Why do you meditate?
There are as many reasons to meditate as there are stars in the sky. Why do you meditate?
Are you interested to know why other people meditate? Do you meditate for health reasons, for emotional reasons, for spiritual reasons, for personal reasons? One of my teachers told me I should meditate for no reason at all.
Meditation For Health
The US National Institute of Health (NIH) estimates that more than 20 million people meditate regularly. Here’s what they say about the reasons why you might meditate for health reasons….
Uses of Meditation for Health in the United States
A 2007 national Government survey that asked about CAM use in a sample of 23,393 U.S. adults found that 9.4 percent of respondents (representing more than 20 million people) had used meditation in the past 12 months—compared with 7.6 percent of respondents (representing more than 15 million people) in a similar survey conducted in 2002. The 2007 survey also asked about CAM use in a sample of 9,417 children; 1 percent (representing 725,000 children) had used meditation in the past 12 months.
People use meditation for various health problems, such as:
- Anxiety
- Pain
- Depression
- Stress
- Insomnia
- Physical or emotional symptoms that may be associated with chronic illnesses (such as heart disease, HIV/AIDS, and cancer) and their treatment.
Meditation is also used for overall wellness. Original story here
Meditation For Emotional Wellbeing
Meditation is also practiced for emotional and psychological reasons. Here is what the Mayo Clinic says about why you might be meditating for emotional reasons.
Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that benefits both your emotional well-being and your overall health. And these benefits don’t end when your meditation session ends. Meditation can help carry you more calmly through your day and can even improve certain medical conditions.
Meditation and emotional well-being
When you meditate, you clear away the information overload that builds up every day and contributes to your stress.The emotional benefits of meditation include:
- Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations
- Building skills to manage your stress
- Increasing self-awareness
- Focusing on the present
- Reducing negative emotions
Maybe you are just learning about meditation, and have not started yet.
So maybe the question is not “why do you meditate?” but rather “why do you want to start meditation?”
I’d love to hear from you about your reasons for meditating… please leave a comment below.
Why do you meditate?
