9 Surprising Meditators

Feb. 17, 2014— -- intro: The subject of meditation seems suddenly inescapable. Selena Gomez posted a picture of herself in the lotus pose after ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber's stripper scandal; Giselle sent out a shot of herself meditating next to her baby, Vivian; Naomi Judd told Katie Couric meditation helped her beat Hepatitis C.

It's hard to know what's real and what's just PR, but here are nine surprising people -- or groups of people –- who, based on my reporting and research, are actually pretty serious about meditation.

quicklist: 1 category: Surprising Meditatorstitle: The U.S. Marinesurl:text: While meditation may seem to be anathema to the world of warfare, the Marine Corps brass has recently invested in a series of multi-million dollar studies to test whether the practice can prevent PTSD and perhaps even build better warriors. The impetus: an explosion of recent science suggesting meditation can do everything from lowering blood pressure to boosting the immune system to rewiring the parts of the brain that regulate stress.

media: 22526837

quicklist: 2category: Surprising Meditatorstitle: Rivers Cuomourl:text: The lead singer of Weezer credits meditation with helping him get over crippling stage fright. As he told me in an interview, "If I wasn't meditating, if I still had so much stage fright, I might still be in my shell." Cuomo said he sits for one hour, twice a day, even when his band is on tour.

media: 22526935

quicklist: 3category: Surprising Meditatorstitle: Katy Perryurl:text: She once tweeted, "Transcendental Meditation changed my life."

media: 22527073

quicklist: 4category: Surprising Meditatorstitle: The Seattle Seahawksurl:text: Did meditation contribute to that epic Super Bowl blowout? For the 2013 season, head coach Pete Carroll brought in a sports psychologist to teach meditation to his team. Carroll didn't make it mandatory, but about 20 players participated, meditating several times a week.

media: 22527227

quicklist: 5category: Surprising Meditatorstitle: Lena Dunhamurl:text: The creator and star of HBO's hit show "Girls" claims she's been meditating since age 9. "I come from a line of neurotic Jewish women who need Transcendental Meditation (TM) more than anyone," Dunham has said.

media: 22527310

quicklist: 6category: Surprising Meditatorstitle: Jack Dorseyurl:text: He's one of three founders of Twitter, he has 2.54 million followers, and an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion. He also reportedly gets up every morning at 5:30 and meditates.

media: 22527390

quicklist: 7category: Surprising Meditatorstitle: Tina Turnerurl:text: They call her the Queen of Rock and Roll. She's also a longtime Buddhist who started meditating in the 1970s while trying to break free from her abusive relationship with her husband, the musician Ike Turner.

media: 22527531

quicklist: 8category: Surprising Meditatorstitle: Novak Djokovicurl:text: Between matches at Wimbledon, Djokovic reportedly visits a nearby Buddhist center, where he goes to meditate and "recharge."

media: 22527634

quicklist: 9category: Surprising Meditatorstitle: 50 Centurl:text: The former drug dealer who got shot three times and then went on to record massive hits such as "In Da Club" and "Candy Shop" recently learned to meditate from celebrity swami Deepak Chopra.

I could go on. There's also: Jerry Seinfeld, Howard Stern, Eva Mendes, Goldie Hawn, Orlando Bloom, Russell Simmons, and more.

There are even news anchors doing it: George Stephanopoulos, Diane Sawyer ... and me. In fact, I've written a book about it, designed to make the practice more attractive to skeptics. It's called "10% Happier."

For more information on Dan's book, click here.

media: 22527797