Meditation through yoga provides a lasting spiritual rest, which must be experienced to be understood. Once you can meditate, even the amount of sleep you need can be reduced to as little as three hours per night, and you will still feel more rested and peaceful than before. By reducing heart rate and consumption of oxygen, meditation greatly reduces stress levels which inturn increases health benefits. It seems that each part of the body, even down to the individual cells is taught to relax and rejuvenate. Meditation helps to prolong the body's period of growth and cell production, and reduces the decaying process.
Meditation changes the makeup of both the body and the mind.
Deep, yogic breathing helps to cleanse and nourish the physical body. As you inhale fully, you are supplying a great amount of oxygen, an element that is essential to every cell in the body. As you exhale, the waste products are being expelled. Breathing also helps to connect to where tremendous potential energy is stored. When tapped through specific yogic breathing techniques, this vital energy is released for physical and mental rejuvenation.