Variety of people practicing yoga, meditation has jumped in the last six years

THURSDAY, Nov. 8, 2018 – If everyone you know seems to try yoga or meditation, you may be right. A new government poll shows that the number of Americans practicing the techniques of "mindfulness" has increased in recent years.

In 2017, more than 14% of American adults reported practicing yoga in the past year, up from 9.5% in 2012. The number of meditation practitioners has more than tripled, from 4% to 14%. %.

Even children become attentive. According to the study, in 2017, more than 8% of youth aged 4 to 17 had practiced yoga over the past year, compared to 3% five years earlier, reported Thursday the US centers of control and prevention of diseases.

And if few children took the time to meditate in 2012 (less than 1%), more than 5% did so in 2017.

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The survey did not ask people why they had adopted these old practices. The researcher, Lindsey Black, of the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, therefore did not understand what led to the increase in her popularity.

She pointed out that the number of Americans who could have resorted to yoga or meditation to manage their health problems or just for their "general well-being". The survey also did not ask people if they practiced regularly or if they had just touched the techniques.

"We just know that these practices are becoming more and more popular," said Black.

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According to marketing claims, belly breathing, tree postures and other ancestral techniques can help children to de-stress themselves, make their way through social groups and even fight the flu.

Adults are told that they will develop better prospects, better posture, better sleep and more if they use their yoga tools.

The attention of the media could increase the popularity of yoga and mindfulness, said Ted Meissner of the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

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The university is the cradle of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), a guided program that combines particular meditation techniques and gentle yoga. It is the technique of mindfulness in matters of scientific consciousness.

According to Meissner, in recent years, studies have looked at the effects of various mindfulness approaches, including whether they can help treat health problems as diverse as chronic pain, heart disease, stroke problems and other conditions. memory, anxiety and depression. and addiction.

This has resulted in increased media coverage, said Meissner.

But much of this research has major limitations, he added. On the one hand, most studies have lacked "control groups" where people get another intervention for comparison purposes.

The media has also paid a lot of attention to studies showing that when people meditate, their brain activity changes. But the importance of these discoveries in everyday life is unknown, said Meissner.

What is mindfulness? The Center for Mindfulness offers this definition: the intention to pay attention to every moment of our life without judgment.

But as far as research is concerned, there is not even a universally accepted definition of the term, Meissner said. It's much less simple than studying a drug, he noted.

For now, Meissner has suggested that if people are interested in meditation or yoga, they go with reasonable expectations. If you are looking to get rid of anxiety, he said, the practices may not be for you.

"Mindfulness is not a panacea," Meissner said.

He also advised to "do his homework" before investing in courses or courses. There are different forms of yoga and meditation – so understand what type of player you are signing up for. And, he said, check the qualifications of the teacher, including whether he has undergone training with a reputable program.

Even something as safe as meditation has the potential to hurt, said Meissner, though, for example, it is presented as a substitute for standard therapies against anxiety or depression.

More information
The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health has more about meditation and health.

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