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Yoga and Meditation on the Rise Among US Adults and Kids

You know by attending classes at Meditate Madison how beneficial yoga, meditation, and other complementary medicine can be. Now CNN has published an article on their website detailing the outcomes of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health reports that were released recently.

Briefly, it states that 30% of US adults and about 12% of children use “healthcare approaches that are not typically part of the conventional medical care that may have origins outside of usual Western practices.” Many people turn to complementary health approaches, such as yoga and meditation, in order to help with symptom management, such as pain. As well, they turn to these approaches for a general sense of wellbeing,” Richard Nahin, the lead epidemiologist at the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health and co-author of the reports, wrote in an email.

For example:

The practice of yoga rose from 3.1% of the overall child population in 2012 to 8.4% in 2017 and from 9.5% to 14.3% in adults, equating to about 4.9 million children and 35.2 million adults doing yoga in 2017.
Meditation use went up from 0.6% of children in 2012 to 5.4% in 2017 and from 4.1% of adults in 2012 to 14.2% of adults in 2017.

The Benefits Of Yoga And Meditation

All three methods of complementary medicine appear to have health benefits, Nahin said. Yoga may improve general well-being, and evidence is increasing that it helps with some aspects of wellness, including mental health and stress management. It can also helps relieve lower back and neck pain.

He also noted that research suggests that meditation can help with medical problems, including symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, and that the spinal manipulation of chiropractic research could help low back pain as well as problems such as whiplash-associated disorders.

As you know we offer a variety of classes in both yoga and meditation throughout the week.
  • With yoga, we have a slow, gentle Mindful Yoga, Chair Yoga, and Restorative Yoga that I (Deb) teach.
  • Sarah Kangas teaches a Fit & Functional Yoga for Every Body on Tuesday nights.
  • In reference to meditation, we have beginner’s meditation, mindfulness, intentional, crystal singing bowls and more.
  • See our schedule for details!
Deb Phelps

Deb Phelps

Deb Phelps is a certified Mindfulness and Meditation Teacher, and Practitioner since 1980. She is also a Mindfulness Coach, Sound Energy Practitioner, and Yoga Specialist who uniquely assists her clients to overcome stress, anxiety, PTSD, grief, and other life situations so that they can once again live purposeful, joy-filled lives. Deb has overcome significant life challenges aided by a variety of mind-body-spirit practices. By diligently using these tools over many decades, she found a life of contentment and equanimity. Through extensive education and life experience, including living for one year in a spiritual community, she assists and inspires others to do the same. ~ Deb Phelps, C.MI, MMT, E-RYT500, LVCYT, YACEP