20+ good reasons to meditate

No doubt, meditation is gaining momentum. When I type in “meditation in Australia” into Google, I get 341,000 results.

Born from the world’s great religious traditions, including Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and others, meditation (in many forms) is also practiced by many, many Australians.

Statistics on people who meditate can be found everywhere. Statistics on people who meditate have shown they become less stressed and more calm. Statistics on people who meditate in groups have even shown the crime rate in that particular area drop significantly.

Healthy mind, healthy body

But what can somebody expect from practicing meditation? Well statistics on people who meditate have shown that daily reflection and rumination has dramatically decreased the occurrence of heart disease. Further, in patients previously diagnosed with heart disease, meditation has been proven to lessen the effects and somewhat reverse the disease.

There’s a psychological effect, too. According to a report published by the American Psychological Association,

“meditation interventions have a positive, medium-size effect on depression.” In addition, a West Virginia University study found that meditation diminishes psychological stress by 54 per cent.

There’s even a physiological benefit.

Just 20 minutes a day of soothing reflection significantly reduces the risk of heart disease and lowers the risk of stroke by 15 per cent, says a study by the University of California. It can also improve your immune response; a University of Wisconsin-Madison study found that meditation increased antibodies by up to 25 per cent.

A Detroit based chemical plant posted the following results three years after implementing meditation:

• Absenteeism fell by 85%
• Productivity rose 120%
• Injuries dropped 70%
• Profits increased 520%

According to reports, there have been over 1500 separate studies since 1930. All were related to meditation and its effects on the practitioners.

Some statistics on people who meditate include results like:

• Heart rate, respiration, blood pressure and oxygen consumption are all decreased.
• Meditators are less anxious and nervous.
• Meditators were more independent and self-confident
• People who deliberated daily were less fearful of death.
• 75% of insomniacs who started a daily meditation program were able to fall asleep within 20 minutes of going to bed.
• Production of the stress hormone Cortisol is greatly decreased, thus making it possible for those people to deal with stress better when it occurs.
• Women with PMS showed symptom improvements after 5 months of steady daily rumination and reflection.
• Thickness of the artery walls decreased which effectively lowers the risk of heart attack or stroke by 8% to 15%.
• Relaxation therapy was helpful in chronic pain patients.
• 60% of anxiety prone people showed marked improvements in anxiety levels after 6-9 months.

Not convinced about the benefits of meditation?

Then consider this:

It has been documented that people who use meditation and relaxation techniques may be physiologically younger by 12 to 15 years.

And finally this…

“Meditation brings wisdom; lack of mediation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what hold you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom.” – Buddha