Benefits
Evidence proves Yoga, meditation & mindfulness work!
Yoga, meditation, and mindfulness have been providing greater health and happiness for thousands of years. With the aid of modern research and technology, we are able to scientifically measure the benefits of these practices that have been experienced by practitioners and passed down across generations. Studies on how the brain responds to a mindfulness meditation practice have revealed numerous positive impacts on mental and physical health, as well as powerful shifts in the areas of compassion, joy, self-awareness, and self-acceptance.
Some key benefits of yoga and mindfulness include:
Developing a yoga, meditation, and/or mindfulness practice is an act of self care, which is critical to maintaining balance, health and satisfaction in life. Practicing yoga, meditation and mindfulness can give you tools to help you stay centered amidst problems and challenges that arise, and teach you how to better tend to the health of your body, mind, and spirit. Mindfulness specifically has been proven to contribute to a shift in perceived quality of life.
"Ok, but how much do I need?"
There unfortunately isn't a one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on your unique body and mind, as well as what you're specifically trying to attain. However, emerging evidence proves that regular practice can provide profound benefits in a variety of areas:
Rewiring the Brain for Resilience & Happiness
Studies have shown that 8 weeks of meditating for 20 minutes a day changes the structure of the brain and leads to positive changes in the soma and psyche, an increase of grey matter in the brain (it makes you smarter!), and regulates the stress response in the body. Even better, additional evidence suggests that this doesn't have to be all at once—it's just as powerful if you break it up into segments throughout the day! Tang, Holzel, and Posner (2014) concluded that the effects of meditation on the brain are vast and allow us to actually change the structure of our own brain. Rick Hanson, a leading psychologist in the field of mindfulness, suggests meditations and practices help rewire the neural pathways in the brain to create more resilience and happiness. Studies have also shown that mindfulness has a positive impact on telomere length, which helps to decrease cellular aging and cogitivie stress (Epel et al., 2009).
Depression, Stress and Anxiety
Mindfulness, meditation and yoga are powerful tools in mental health and are commonly used by therapists, psychiatrists, and counselors. The University of Oxford investigated effects experienced by 273 participants of the Be Mindful Online Course after one month and found a 58% reduction in anxiety levels, 57% reduction in depression, and 40% reduction in stress.
Better Mood and Focus
Mindfulness and meditation increase your ability to pay attention and concentrate, which helps with dealing with distractions, focusing on the task at hand, and promoting cognitive flexibility (Moore and Malinowski, 2009). Studies with nurses (Bruce, Young, Turner, Vander Wal, & Linden, 2002), oncology patients (Lerman, Jarski, Rea, Gellish, & Vicini, 2012) and adults suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Biomed Res Int. 2015) showed a marked improvement in the quality of life, as well as mood and attention.
Less Emotional Reactivity
Practicing mindfulness and meditation helps with developing mechanisms to cope with emotions and to choose responses (Cahn & Polich, 2006; Davidson et al., 2003), reducing triggered impulsive reactions (Ortner et al., 2007). It also helps restore baseline mood faster after a stressful event. (Davidson, 2000; Davidson, Jackson, & Kalin, 2000).
Long-Term Physical Health
Yoga and mindfulness help a person tune into their body and live more consciously, making healthier choices and developing healthier attitudes and habits. This promotes overall wellbeing. One study showed that mindfulness increases multiple healthy behaviors like getting regular health checkups, being more physically active, and even using seat belts and avoiding nicotine and alcohol (Jacobs, Wollny, Sim, & Horsch, 2016). Changes in biological markers have been seen, including stress hormone markers and immune and endocrine system markers (Black and Slavich, 2016). Additionally, practices can help improve immune system function and prevent illness, and help with many chronic health concerns including rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular health (Loucks, Britton, Howe, Eaton, & Buka, 2015), high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, organ transplant, chronic pain, fibromyalgia and irritable bowl syndrome (Carlson, 2012). Research in Oncology also shows significant improvements in mood, reduction of stress, fatigue and better sleep cycles (Carlson & Garland, 2005), and mindfulness is often taught to cancer patients to aid in pain management.
