Many people have asked me, “Does meditation make you look younger?”
The answer is a wholehearted Yes. It is possible to use anti-aging meditation techniques to look younger and feel youthful. Thank goodness.
Let’s be honest. Everyone above the age of thirty wants to look younger. And anti-aging meditation techniques can help.
Indeed, many of my students in my online meditation lessons are surprised when they start to look younger. I’m not. It’s a scientific fact that mindfulness can improve your skin and hair and even make you more attractive.
Science proves it. Let’s take a look.
Let me show you how to get the most out of meditation.
Come meditate with me today!
Can Meditation Make You Look? Science Answers
Scientific research shows that there is indeed a link between meditation and anti-aging.
We all have two different ages: chronological age (for instance, I’m 38), and biological age. But your biological age isn’t set in stone. There are various ways you can change your biological age. Eating healthy. Sleeping more. Exercising. And, yes, meditating.
It’s a well-known fact that the Buddha lived to the age of eighty. And he lived in the 5th Century BCE when the average age of death was under forty. That’s the equivalent of you or I living to the age of 150. How did Buddha do this? He stayed young with mindfulness.
How does it work?
Science shows that mindfulness slows aging by affecting telomeres.
Telomeres are protein caps on the end of each chromosome in your body. According to Masood A. Shammas at Harvard (Dana Farber) Cancer Institute, telomeres shorten naturally as we age.
Eventually, telomeres get to the point where the cell can no longer divide. This increases aging in the body and is associated with age-related diseases, including high blood pressure and heart problems.
If only we could keep those telomeres long, we’d age slower right? Well…
One of the main reasons why telomeres shorten quicker is because of stress [1]. So, no wonder meditation helps. It reduces stress and thereby slows the rate of telomere division.
Why Zen meditators are younger
One study by Marta Alda [1] showed that experienced Zen meditators have on average 10% longer telomeres than the average person.
In other words, they have a lower biological age. And this is mostly due to reduced stress and increased self-compassion.
The researchers state that mindfulness (mindfully accepting emotions, memories, and thoughts) has a positive effect on life longevity. They also tell us that we should face our problems and embrace our emotions.
It works for you too
You might wonder whether these benefits are just for monks who have spent half their life meditating. Can you get the same results as a beginner meditator?
Yup. So says 2013 research by Jill Sakai at the University of Michigan.
Sakai’s research shows that 15 minutes of meditation each day increases activity in the genes that create telomeres. It also reduces activity in genes involved in inflammation and stress. In turn, this reverses body age. And this isn’t the only effect, either.
For starters, meditation reduces wrinkles.
Meditation deactivates the NF-kB skin gene [5], which is the gene of inflammation that causes wrinkles.
In a 2009 study, dermatologist Dr. Howard Chang reversed the aging process in mice and completely changed the appearance of their skin. He did this by applying a concoction that deactivated the Nf-kB protein. This caused the rats’ skin to become thicker and firmer, which removed the wrinkles, reversing body age.
Meditation does the same thing.
A UCLA study in 2013 [5] showed that meditation reduces activity of the NF-kB gene that causes wrinkles. This means that it gives you younger-looking skin.
I can say from personal experience that after I had been meditating for many months, I noticed that my skin looked much clearer and more youthful. And I do personally believe that this is because I meditate every day and have far less stress in my life.
You might also note that many celebrities who meditate look younger, like Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen.
Meditation increases collagen and elastin
Collagen and elastin are proteins that reduce the appearance of wrinkles by increasing skin elasticity. They are our main defense against wrinkly and saggy skin.
However, the stress hormone cortisol breaks down elastin and collagen. In turn, this kills our defense against wrinkles. Hence why stress makes you look older.
Meditation obviously reduces stress. That’s been proven repeatedly. And because it reduces stress, it also reduces cortisol by up to 50%.
Hence, it reduces age-accelerating biochemicals and increases collagen. And that is how it reverses the aging process naturally.
Meditation Makes Hair Look Younger
Not only is it anti-aging for the skin, but it is also anti-aging for hair.
We all know that stress affects hair. And hair problems, such as grey hair, are some of the sure-tell signs of aging. Meditation, however, helps to reduce stress so it doesn’t destroy your hair.
A daily practice Improves circulation, meaning more oxygen is carried through the blood to nourish hair cells.
Best Types Of Anti-Aging Meditation To Look Young
1. Start by stopping stress
The number one cause of accelerated ageing is stress. And yes, I know, it is hard as hell to stop stress these days. Thankfully, you can use my guide to meditation for stress.
Some of the best meditations for this are:
- Anapanasati (mindful breathing)
- Vipassana
- General mindfulness
- Zen
- Tai chi and Qigong
Here is one amazing anti-aging meditation to look young. It will massively reduce your stress levels.
- Sit comfortably with good posture. Place your feet shoulder-width apart. Roll your shoulders back then let them relax. Slightly lower your chin to elongate your spine.
- Close your eyes and breathe. Watch as your breath moves through your body.
- When thoughts or feelings occur, label them, and continue to focus on your breath.
- Once you have been meditating on your breath for around ten minutes you will notice a feeling of inner peace in your body. Meditate on this feeling of inner peace. Continue to do so for ten minutes. This will relax your mind and reduce stress to help your body to stay young.
