6 Benefits of Meditation

There are more than 75 benefits of meditation and we will highlight our favorite 6 here. First off, what is meditation? Meditation can be described as having mental concentration on something or when our mind imagines something that is peaceful. The overall goal of meditation is to slow the mind from stress and worry, and to achieve a state of profound, deep peace that occurs when the mind is calm and silent. So here’s our favorite 6 benefits of meditation.

1. Meditation has been known to reduce stress.

Mindfulness meditation is a style that involves sitting comfortably, focusing on your breathing, and bringing your attention to the present without getting off track and thinking about the past or future. If you find yourself worrying about things that have not even happened or are out of your control, perhaps you should try meditation. Some people find that learning mindfulness techniques and practicing them with a group is even more helpful. There is something very powerful about group meditation. 

2. Meditating increases self-awareness,

which we can all use more of in such a hectic jam-packed world we live in. Meditation is the key to super self-awareness because it is the best way to connect to your true self. 

3. It improves concentration.

Meditation centers you and helps you to stay focused in everything you do. Great concentration is related to the increased energy, meditation provides. 

4. There are medical benefits to doing meditation consistently.

It can help manage symptoms of anxiety, chronic pain, depression, heart disease, high blood pressure.

5. Meditation increases happiness!

It has been proven that meditation can increase your levels of feel-good chemicals, like serotonin and endorphins. This can be accomplished in just a few minutes a day and doesn’t cost anything. The best way to see results of increased happiness is to make a commitment to meditate regularly. 

6. Lastly, meditation slows aging, and who wouldn’t want that?!

A study from Harvard showed that cognition seems to be preserved in meditators. In another study by Elizabeth Hope, meditators also showed to have longer telomeres, the caps on chromosomes indicative of biological age. It doesn’t necessarily mean that mediators are going to live longer lives but it could lengthen due to reduced stress and effects it has on the body. 

I don’t know about you, but those 6 benefits of meditation are enough to motivate me to meditate on a regular basis.