Meditation reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, improves focus, and contributes to longer life expectancy. The clinical evidence is strong, the practice is accessible, and you don’t need to “be good at it” for it to work.
This post covers what meditation is, what the evidence actually shows, and how to keep going when meditation feels like it’s doing nothing.
What is meditation?
Mindfulness and meditation is the practice of relaxing the mind to focus fully on “the now”, so you can acknowledge and accept your thoughts, feelings, and sensations without judgement.
The two terms overlap. Mindfulness is the broader skill of present-moment awareness; meditation is one of the most structured ways of practising it.
Where did meditation come from?
Meditation is an ancient practice believed to originate in India several thousand years BCE. Through history, the practice spread across many cultures. Meditation is taught in Hindu and Buddhist traditions, but it’s also practised by millions of people in a secular way around the world.
How do you learn to meditate?
Guided meditation is the easiest place to start, though meditation can also be self-taught. A good guided practitioner will tell you there’s no right or wrong way to meditate. They’ll introduce the concept, then guide you in slowing your breathing. If your mind wanders, that’s okay; bringing it back is part of the practice.
What are the proven benefits of meditation?
Reduced stress, anxiety, and depression
Multiple studies have shown meditation supports stress recovery and reduces symptoms of mood disorders. A meta-analysis cited by the Mayo Clinic states:
“Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that can benefit both your emotional well-being and your overall health.”
For LGBTQIA+ people, who experience higher rates of anxiety and depression linked to minority stress, the case for tools that build everyday regulation is particularly strong.
Lower blood pressure
A 2018 study published in PLOS One found that people who meditated regularly over 8 weeks had measurable changes in the expression of 172 genes involved in inflammation, circadian rhythms, and glucose metabolism. Participants also showed a decrease in blood pressure.
Improved attention span
A study on mindfulness meditation found that practice improved perceptual discrimination and sustained attention. The researchers concluded that “perceptual improvements can reduce the resource demand imposed by target discrimination and thus make it easier to sustain voluntary attention.” In short: meditation trains your ability to hold focus.
Contribution to longevity
Meditation teacher Shinzen Young, author of The Science of Enlightenment, argues that even a few minutes of meditation a day contributes to longevity. The mechanism is partly indirect: meditation reduces chronic stress, lowers blood pressure, and improves sleep, all of which have well-documented effects on long-term health.
What if it doesn’t feel like meditation is working?
No matter how long you’ve been meditating, it’s common to feel like it’s not working. The most important thing to know: there’s no goal in meditation. Thoughts will come and go as they please, and it’s not your job to stop them. Some sessions will feel easy; others will feel impossible.
Even experienced practitioners have sessions that go nowhere. Jay Shetty, the former Hindu monk and author, has spoken about this directly:
“Many of us are experiencing setbacks and failures in everyday life. Eventually, we get emotionally drained, tired, unmotivated and we stop trying.”
If a monk can feel like meditation isn’t working, you’re not doing it wrong. The practice is showing up, not achieving a particular mental state.
How does meditation fit into queer life?
A lot of mainstream meditation content assumes a generic body, a generic identity, and a generic stress profile. That doesn’t always fit. Queer people often carry forms of chronic stress (minority stress, identity-related strain, the labour of moving between spaces) that mainstream meditation apps weren’t designed for.
The good news is that meditation as a practice adapts well. A guided meditation written by someone who gets queer life lands differently from one that doesn’t. If you’ve tried meditation before and bounced off it, the issue might not be meditation; it might be the guide.
Where to next
- What are the benefits of mindfulness meditation? covers mindfulness specifically and what makes it different from meditation.
- Read more on mindfulness for explainers, practices, and queer-led guidance.
Originally published 1 May 2023; revised for the new Kalda site, May 2026.