The Wise Woman

People in high-stress occupations are turning more and more to meditation. Taking out just 10 minutes of your day to meditate can significantly improve many aspects of your life. Here are the psychological benefits of meditation.

“Meditation is like a gym in which you develop the powerful mental muscles of calm and insight.” – Ajahn Brahm

1. It can significantly improve your self-esteem.

* Nystul and Garde (1977) reported that meditators had significantly more positive self-concepts than non-meditators.

* Meditation helps to increase positive social emotions and decrease social isolation (Cendri et al., 2008).

2. It can enhance your memory and intelligence.

* Hall (1999) assigned undergraduate students to a meditation or no meditation group. The meditation group was instructed to meditate before and after studying, and before exams. Significantly higher grades were found in the experimental group than in the control group.

* There’s also evidence that the improvements in memory and academic performance associated with meditation apply across the lifespan.

3. It literally changes your brain’s physical structure.

* Luders et al. (2009) found that meditation increases volume in areas related to emotion regulation, positive emotions & self-control.