2. Zen
Research suggests that Zazen meditation is age-defying.
Zen monks have been proven to have shorter telomeres and higher life expectancy specifically because they practice meditation.
Zen meditation is also ideal for beginners. So, if you’re new to the practice and want to reduce the effects of aging, give Zen a shot. You can combine it with Zen walking for extra benefits.
3. Practice Loving Kindness Meditation
Loving Kindness Meditation (Metta) is a Buddhist technique. It’s all about generating thoughts and feelings of compassion and love for yourself and for others.
Studies show a link between self-love and the aging process [8].
People with higher levels of self-love age slower. That’s partly because they are more likely to live healthy lifestyles such as by not smoking and not drinking. And it’s also because self-love boosts positivity and reduces stress, leading to a decrease in chemicals that cause accelerated aging.
4. If you want to look younger and more attractive…
Not only does meditation help you to avoid the numerous health problems of aging, but it also makes you more attractive.
Sounds weird, right?
Think about it. Meditation makes you more relaxed and more confident (both of which are sexy). It improves your posture, so you stand taller and look leaner. And it has positive effects on your skin and hair.
If you want to use meditation to stop aging visually, focus on relaxing techniques. These tend to be the best anti-defying meditations to look younger. They reduce the effects of stress and make you feel more relaxed and more confident, which will make you appear even more attractive than you already are.
5. Use mindfulness exercises like tai chi
There are lots of good age-defying meditations that involve movement. For instance, Qi Gong and Tai Chi.
These movement methods help you to learn to move your body in better ways. This reduces the effects of arthritis and helps reduce stress on your joints.
Tai Chi and Qigong also slow the mind and produce inner peace so you’re more relaxed. That can have a profound effect on stress levels and can help prevent age-related conditions associated with stress.
I highly recommend the video tutorials of Tai Chi teacher Paul Lam.
6. Mantras
To look young, try the Surya mantra. It’s a powerful and ancient mantra that is used to create beautiful hair and smooth skin. Reciting this mantra daily will help to slow down the aging process according to sacred Hindu texts.
7. Mudras
Mudras are specific hand or body positions that are used in yoga, Hinduism, and Buddhism. There are mudras for a multitude of health concerns—both psychological and physical. For instance, there are mudras for weight loss, mudras for beautiful skin, and even mudras to reduce wrinkles.
The best mudra to look young is the Prithvi mudra.
Here’s how to perform this mudra:
- Hold your hands a little in front of your face with your elbows bent
- Lightly hold the tips of your thumbs and fourth fingers together
- Hold the other fingers straight
- Meditate in this position.
8: Ayurveda
Ayurveda is a complex health system that originated in India and has recently become popular in the West. There are many Ayurvedic practices to look young, including enemas, steam baths, and oil pulling (which is used for dental hygiene).
Remember, you’re only as old as you feel, and you can use these exercises to look younger. If you ever wonder, “Can meditation make you look younger, the answer is yes. And I can help you with this in a private online lesson.
SOURCES:
1: Elissa S. Epel et. al. at the Department of Psychiatry, University of California
2: Alda, M., Puebla-Guedea, M., Rodero, B., Demarzo, M., Montero-Marin, J., Roca, M., & Garcia-Campayo, J. (2016). Zen meditation, Length of Telomeres, and the Role of Experiential Avoidance and Compassion. Mindfulness, 7, 651–659. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-016-0500-5
3: The Anti-Aging Impact of Meditation, Dr. Thiago Freire, Associate Professor & Lecturer, University Of Moscow PFUR, Anti-Aging Medicine, Head of Product Development and EMK Research, WSIMag, https://wsimag.com/wellness/35256-the-anti-aging-impact-of-meditation
4: Study reveals gene expression changes with meditation, Jill Sakai, University of Michigan, https://news.wisc.edu/study-reveals-gene-expression-changes-with-meditation/
5: Yogic Meditation Reverses NF-κB and IRF-related Transcriptome Dynamics in Leukocytes of Family Dementia Caregivers in a Randomized Controlled Trial, David S Black 1, Steve W Cole, Michael R Irwin, Elizabeth Breen, Natalie M St Cyr, Nora Nazarian, Dharma S Khalsa, Helen Lavretsky, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22795617/
6: Black, D. S., Cole, S. W., Irwin, M. R., Breen, E., St Cyr, N. M., Nazarian, N., Khalsa, D. S., & Lavretsky, H. (2013). Yogic meditation reverses NF-κB and IRF-related transcriptome dynamics in leukocytes of family dementia caregivers in a randomized controlled trial. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 38(3), 348–355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.06.011
8: The Relationship of Aging to Self-Esteem: The Relative Effects of Maturation and Role Accumulation, Bernadette E. Dietz
Paul Harrison is a passionate meditation teacher who believes in genuine, authentic meditation. He has more than 15 years experience in meditation and mindfulness. He studied meditation in beautiful Oxford, UK, and Hamilton Ontario Canada, and earned his degree at Staffordshire University.
“My goal is to provide the most authentic meditation sessions so you can harness the power of your own mind for personal transformation” – Paul Harrison