At Mettitation we help people learn how to meditate and give guided meditation sessions for lots of clients who seek relaxation, peace and positive life progression. In this four part blog we answer some of the most asked (and searched) questions about meditation. Although we prefer to gently suggest, rather than tell people why you should meditate, after reading this blog you may have some solid reasons to include a meditation practice in your routine. If you’d like to book a meditation class or guided session with us, contact us for in-person and virtual meditation.

Why do people meditate?

There are lots of reasons why people meditate and we will include some of the most common answers to the question why meditate here:

Connection - a regular meditation practice helps people to connect to the subtleties of existence. In quiet stillness meditators become more aware of their body, their subtle energy, the multiple voices of their mind (which actually helps to quieten those pesky thoughts - more on this later) and to their environment. We consistently find that regular meditation helps to create a sense of belonging, and with this belonging increased peace, satisfaction and security. Most meditators form a relationship with something greater than themselves, whether that be God, universe or some other sense of being a part of a whole. This relationship helps to reduce anxiety and feelings of isolation and chaos.
Mental Health - of all the answers to why should you meditate this one might be the most relevant for our clients and students. Meditation has been scientifically proven to aid mental health wellness by balancing hormones and chemicals within our systems. These physiological processes are beneficial to us on many levels, including providing us with deep restful sleep and reducing the levels of chemicals associated with stress responses. Meditation also helps us to calm an overactive mind and encourages breathing styles which are calming to our systems. There are many studies which show that meditation is beneficial in bringing long lasting relief to those who experience depression and anxiety.
Enjoyment - some people enjoy meditating from the first time they try it, others take some time to develop a love for meditation. Reasons for enjoyment can be as simple as allocating a little quiet time for yourself. On a chemical level, meditation is shown to increase production of dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin, these chemicals are associated with feelings of pleasure, happiness, bliss, love and belonging.
Religious or Spiritual Reasons - meditation exists in some form in all of the main religions and philosophies throughout history and the world. This is often in the form of developing a connection to God, the universe or energy but can be a practice of holding scripture in your mind as you meditate to aid in understanding and devotion.

Why do Buddhists meditate?

Meditation and Buddhism are often thought of hand in hand, and for good reason. The practice of meditation is deeply rooted in Buddhism. The Buddha himself achieved enlightenment during a long vigil of meditation. It is accepted within Buddhism that the surest path to enlightenment is through meditation but not all Buddhists expect to achieve enlightenment and still meditate, so what are other answers to the question why do Buddhist people meditate?

To eliminate the ‘defilements’ of greed, hatred and delusion - the causes of suffering
Meditation is one of eight noble paths to the ending of suffering through right meditation or right concentration or focus
As a moral way to improve karma

We love this quote from Rita Gross writing for Tricycle:

“In terms of meditation, disciplines for calming, stilling, and stabilizing the mind were already in place in the time of the Buddha, but one of the things the Buddha said was that meditation alone is fundamentally not enough. A calm mind that has been produced through meditation techniques will only bring a temporary state of peace. What we need beyond that is actual insight into how things work, how things are. This is the term vipassana, or “clear seeing.”

In terms of Buddhist meditation, we talk about the need for the basic foundation of calm-abiding, and then using a mind that calmly abides to turn and look at the hard questions. With a mind of calm-abiding we can truly study dependent arising, how things come into being, and how they could cease. We can look at our tendencies to cling. We can look at our tendencies to want to want to exist forever, and we can look at the utter unrealistic absurdity of the proposition that we are eternal beings. We can look at all of these hard things that people ordinarily don’t want to look at.

We need the foundation of the stable mind that is brought about by shamatha, or calm-abiding meditation. Shamatha gives us the ability to see clearly into the nature of things as they are, which is that they do not have the kind of reality that we have always attributed to them. They simply do not have that level of enduring reality.”

Meditation is an integral part of being a lay Buddhist as well as a necessary part of being a Buddhist monk, but not all people who meditate are Buddhists.

Why do Hindus meditate?

Hinduism is considered the oldest religion in the world and meditation has always existed within it.

This quote from Dhyana or Meditation In Hindu Tradition by Jayaram V explains a perspective of meditation within Hinduism:

“The purpose of meditation or dhyana is to become consciously aware of or investigate into one's own mind and body to know oneself. It is essentially an exclusive as well as an inclusive process, in which one withdraws one's mind and senses from the distractions of the world and contemplates upon a chosen object or idea with concentration. It is focused thinking with or without the exercise of individual will, in which the mind and the body has to be brought together to function as one harmonious whole. With the help of meditation we can overcome our mental blocks, negative thinking, debilitating fears, stress and anxiety by knowing their cause and dealing with them.”

In Hinduism meditation is a method of bringing our human experience of separation back to oneness with source. In this way Hindu meditation is similar to Buddhist meditation, and both practices share this common result with meditators of all denominations.

Why do martial artists meditate?

Meditation is an essential practice for those seeking focus and a calmness of mind. Traditional martial arts incorporate meditation for these reasons. Although modern martial arts like MMA don’t have an incorporated meditation practice included within training, many of its most successful artists do practice meditation of one form or another. Focused and intentional breathing practices are themselves a meditation and from this perspective we can see that all major athletes utilise meditation to succeed. Perhaps the most obvious form of meditation in martial arts is in the practice of Tai Chi, which is a concentrated and focused moving meditation.

Why should I meditate?

We get asked the question why should I meditate a lot at Mettitation. As discussed, there are many reasons why people meditate, perhaps the best way to answer the question is by sharing why do we meditate…

We meditate to succeed in completing a daily goal which serves our health minutes after waking each day.
We meditate to remember that we are whole and that we belong here.
We meditate to help balance the chemicals within us that are affected by daily life, interactions and consumptions.
We meditate because it makes us feel really good.
We meditate so that we can hear the messages our body needs to give to us.
We meditate to help us sleep well and rise early.
We meditate for inspiration, for creativity and to discover things we didn’t know we were looking for.
We meditate to diminish cravings and to be content.
We meditate to remind ourselves that it’s ok to be still and to be quiet, we don’t always need to be busy.

Why is it good to meditate - part one summary

Meditation is the most thoroughly researched of all the complimentary and alternative therapies; scientists have consistently found that meditation brings real improvement to physiological, mental and emotional health. Research is helping us understand how meditation benefits us on a physical level, but humans have experienced the energetic benefits of meditation for thousands of years. With the weight of experience and the weight of data collecting, we now know meditation is one of the most sure ways to bring positive change into your life, anyone can meditate and all you need to do so is yourself.

We can help you make that start, with easy to follow meditation classes for all people, as well as guided meditation sessions for those who prefer this option.

Stay tuned for Part Two of our Meditation FAQ Blog, coming soon…

Learn more or Book Meditation