The 8 Extraordinary Benefits of Vedic Meditation
Studies on the effects of meditation continue to appear, repeatedly touting the many benefits. But with so many different kinds of meditation, it can be hard to know what to expect in your own practice… and especially tricky to know what kind of meditation style to try to get the results you want.
The advantages of Vedic Meditation are numerous and distinct from any other form. Here are the 8 essential benefits of Vedic Meditation most commonly experienced among practitioners, as well as the mechanics of each one.
1. COMPOUNDING, PROFOUNDLY DEEP PHYSICAL AND MENTAL REST
Though we do rest with each night of good sleep, the ability for our sleep to completely release the stress from our day and provide full replenishment varies widely from person to person and from day to day.
When we add a Vedic Meditation practice into our daily routine, we’re flooding our mind and body with a kind of deep rest that is equal to far more sleep time than the duration of the meditation. That rest begins to recharge both our mental well-being as well as our physical well-being from the inside out.
Within the first few minutes of repeating our personalized mantra in the meditation practice (without force, concentration, or resisting thoughts), the mind begins to fall into a much more quiet, supreme inner contentment state of awareness. We begin to head to the source of our thoughts to that field of being where our whole experience is quiet, calm, and orderly. There, the mind begins to rest very deeply.
UNWINDING PHYSICAL AND MENTAL STRESS
While that mental rest goes on, the body is following the mind inward. The body then begins to de-excite at such a profound level that we begin to rest significantly deeper than sleep. This is how Vedic Meditation is able to unwind deeply rooted stresses in every single sitting.
Vedic Meditation is a two-for-one meditation: First, the mind begins to rest deeply, which is a welcome respite from our busy busy days. At the same time, the body is regenerating and reengineering itself into wholeness and restored wellbeing. This feeling of wholeness is one of the most impactful benefits of Vedic Meditation.
2. STEPPING BEYOND OUR THINKING MIND INTO TRANSCENDENCE
Did you know that most people process between 60,000 to 100,000 thoughts per day? Of these thousands of incessant thoughts or thought events, 90 to 98% are repeat thoughts from the day before.
No wonder we use such a small percentage of our brains, then– we’re merely following the same neural patterns day in and day out. Our processing power is used only to recycle and regurgitate repetitive thoughts… and all too often, these thoughts are negative and worrisome in nature.
THE MECHANICS OF TRANSCENDENCE
When we practice Vedic Meditation, we enter such a state of quiet stillness that we begin to step beyond our thinking mind entirely, without effort or concentration. The great value of Vedic Meditation is that we can begin to saturate our awareness in the source of well-being and the source of rest… the thought-free state that is also the source of happiness.
When we saturate the mind in the transcendent bliss state, then we can return to waking life and use our thinking mind for new creative thoughts rather than merely for processing all of those repetitive thoughts. Our attention and mental processing power are more available to generate new ideas and be in the present moment, instead of processing the thoughts or worries about the future or regrets of the past.
3. RELEASING DEEPLY ROOTED STRESS
Our brains are made up of nearly 90 billion brain cells… But 90 to 98% of those brain cells are used to process stress memories, stress accumulation, and trauma memory. Two percent brainpower doesn’t give us a lot of room to have clarity of thinking, much less to be relaxed in the present moment! The levels of accumulating stress create fatigue, which keeps us from being able to make high-speed decisions without feeling more stress from the activity.
Imagine having a brain that spends 98% of its computing power processing stress memories, leaving only 2% for the innocent experience of life. That person would naturally react more harshly to unexpected changes in their environment, even lashing out or distancing themselves unnecessarily from other people. They would hardly have the ‘presence of mind’ to be their true selves. Instead, the version the world would get is the tired, reactive, distracted version of that person whose life is run by stress.
When we rest the mind deeply, we begin to clear out the inventory of stress not only from that day but from years past. With two 20-minute sessions each day, we can approach every moment in our life with resilience and freshness. We’re able to be in the present moment and identify all of the planting of the seeds of the future. That’s how we’re able to make good decisions more and more effortlessly– from big life decisions to our simple reactions and responses to daily events.
