During the pandemic, mental health awareness rose significantly for obvious reasons. Meditation is a great way to work on self-care and support mental well-being—and it’s more popular than ever among all types of consumers. See what our industry experts have to say about what’s trending with meditation and where it’s expected to go from here.
“Over the past 18 months, our country has seen an ever escalating polarization on issues of race, economics, politics and pandemic protocols, all of which has exacerbated the already disturbing increase of diagnosed depression and anxiety disorders in adults and teens. Folks are looking for tools that support stress release and relaxation, and they’re also looking to share space with others, to be there for one another and to build community.
Sound meditation is providing that needed release and relaxation while creating the opportunity for a shared, community strengthening experience. Throughout the Chicagoland area, we are seeing increased attendance at sound meditations. Instruments such as gongs, singing bowls, rattles, drums, voice and more can be used to anchor participants into a meditative state through ‘sonic entrainment,’ in which the brain state and bodily cells align to the precise frequencies produced by the instruments. Through this mechanism, profound meditative states can be reached without any prior meditation experience. This approach has been used for thousands of years, making it one of the most enduring trends. Now is the time to develop a daily meditation practice. We all deserve peace of mind, and sound can help.”
—Jay Taylor, sound meditation facilitator at BIÂN Chicago
