Tree of Life and Chakras

If you don’t meditate – you’re probably unaware of the multitude of benefits that come with meditation.

If you’re having difficulty starting or if you lack the motivation, check out our guide to starting meditation:

However, if you’re interested in getting started in meditation – here are some inspiring reasons to jump on the bandwagon!

Meditation Reduces Physical and Emotional Pain Significantly.

A study conducted by the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Centre suggests that staggered meditation throughout the day could prove better pain relief than powerful drug medication. Individuals were taught relaxation and breathing techniques in the lead up to brain scans. Reports proved that these people had a 27% reduction in pain intensity and 44% less emotional pain. 

Based on the findings, Fadel Zeidan (lead researcher) stated that four 20 minute sessions of mindful meditation per day could enhance pain treatment in a clinical setting.

“Yoga and meditation can cut healthcare cost by 43%”

A new study by HMGH* and the BHI** suggests that you can save almost 50% on general healthcare costs by  practising yoga and meditation.

Relaxation and a physiologic state of deep rest helps alleviate stress and anxiety which in turn can positively affect heart rate and blood pressure. 

Researchers found that those in the study used 43% fewer medical services than they did the previous year. Each person saved $2,360.

Read more .

One of San Francisco’s Toughest Schools – Saved by Meditation.

Visitacion Valley middle school in San Francisco was surrounded by drugs and gang violence.

Several fights would break out every day.

In 2006, there were 38 killings in the area – 3 bodies from this death toll were dumped in the schoolyard and found by students.

The very next year, a new meditation programme was brought in called . This programme was first developed in the 90s – inspired by the horrific Columbine high school massacre.

“After the shooting, the usual culprits were blamed: guns, violent movies and video games, but no one touched on the real problem – stress.” – Jeff Rice, co-founder of Quiet Time.

When the programme was first introduced to the school’s routine, it only took a month for teachers to notice changes in behaviour. P.E teacher – Barry O’Driscoll said:

“Students seemed happy. They worked harder, paid more attention, were easier to teach and the number of fights fell dramatically.”

The new programme had reduced the number of suspensions by 45% in the first year of launch. By 2010, attendance rates had reached 98%, some of the highest in the city. Today 20% of graduates are admitted to the highly academic Lowell high school – before it was rare for even one student to be accepted.

Daily Meditation Can Slow Aging

Elizabeth Blackburn won a Nobel Prize for her successful research into the aging effects of stress. Her research included blood samples from 58 women all of similar ages, lifestyles and backgrounds. Half of the women were used as controls – the other half were stressed mothers.

The results were crystal clear. The more stressed the mothers said they were, the shorter their telomeres and the lower their levels of telomerase.

The most frazzled women in the study had telomeres that translated into an extra decade of aging, compared to those who were least stressed – while their telomerase levels were halved. “I was thrilled,” says Blackburn. She and Epel had connected real lives and experiences to the molecular mechanics inside cells. It was the first indication that feeling stressed doesn’t just damage our health — it literally ages us.

Transcendental Meditation techniques and lifestyle changes can slow cellular death.

The new study examined what was happening at the level of DNA, showing that the Transcendental Meditation technique increases telomerase gene expression which may contribute to the cardiovascular and aging benefits.

Specifically, this was found to activate two genes that code for telomerase — which adds molecules to the ends of chromosomes or telomeres — protecting them from deteriorating. 

*Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital – Institute for Technology Assessment

**Benson-Henry Institute

What does meditating help you with? 

Have you done it for a while or is it a recent lifestyle addition?

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