Stop. Breathe. Let everything go.

That approach appears to have been a technique used to help keep 12 boys and their football coach alive for more than two desolate weeks of being trapped in a flooded cave in northern Thailand.

All 12 boys and their coach were rescued this week by a team of Thai navy SEALs.

The 11 to 16-year-old football players and their coach, 25-year-old Ekapol Chanthawong, were exploring the cave after practice on 23 June when it suddenly flooded because of heavy rains from a monsoon. A pair of British divers found the group 10 days later.

Instead of screaming or crying, the group was sitting quietly in the dark, meditating.

Chanthawong, who’d spent a decade as a Buddhist monk, could meditate for up to an hour at a time, his aunt told The Associated Press. Reports suggest he helped guide the boys in the practice when they needed it most.

Meditation is known to have a host of health benefits and may be uniquely suited to help people cope with extreme stress. Several studies have found links between meditation and an immediate, measurable reduction in feelings of depression and anxiety as well as physical pain.

It also appears to help us turn the volume down on the intensity of nearby disturbances, whether it’s a cacophony of car traffic or the crash and whirl of powerful monsoon waters.

Turning down the volume on stressful situations

For a long-term study published in the journal Emotion in 2012, Richard Davidson, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin, looked into the idea that meditation might help us cope with outside disturbances.

He found that when he tried to startle two groups of people — one that was meditating and one that was not — with a sudden interruption like a loud noise, the meditators were far less perturbed than the people who weren’t meditating. Those results were true regardless of whether the participants were new or experienced at the practice.