Empathy, Better Communication, and Compassionate Understanding
Yoga and mindfulness teach non-judgment and non-reactivity and contribute to a more peaceful, happy world through the increase of compassionate understanding and communication. Mindfulness studies have shown significant increases in empathy towards others (Shapiro, Schwartz, & Bonner, 1998) and compassion towards self (Shapiro, Astin, Bishop, & Cordova, 2005), as well as the ability to understand and express emotion (Dekeyser el al., 2008). This helps with communicating effectively during conflict and coping with conflict, cultivating emotional intimacy, and building happy relationships (Barnes et al., 2007; Wachs & Cordova, 2007). The benefits of using mindfulness, meditation and yoga to develop greater empathy, understanding, and communication have been widely seen in education. With school-aged children, mindfulness, meditation, and yoga can be used as powerful behavioral interventions, helping to reduce reactivity, bad behavior, and anxiety. They promote self-awareness and empathy and can contribute directly to the development of cognitive and performance skills. Research has shown that teachers who practice also benefit, reducing stress and burn out, achieving better efficacy in their work, and increasing their ability to manage and support students. Mindfulness can also help teenagers cope with emotion and stress, develop greater self-acceptance, improve concentration, and make more skillful choices.
Some key benefits of yoga and mindfulness include:
- Improves mental acuity, concentration, creativity, and decision-making skills
- Boosts immune system function
- Relieves physical tension including vastly common head, neck and back strain, carpal tunnel syndrome, high blood pressure, and injuries from repetitive motion or stress
- Improves strength, flexibility, posture, circulation, and energy levels
- Builds new neural pathways and increases grey matter in the brain, making your smarter and more resilient against stuck patterning
- Increases self-awareness, resilience, and happiness
- Helps decrease stress, anxiety and depression
- Helps with sleep issues
Developing a yoga, meditation, and/or mindfulness practice is an act of self care, which is critical to maintaining balance, health and satisfaction in life. Practicing yoga, meditation and mindfulness can give you tools to help you stay centered amidst problems and challenges that arise, and teach you how to better tend to the health of your body, mind, and spirit. Mindfulness specifically has been proven to contribute to a shift in perceived quality of life.
"Ok, but how much do I need?"
There unfortunately isn't a one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on your unique body and mind, as well as what you're specifically trying to attain. However, emerging evidence proves that regular practice can provide profound benefits in a variety of areas:
Rewiring the Brain for Resilience & Happiness
Studies have shown that 8 weeks of meditating for 20 minutes a day changes the structure of the brain and leads to positive changes in the soma and psyche, an increase of grey matter in the brain (it makes you smarter!), and regulates the stress response in the body. Even better, additional evidence suggests that this doesn't have to be all at once—it's just as powerful if you break it up into segments throughout the day! Tang, Holzel, and Posner (2014) concluded that the effects of meditation on the brain are vast and allow us to actually change the structure of our own brain. Rick Hanson, a leading psychologist in the field of mindfulness, suggests meditations and practices help rewire the neural pathways in the brain to create more resilience and happiness. Studies have also shown that mindfulness has a positive impact on telomere length, which helps to decrease cellular aging and cogitivie stress (Epel et al., 2009).
Depression, Stress and Anxiety
Mindfulness, meditation and yoga are powerful tools in mental health and are commonly used by therapists, psychiatrists, and counselors. The University of Oxford investigated effects experienced by 273 participants of the Be Mindful Online Course after one month and found a 58% reduction in anxiety levels, 57% reduction in depression, and 40% reduction in stress.
Better Mood and Focus
Mindfulness and meditation increase your ability to pay attention and concentrate, which helps with dealing with distractions, focusing on the task at hand, and promoting cognitive flexibility (Moore and Malinowski, 2009). Studies with nurses (Bruce, Young, Turner, Vander Wal, & Linden, 2002), oncology patients (Lerman, Jarski, Rea, Gellish, & Vicini, 2012) and adults suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Biomed Res Int. 2015) showed a marked improvement in the quality of life, as well as mood and attention.
Less Emotional Reactivity
Practicing mindfulness and meditation helps with developing mechanisms to cope with emotions and to choose responses (Cahn & Polich, 2006; Davidson et al., 2003), reducing triggered impulsive reactions (Ortner et al., 2007). It also helps restore baseline mood faster after a stressful event. (Davidson, 2000; Davidson, Jackson, & Kalin, 2000).
