Can Meditation Really Make You Look

Younger?
Sara Bliss WriterJun 27, 2014
Charlie Knoles and his daughter.
Theres a particular buzz around meditation right now, probably a direct result of more than half of
working American adults being seriously concerned about their stress levels. Studiesand history
have shown that regular practice can reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and keep depression
and aniety at bay. !f youre more concerned with the eternal effects of stress, hows this" regular
meditation might even make you look younger. #ecent studies show that long$term practice changes
your body on a cellular level that might actually slow down aging. %edic &editation instructor
'harlie (noles says, )*eople are spending a fortune on anti$wrinkle creams even though many of
them have no scientific backing for their claims. They could be getting a much better result from
meditating.+
!ts a bold statement, but decades worth of research supports his theory. A study published in the
!nternational ,ournal of -euroscience in the mid$./0s measured the biological age of long and
short$term meditators versus the general population. After measuring blood pressure, vision,
hearing, and skin elasticity, the former appeared 12 years younger than the general population3 4ven
short$term practitioners came up five years younger. 5f course, (noles isnt surprised. )6ook at any
president,+ he says. )!n four years, they go from looking youthful, fresh, and vibrant to gray,
haggard, and worn out.+
5ne study in ,apan measured levels of the enzyme telomerase in a group attending a meditation
retreat for three months. Telomerase repairs the caps at the ends of chromosomes, called telomeres.
7raying telomeres are one of the main genetic causes of aging, but meditators showed a huge
increase in reparative telomerase at the end of their retreat, physical proof of reverse aging. )These
studies have found that meditation actually causes your 8-A to heal itself, repairing your cells from
a genetic level, which is 9uite amazing,+ says (noles. :hether this directly affects the markers of
aginga slower body, wrinkles, and gray hair, is still being studied, but anything that tackles stress
is beneficial.
(noles sees the proof in both his students and himself. );ou can see the way their skin shines, they
look brighter, they look younger, there is a healthful glow that transcends age,+ he says. )! can
always tell who practices and who doesnt.+ (noles has practiced every day since the age of four,
thanks to his father %edic <uru Thom (noles and most people assume hes in his twenties. ):hen !
tell people that ! am =>, there is an audible gasp,+ he says. )&editation is powerful.+