses to perceived threats. It can become so serious that it leads to a diagnosis by a psychologist or psychiatrist.

Researchers estimate that 1 in 14 people are affected by anxiety.

The good news is that meditation, specifically a type called mindfulness meditation, has been shown to strength your ability to regulate your emotions. Mindfulness meditation is a mental training practice that involves focusing your mind on your thoughts, emotions and sensations in present time.

The American Psychological Association has found that meditation enabled individuals to ruminate less, reduce stress and improve memory and focus.

Jon Kabat Zinn, who coined the practice, says that mindfulness meditation is “the awareness that arises from paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally.” It can relieve anxiety by quieting the mind and stopping a seemingly endless cycle of racing thoughts. Through meditation you can start soothing your overactive mind and remain centered.

Research supports this and in 2013 the specific brain areas that are activated by mindfulness meditation were discovered.

If you are having trouble switching off at night, or have been diagnosed with anxiety and are working on developing a treatment plan, consider incorporating meditation.

4. Increases Your More Productive

One last major benefit of practicing meditation on a regular basis is that it can help you become more productive in your working life. It can help you achieve your goals and make you become more resilient. Many entrepreneurs incorporate meditation into their daily routine.

One study indicates that practicing meditation not only improves job performance, but also increases job satisfaction and engagement. One company found that it increased productivity by 120%!

Mediation can help you to become more productive at work by:

Allowing you to recharge;
Improving your focus and memory;
Bringing you energy; and
Increasing blood circulation in your brain.

As a direct consequence of becoming more productive, meditating can also increase your ability to take on more tasks at work. By forcing yourself to take a break for just 10 minutes and allowing your brain to stop and recharge, you can feel more confident when tackling challenging and complicated tasks.

The benefits of meditating regularly on job performance have become recognised and now it is a staple in many workplaces. A recent analysis has revealed that 52% of employers offered mindfulness training to their employees, giving them the tools to reap the benefits.

No matter your type of work and the environment you carry it out in, meditating regularly can help you do it better.

What does meditation involve?

Meditation involves sitting in a quiet place, gathering your thoughts, focusing on your breathing and giving yourself space from your busy life. It can be done at home or at work, guided or not, with music or without.

Should I meditate with music?

It is up to you whether you would like music to accompany you while you meditate. This will depend on the individual. There are many programs and applications that incorporate music into the session and many that allow you to practice meditation without it.

How Long Does Meditation Take To Work?

You can expect to feel the benefits of meditation in a very short space of time. Once you start to feel calmer, able to take on more and have a general feeling of wellness, you will know that that the meditation is working.