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Sarah Byrd

Professor Jizi
UWRT 1104
11 April 2016

The Benefits of Meditation

My interest in meditation sparked recently when reflecting on my freshman year and the
challenges that came with it. I personally have always struggled with anxiety, and since I came to
college it became worse. Panic attacks are more common and sometimes, depression can even
come and go. I want to learn about different methods that could help aid this disorder I struggle
with in any way. I dont like panicking, depression, or weird moods. So I posed the question,
what natural ways could help with anxiety? Thats how I came across meditation. After learning
of meditation, I asked myself, what other benefits can come from meditating?

Meditating has been long known as a mind and body practice used for increasing
calmness and physical meditation and enhancing your overall physical health. (NIH). Many
people believe meditation to be a spiritual practice, which it can be, but fail to realize the many
wonderful benefits that can happen to your body. Americans as a society have become swarmed
with health issues, possibly relating to obesity which has rapidly become a problem in its own.
We also live in a time where everyone is constantly going. It seems like everyone is in a rush to

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be somewhere. So why would someone not care to enhance their health or to promote relaxation?
Meditation is a simple practice that people can do at their own pace and on their own time.
Although meditation can affect everyone, it is most beneficial on young adults. This age
group could be anyone from college students to people who just graduated and are trying to
figure out their next step. Both lifestyles come with stress. While in college, you have so much
going on and so many responsibilities that stress really catches up to you. Students are often
trying to keep up with the many assignments, tests, social events, and anything else that trying to
live a balanced lifestyle is hard. Immune systems are weakened, sleep becomes apparently
nonexistent, and many become so frustrated they just want to pull their hair out. People who just
graduated college and are trying to figure out their next step are always rushing. Rushing to find
somewhere to live, rushing to find a job, rushing to make money that they stress themselves out
and don't take time to calm down. Meditation could really balance their lives.
Meditation has been proven to lower blood pressure for those with hypertension. Not
only that, evidence has shown that meditating can lower anxiety and ease symptoms of
depression. (NIH). Anxiety and depression go hand in hand for me. Anxiety makes me feel out
of control and uncomfortable. These feelings lead to depression, sometimes lasting one day and
sometimes lasting multiple days. To be able to lower my anxiety and to not have depression
would make me enjoy life more because I would be more happy. Meditating also allows the
brain to process information better, reduces aging, and enhances the way you handle emotions.
(NIH). Wouldnt it be cool to be able to handle emotions better? I personally overreact over little
things due to high levels of stress. To be able to calm down and be happy from meditating sounds
ideal. It amazes me that something as simple as focusing on your breathing can have such a
healthy effect on your brain and your emotions. Studies show evidence that meditating can only

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do good for your body and your brain, proving that it aides anxiety and depression. One incident,
involving Michael Mitchell and his heart attack, showed that meditation can boost up your
immune system. (WebMD). After this incident, doctors advised Mitchell to meditate. He
recovered quickly and since then has not gone a day without meditating. Its amazing that
meditation can heal your body and prevent you from sickness. Being in college, sickness goes
around all the time and so building up your immune system would be very beneficial. That way
you dont get sick constantly. The benefits of meditation are so desperately needed that many
meditation studios are now opening up, like MNDFL in New York. This specific studio offers
different types of meditation such as Breath and Mantra and Heart. (NY Times). These classes
are helping New Yorkers to slow down and disconnect which ultimately leads to stress reduction
and happiness. (NY Times). Stress reduction and happiness is something everyone should strive
for. We are always going going going and nobody takes time to breathe.
The National Institute of Health was the most convincing of my sources that meditating
has more benefits than most people know. Meditating can change the way your mind processes
data and, although the theory behind why is not known, everyone should want to live a happier
lifestyle with a better way of thinking. The idea that meditating can reduce stress and lower
anxiety and depression just shows the wonders of what meditating can do. I have decided to try
meditating to help aide with my anxiety. I feel like meditating will help me to realize how to be
in the moment and control my breathing. Meditating teaches you how to let go by realizing that
youre not in control.
If people knew all the good that comes from meditating, it would make a huge difference
in todays society. Meditation has many benefits including lower blood pressure, reduced stress,
and decreased anxiety and depression. Meditation could make society as a whole more calm. We

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would be focused more on the moment then whats next and where we need to get to. My
question that I still have at the end of my project is how do you meditate? What exactly is the
right form and what are the different ways of meditating? Web MD gives information about
where to go to learn to meditate, such as community centers or local colleges. I want to know
more detail about how to meditate.

Concerns:
-what can I add?
-format?
-does it flow?

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Sources:
Gerszberg, Caren Osten. "No Texts, Please, Were Meditating." The New York Times Company.
The New York Times, 18 Mar. 2016. Web. 3 Apr. 2016.

Kuchinskas, Susan. "Mediation Heals Body and Mind." WebMD, 25 Feb. 2009. Web. 3 Apr.
2016.

"Meditation: In Depth." National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, 16 Mar. 2016. Web. 3 Apr. 2016.