The Growing Popularity of Yoga and Meditations In A Multi Tasking Generation

Imagine living 300 years ago in a world that was constantly unplugged. electricity did not exist, and there was nothing even close to phones and computers for people to be religiously connected to. In that world the following did not exist:

– Washing machines
– Water pressure
– Hot water, Electric kettle
– Ovens, Microwaves, Stoves
– Refrigerators, Freezers
– Heating and Cooling Systems
– Internet, Printers, Easily accessible information
– Cars
– Credit Cards
– Showers in your home
– Bathrooms in your home

That world existed not that long ago, and was known as a world full of simplicity. A world before products and appliances were invented for the pure purpose of simplifying our lives. So why is simplicity viewed so different between those times and the times we currently live in?

Back then the quality of life was higher. People focused on less, cherished what they had, and invested their time in a few things. Although, you could argue that those times were not simple at all. Cleaning your clothes took hours. The same was for showers, preparing food, and traveling any where. Sickness was higher and life expectancy was lower, but quality won over quantity.

In today’s society we are programmed into viewing quantity over quality. We focus on many things at once, and within an hour we can answer 5 emails, talk to our parents on the phone, cook dinner, shower, and buy 3 pairs of shoes. All while having a few minutes left to play candy crush before moving on to the next task.

But, do we really benefit from doing so many things at once? Are the things we build and create engineered to last? Do relationships last as long? Why is it that the quality became so low? At the end of the day we have so many solutions as to how to do things faster, but we end up having more problems on our hands. Our brains juggle so many things at once that we end up thinking less, and we are constantly challenged with apathy.

That is why the popularity of yoga and meditation play such a big role in today’s society. Giving people a place of outlet and relaxation from the constant fast-pace, stressful world we live in. Talmud teaches us tofasta meruba lo tafasta (תפסת מרובה לא תפסת), which translates to when you try and grab too much, you grab nothing at all. Trying to do too many things at once leaves you with achieving less. Teaching us that the long way, the focused way, is at times easier and better that the quick way.

We try to be perfect and achieve so much, but at the same time we don’t focus on anything enough. In order to achieve we need focused time and quality. Even 5 minutes of focused torah learning a day can have a greater effect than an interrupted hour of torah learning a day. Doing too much at once and demanding so much of ourselves makes us fail and give up.

Do less, focus more, and achieve more. That is why there is such a growing popularity of yoga and meditation in a multi tasking generation.