GETTING TO THE ROOT OF OUR PROBLEMS
My teacher’s teacher, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi famously said, “Water the roots to enjoy the fruits.” Instead of thinking about how to paint the leaves green or try to make the tree look good, we need to go directly to the source of the imbalance, which are roots that need to be watered and tended to.
Vedic Meditation addresses the root of all those imbalances, whether they’re physical or emotional. All imbalances are a result of stress and stress accumulation. The multiple stress-relieving uses of Vedic Meditation help you ‘water your roots’ to see better fruits – or a less stress-driven version of yourself.
4. LIVING MORE IN THE PRESENT MOMENT
As we’ve all experienced, stress keeps us from feeling present in each moment. Stress and emotional overwhelm keeps us stuck in our minds, living in the future or in the past.
When we begin to purify stress through Vedic Meditation, we begin to open up to the present moment. The present moment is the gold mine of the future… that’s where life is happening, and where all discernment for the best possible choices occurs.
When meditators talk about the many Vedic Meditation bonuses and benefits they experience, they often say that they feel like time seems to expand and that they feel less and less like they’re running out of time. The worry of time scarcity disappears as they practice their daily meditations and get more grounded in the present moment.
5. ENJOYING BETTER SLEEP AND INCREASED ENERGY LEVELS
When we’re meditating for twenty minutes twice each day, we begin to clear away that backlog of fatigue that impacts our sleep at night. Anxiety and stress keep many people from falling asleep, or it stirs them at night and wakes them up. The stress creates a vicious cycle of insomnia and poor sleep… and then, waking up and feeling anxious because they can’t sleep, which begets another evening of poor sleep, etc.
When we practice Vedic Meditation regularly, we are able to build in opportunities inside meditation to clear out the inventory of stress that we’ve accumulated throughout the day. As a result, when we retire for the evening, the body is able to rest deeply without having a massive “agenda” of releasing stress. Instead, we get to enjoy a deep and undisturbed sleep session. Many new meditators report that they enjoy better sleep even as soon as their first two or three meditation sittings.
6. INCREASED CREATIVITY AND MENTAL CLARITY
When we practice Vedic Meditation, we begin to cultivate an internal feeling of long-lasting, sustainable fulfillment, rather than being needy and looking for fulfillment outside of us. When we come from that state of fulfillment, we’re free to tap into our creative power.
With each meditation practice, as we quiet down our minds and bodies, we dip into that silent state of our own awareness where the source of creation resides. The inner silent state is the source of all cognition or the field of all possibilities. So it doesn’t matter if you’re an artist, a writer, a lawyer, or an accountant, your twice-daily Vedic Meditation will help you to become more creative in any pursuit or project.
7. EMOTIONAL HARMONY
Emotional imbalances are a common expression of stress accumulation. Vedic Meditation helps to smooth out those emotional imbalances as the stress releases from the body. When we’re starting to find that sense of unity and harmony inside our meditation practice, we also begin to see it outside in the world.
We don’t feel as easily attacked, and we don’t take things as personally as we once might have. And very importantly, we begin to become much kinder to ourselves. Our self-talk becomes much more positive, without stress running the show.
8. SOCIAL GOOD
Every time we meditate and enter the blissful field of being, we’re taking part in the only truly shared experience available to humans. The inner quiet state is where we can all experience fulfillment, fearlessness, and happiness. As we have discussed in the other points in this article when we experience it regularly in mediation the conflict in our outer lives steadily fades away.
Maharishi shared on many occasions that to solve the wars in the world, we have to solve the wars at home and solve the wars within ourselves. Releasing stress from the body to find harmony on every level is the most effortless way to solve the inner wars. Without stress creating tension and fear inside, there is no conflict or need.
HOW TO START ENJOYING THE BENEFITS OF VEDIC MEDITATION
Among the many benefits of Vedic Meditation, the most important one is the effortless release of stress. Without stress running our lives, we can finally access the unused 98% of our brains and all of the limitless potential that goes with it.
To receive your personalized mantra and learn the Vedic Meditation technique, join Susan for an Introductory Talk and then sign up for the Learn to Meditate course with Susan. Learn more by checking out the latest Vedic Meditation news and frequently asked questions.
