Nowadays, a wave of meditation and mindfulness is sweeping through our society, seemingly encountered at every turn. One might even call it a hype, fueled by a multitude of consultants, coaches, and apps like Headspace and Calm, offering digital assistance for meditation. A multi-billion-dollar market has emerged globally, which doesn’t quite align with the origins or the image of the ascetic, meditating monk in a cave. Isn’t the essence of meditation to be completely with oneself? Why the need for tools? Surely, it’s helpful to understand what meditation is about and what it brings. “When you meditate, you’re supposed to think about nothing!” This somewhat simplistic view can lead to frustration quickly. “I can’t meditate. Thoughts keep popping into my head, and I just can’t find peace.” The compulsive attempt to shut everything off already implies failure. For those who overcome this hurdle, expecting wisdom or even levitation in the end stage—where the body becomes incredibly light, defies gravity, and starts floating—often leads to disappointment. High expectations regarding meditation are usually the reasons for quitting after a short time because sitting around seems pointless. But is that true? Does meditation bring nothing? Firstly, it’s essential to understand that meditation is a repetitive practice aimed at calming and focusing the mind. Concentrating on one’s breath, for example, is frequently interrupted by various thoughts. However, once these interruptions are accepted, and every thought is released, observed like a fish in an aquarium passing by, moments of concentration and tranquility increase and last longer. It’s reassuring to know that even the great masters of Zen meditation achieve the state of detachment, concentration, and peace for a maximum of five minutes. Apparently, the journey is the goal, and it’s not about achieving but simply about “coming to rest.” The continuity, the constant repetition, of this conscious calming down seems to be the key to this technique. Even 5 minutes a day can apparently lead to results.
But what are the results of repetitive meditation? And what does meditation mean in terms of Longevity?
In the context of the human brain, there’s talk of neuroplasticity. This means that our brain changes its structure through repetitive activities. Through the calm and attentive observation of internal activities during meditation—without judging or holding onto them—the brain learns to recognize a meta-level and ideally solidifies it. By observing ourselves and our thoughts and feelings and enjoying the calm, with constant practice of this meditation process, we also learn to consciously recognize and not simply follow thoughts and feelings in everyday situations. We regain more and more the decision on how to react to emotions and thoughts. We turn off the “autopilot” more and more frequently and become more mindful with each passing time. Without achievement, just on the way! The one who brought meditation from the Buddhist environment to our modern Western world was not a spiritual figure. The father of Western meditation was an American scientist from Massachusetts—a molecular biologist named Jon Kabat-Zinn. His Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training, started in 1979, is a medically recognized practice that has been proven to help with depression, burnout, pain reduction, and as an adjunct method in severe illnesses. As a scientist, he introduced this healing method to our evidence-based world through studies. It has since been shown that exercises promoting calmness and serenity have a clear impact on our health and well-being. Since the 1990s, we’ve known that meditation—the mind—affects the body, namely gene expression. Thanks to epigenetics, we now know that chromosomes change. The ends of chromosomes, the so-called telomeres or repetitive DNA sequences, change through the states of the mind. Scientists have found that meditation lengthens telomeres, and stress shortens them. If telomeres are lost, cells stop dividing, which is a biological sign of aging. Telomeres are also referred to as biomarkers of aging. Certainly, there are numerous influences on healthy aging, such as mobility, nutrition, and, of course, the genes we are born with. But it’s a wonderful realization that it’s scientifically proven that meditation is an effective means of Longevity, helping to keep us healthy and physically fit as we age.
