Yoga and Meditation for Health Gain Popularity among Americans

More Americans are practicing yoga and meditation, research has found.

Based on 2017 data, 14.3% of American adults said that they had practiced yoga in the past year, while 14.2% had meditated. These findings show that there was a drastic change from 2012, when only 9.5% did yoga and only 4.1% did meditation.

The same trend is apparent among American children aged four to 17. Yoga practice in that age group increased from 3.1% in 2012 to 8.4% in 2017. For meditation, the numbers jumped from 0.6% to 5.4% during the five-year period.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gathered the data using the results of the National Health Interview Survey from 2012 to 2017. The survey mainly determined the number of people who practiced yoga and meditation in the United States.

In the survey, yoga was described as a practice involving meditation, breathing exercises, and physical postures. People do it to relax and achieve a mental, physical, and spiritual balance. On the other hand, meditation was defined as a type of mental exercise that can boost mindfulness and spiritual awareness.

Richard Nahin, one of the researchers, speculated that people are turning to yoga and meditation because they are starting to recognize the medical benefits of these practices. The benefits include relieving pain in certain body parts, such as the lower back and neck, and alleviating stress.

Furthermore, the implementation of wellness programs at companies and schools, along with the development of yoga and meditation apps, is already at play.

gain popularity 人気を得る、普及する
meditation n)瞑想めいそう

popularity n)人気、はやり

practice v)習慣的に行なう　n)習慣　儀式

 practice a new skill 新しい技能を身につける練習をする

 practice a relaxation exercise リラックス運動
 in the past year １年位の間に
while 接続詞 conjunction)　一方で[対比]　...している間[期間]　
meditate v)瞑想する　メﾃﾞｨﾃｲﾄ
drastic adj)強烈な、思い切った ﾄﾞラァｽﾃｲｯｸ
apparent adj)明らかな、はっきり見える　ｱペアﾚﾝﾄ
disease n)病気
prevention n)予防　ﾌﾟﾘヴェﾝｼｮﾝ
gather v)集める　ギャアｻﾞｧ
determine  v)決定する　ﾃﾞターﾐﾝ
survey n)調査
describe v)表す、示す、描写する
be described as...   ...といわれている　とされている
involve v)巻き込む、関係する、熱中･没頭する
posture n)姿勢　ポｽﾁｬｰ
breathing n)呼吸　ﾌﾞリーｽﾞｨﾝｸﾞ
achieve v)努力して成し遂げる　成果をあげる　頂点に達する
mental adj)心の
spiritual adj)精神的な　⇔physical
define v)はっきり示す
be defined as...  ...と考えられる　...と定義する
mindfulness n)注意深さ
awareness n)自覚　認識　ｱウェアﾈｽ
speculate v)推測する
turn to (something)  新しい何かに目を向ける
recognize v)認める、見分ける
include v)含む
relieve v)解放する  ﾘリーｳﾞ
certain body parts　ある一定の身体の部分
alleviate v)痛みを和らげる、緩和する　ｱリーｳﾞｨｴｲﾄ
Furthermore adv)さらに、その上　ファーｻﾞｰﾓｱ
implementation n)履行、実行
wellness n)健康
apps n)ｺﾝﾋﾟｭｰﾀアプリケーション
at play 登場している