Meditation is the art of silencing the mind. When the mind is silent, concentration is increased and we experience inner peace in the midst of worldly turmoil. This elusive inner peace is what attracts so many people to meditation and is a quality everyone can benefit from. Below are five benefits of a daily meditation practice:

Improved Concentration
The more you practice focusing on your breath (or a mantra or visualization), the better you'll get at concentrating in general. Meditating can teach you to give your full attention to your loved ones and other important aspects of your life.

Better Health
There have been numerous studies pointing to the health benefits of meditation. The reason is that meditation reduces stress levels and alleviates anxiety. If we can reduce stress, many health benefits follow. Meditation is linked to lowered blood pressure, improved sleep, aids in managing chronic pain, and even to live a longer life!

Knowledge of Self
Meditation enables us to have a deeper understanding of our inner self. Through meditation we can gain a better understanding of our life's purpose.

Meditation changes your brain.
Research has proven that meditating restructures your brain and can actually train it to be calmer, more focused, and better at dealing with stress.

Understand yourself, so you can understand others. If meditation offers you insight into yourself, it will offer you insight into others, too. Whether you believe in the idea that we're all one or not, it's clear that if you spend time getting to know yourself, you'll begin to feel empathy and compassion for yourself and others. Nothing makes you feel better about living in this world than understanding and forgiving shortcomings.