Meditating for Longevity: Why and How?

Physical and Psychological Benefits

According to Elizabeth Blackburn, a Nobel-winning scientist, psychology has a lot to do with telomerase. The better you feel, the more telomerase you produce. It's just that a life filled with kids, spouses, pets, financial worries and work stresses isn't conducive to the kind of environment where telomerase can flourish.

Another study from the American Journal of Cardiology supports these findings. Researchers took more than 200 seniors living with hypertension and divided them into groups based on blood pressure management techniques. For example, some took pills, others tried muscle relaxing practices and others still practiced Transcendental Meditation.

After 18 years, those who practiced Transcendental Meditation had much higher survival rates than their peers. 30 percent less died from heart disease, 49 percent less were struck down by cancer and 23 percent less passed away overall. With more than 350 published studies reporting benefits that include reduced cortisol (known as the “stress hormone”), normalized blood pressure, lower risk of heart attack and stroke, reduced anxiety and depression, improved learning ability and memory and reduced insomnia, the evidence is conclusive; meditation works.

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