Long-Term Physical Health
Yoga and mindfulness help a person tune into their body and live more consciously, making healthier choices and developing healthier attitudes and habits. This promotes overall wellbeing. One study showed that mindfulness increases multiple healthy behaviors like getting regular health checkups, being more physically active, and even using seat belts and avoiding nicotine and alcohol (Jacobs, Wollny, Sim, & Horsch, 2016). Changes in biological markers have been seen, including stress hormone markers and immune and endocrine system markers (Black and Slavich, 2016). Additionally, practices can help improve immune system function and prevent illness, and help with many chronic health concerns including rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular health (Loucks, Britton, Howe, Eaton, & Buka, 2015), high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, organ transplant, chronic pain, fibromyalgia and irritable bowl syndrome (Carlson, 2012). Research in Oncology also shows significant improvements in mood, reduction of stress, fatigue and better sleep cycles (Carlson & Garland, 2005), and mindfulness is often taught to cancer patients to aid in pain management.
Empathy, Better Communication, and Compassionate Understanding
Yoga and mindfulness teach non-judgment and non-reactivity and contribute to a more peaceful, happy world through the increase of compassionate understanding and communication. Mindfulness studies have shown significant increases in empathy towards others (Shapiro, Schwartz, & Bonner, 1998) and compassion towards self (Shapiro, Astin, Bishop, & Cordova, 2005), as well as the ability to understand and express emotion (Dekeyser el al., 2008). This helps with communicating effectively during conflict and coping with conflict, cultivating emotional intimacy, and building happy relationships (Barnes et al., 2007; Wachs & Cordova, 2007). The benefits of using mindfulness, meditation and yoga to develop greater empathy, understanding, and communication have been widely seen in education. With school-aged children, mindfulness, meditation, and yoga can be used as powerful behavioral interventions, helping to reduce reactivity, bad behavior, and anxiety. They promote self-awareness and empathy and can contribute directly to the development of cognitive and performance skills. Research has shown that teachers who practice also benefit, reducing stress and burn out, achieving better efficacy in their work, and increasing their ability to manage and support students. Mindfulness can also help teenagers cope with emotion and stress, develop greater self-acceptance, improve concentration, and make more skillful choices.
Health is Wealth
The value of mindfulness and yoga for individuals, communities, and organizations
Yoga and mindfulness provide tools to create greater health and happiness. Leading communities, organizations and companies across the world are bringing mindfulness and yoga programs to their organizations to facilitate greater health and happiness for their members. The results? Emerging research indicates that mindfulness and yoga have significant positive impacts on organizations and teams.
Chronic stress is the cause of nearly 90% of doctor visits and costs U.S. companies about $300B annually through absenteeism, diminished productivity, employee turnover, and direct medical, legal and insurance costs. Workers who report they are stressed incur healthcare costs that are almost 50% higher than other employees. Companies lose $2-$3 in productivity for every $1 spent on employee medical costs and spend $14K/employee each year on medically related productivity losses.
A detailed analysis of mindfulness research co-directed by a management scientist at Case Western Reserve University (2016) concluded that mindfulness improves attention, cognition, behavior and physiology, thereby having a positive impact on the workplace. Mindfulness improves teamwork, leadership and productivity when integrated into workplaces.
In addition to the positive benefits listed above, yoga, meditation, and mindfulness also benefit the following work-related areas:
The value of mindfulness and yoga for individuals, communities, and organizations
Yoga and mindfulness provide tools to create greater health and happiness. Leading communities, organizations and companies across the world are bringing mindfulness and yoga programs to their organizations to facilitate greater health and happiness for their members. The results? Emerging research indicates that mindfulness and yoga have significant positive impacts on organizations and teams.
Chronic stress is the cause of nearly 90% of doctor visits and costs U.S. companies about $300B annually through absenteeism, diminished productivity, employee turnover, and direct medical, legal and insurance costs. Workers who report they are stressed incur healthcare costs that are almost 50% higher than other employees. Companies lose $2-$3 in productivity for every $1 spent on employee medical costs and spend $14K/employee each year on medically related productivity losses.
A detailed analysis of mindfulness research co-directed by a management scientist at Case Western Reserve University (2016) concluded that mindfulness improves attention, cognition, behavior and physiology, thereby having a positive impact on the workplace. Mindfulness improves teamwork, leadership and productivity when integrated into workplaces.
In addition to the positive benefits listed above, yoga, meditation, and mindfulness also benefit the following work-related areas:
- Enhances employee outlook and attitude, and increases job satisfaction
- Enhances employee/employer and client relationships
- Reduces conflict in the workplace
- Leads to positive changes in company culture
