Indians found inner peace during the pandemic but now, they seek less of it

• Around 44% of Indians started meditating during COVID-19 to reduce stress and anxiety, according to a ThinkRight.me survey report.
• Even if more people are meditating, the time spent on meditation has reduced in 2021 rather than 2020.
• In the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by a massive 25%, revealed WHO report.

Indians found a way to beat stress during the pandemic meditation. As per a survey, 44% respondents said that they also meditated for peace, happiness and personal growth, as per ThinkRight.me, a wellness app.

“The need for mindful living accompanied by wellness measures like yoga, meditation, and positive daily affirmations has been at an all-time high in recent years,” said Rajan Navani, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of JetSynthesys.

The survey was conducted across multiple cities featuring age groups of 18 to 60 years and more, where 47% of the respondents belonged to non-metro cities.

Around 81% of them spent 2 billion minutes on meditation, said the app. As lockdowns ended, the number of people who mediated rose but they are meditating for a lesser time in 2021, as compared to 2020.

As the stress caused by lockdowns reduces, the time spent on meditation is also reducing as fewer people are choosing it in 2021 rather than 2020.

People working in the private sector and those who are self-employed were seen to be more active in the practice of yoga and meditation the most during COVID-19, the survey says.

The survey further revealed the reasons for individuals opting for meditation varied with gender. For women, it was personal growth first followed by peace, happiness, stress release and better sleep.

For men, peace and happiness came first, followed by personal growth, stress relief, and better sleep.

People started practicing meditation and yoga to deal with day-to-day stress

In the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by a massive 25%, according to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Loneliness, fear of infection, suffering and death for oneself and for loved ones, grief after bereavement, financial worries and isolation were the key driving factors behind unprecedented increase in stress and anxiety among people.

To cope with these challenges, 66% of the people surveyed started practicing yoga and meditation to reduce stress.

And, 46% of them said that it has made them calmer and helped increase self-confidence in themselves. As many as 32% respondents said better sleep and productivity was their reason behind meditation.

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