Thailand schoolboys rescue - in pictures Show all 21 1 /21 Thailand schoolboys rescue - in pictures Thailand schoolboys rescue - in pictures Police and military personnel use umbrellas to cover a stretcher near a helicopter and an ambulance at a military airport in Chiang Rai as rescue operations continue for those still trapped inside the cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in the Mae Sai district. Four boys among the group of 13 trapped in a flooded Thai cave for more than a fortnight were rescued on July 8 after surviving a treacherous escape, raising hopes elite divers would also save the others soon. AFP/Getty Thailand schoolboys rescue - in pictures Thai rescue team members walk inside the cave Rex Features Thailand schoolboys rescue - in pictures An ambulance exits from the Tham Luang cave area AFP/Getty Images Thailand schoolboys rescue - in pictures A military helicopter carrying rescued schoolboys approaches to land at a military airport in Chiang Rai REUTERS Thailand schoolboys rescue - in pictures Rescuers hands locked with a caption reading "We Thai and the international teams join forces to bring the young Wild Boars home" where 12 boys and their soccer coach have been trapped since June 23 in a cave in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand. The operation has begun to rescue 12 boys and their soccer coach who will need to dive out of the flooded Thai cave where they have been trapped for more than two weeks, with officials saying Sunday morning that "today is D-Day. AP Thailand schoolboys rescue - in pictures A Thai policeman stands guard at an entrance of the cave as rescue operations continue for 12 boys and their coach trapped at Tham Luang cave at Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai province on early July 8, 2018. Thai authorities told media on July 8 to leave a camp site near the cave where 12 boys and their coach have been trapped for more than two weeks so that "victims" could be helped, possibly signalling a long-awaited rescue effort to get them out. AFP/Getty Images Thailand schoolboys rescue - in pictures Rescuers are seen drillining ahead of the operation at the Tham Luang cave complex, where 12 boys and their soccer coach are trapped, in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand REUTERS Thailand schoolboys rescue - in pictures Rescuers are seen drillining ahead of the operation at the Tham Luang cave complex, where 12 boys and their soccer coach are trapped, in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand REUTERS Thailand schoolboys rescue - in pictures Ruamkatanyu Foundation rescuers are seen drillining ahead of the operation at the Tham Luang cave complex, where 12 boys and their soccer coach are trapped, in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand REUTERS Thailand schoolboys rescue - in pictures Thai policemen stand guard near a cave where 12 boys and their soccer coach have been trapped since June 23, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand Sunday, July 8, 2018. Thai authorities are racing to pump out water from the flooded cave before more rains are forecast to hit the northern region. AP Thailand schoolboys rescue - in pictures Journalists clear and prepare to leave the cave area during the 'D-Day' for the ongoing rescue operation for the child soccer team and their assistant coach to exit the cave at Tham Luang cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park, Chiang Rai province, Thailand, 08 July 2018. The officials' operations are underway to safely bring out the 13 members of the youth soccer team including their assistant coach who have been trapped in Tham Luang cave since 23 June 2018, out of the cave according to former Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osottanakorn said. EPA Thailand schoolboys rescue - in pictures Thai family members of missing football players and their coach (R) pass to meet with the officers during rescue operations to save a soccer team at Tham Luang cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park, Chiang Rai province, Thailand, 03 July 2018. According to Chiang Rai provincial Governor Narongsak Osatanakorn rescuers are taking supplies and food into the cave to sustain the team while there extraction is worked out. EPA Thailand schoolboys rescue - in pictures Rescuer walk out from cave where 12 boys and their soccer coach have been trapped since June 23, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, in northern Thailand Sunday, July 8, 2018. Thai authorities are racing to pump out water from the flooded cave before more rains are forecast to hit the northern region. AP Thailand schoolboys rescue - in pictures Policeman line up on the main road leading to Tham Luang Nang Non cave on July 8, 2018 in Chiang Rai, Thailand. Divers began an effort to pull the 12 boys and their soccer coach on Sunday morning after they were found alive in the cave at northern Thailand. Videos released by the Thai Navy SEAL shows the boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach are in good health in Tham Luang Nang Non cave and the challenge now will be to extract the party safely. Getty Images Thailand schoolboys rescue - in pictures Rescue workers along the main road leading to Tham Luang Nang Non cave as the first 2 ambulances carrying 2 boys pass by on July 8, 2018 in Chiang Rai, Thailand. Divers began an effort to pull the 12 boys and their soccer coach on Sunday morning after they were found alive in the cave at northern Thailand. Videos released by the Thai Navy SEAL shows the boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach are in good health in Tham Luang Nang Non cave and the challenge now will be to extract the party safely. Getty Images Thailand schoolboys rescue - in pictures Thai medics and police officers evacuate the first two children with a helicopter after rescued from Tham Luang cave before heading to hospital, at a helicopter pad in Chiang Rai province, Thailand, 08 July 2018. Members of a children soccer team and their assistant coach who have been trapped in Tham Luang cave EPA Thailand schoolboys rescue - in pictures An ambulance transporting the children who have been rescued, arrives at hospital in Chiang Rai province, Thailand, 08 July 2018. The first six children have been confirmed to rescue on 08 July 2018 after have been trapped in Tham Luang cave since 23 June 2018. Four members of a children soccer team and their assistant coach who have been trapped in Tham Luang cave since 23 June 2018 have been rescued on 08 July 2018, according to former Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osottanakorn said. EPA Thailand schoolboys rescue - in pictures Ambulances transport boys rescued from Tham Luang Nang Non cave to hospital on July 8, 2018 in Chiang Rai, Thailand. Divers began an effort to pull the 12 boys and their soccer coach on Sunday morning after they were found alive in the cave at northern Thailand. Videos released by the Thai Navy SEAL shows the boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach are in good health in Tham Luang Nang Non cave and the challenge now will be to extract the party safely. Getty Thailand schoolboys rescue - in pictures Medical staff await for the rescued Thai children at Chiang Rai Prachanukroh Hospital in Chiang Rai. The twelve missing Thai children and their adult coach went missing after entering a cave at Tham Luang, in Chian Rai Privince Thailand schoolboys rescue - in pictures Ambulances transporting children after being rescue from Tham Luang cave, arrive Chiangrai Prachanukroh Hospital in Chiang Rai province, Thailand, 08 July 2018. Six children of a child soccer team have been rescued on 08 July 2018 after 12 of them and their assistant coach have been trapped in Tham Luang cave since 23 June 2018. EPA Thailand schoolboys rescue - in pictures Ambulances transporting children after being rescue from Tham Luang cave, arrive Chiangrai Prachanukroh Hospital in Chiang Rai province, Thailand, 08 July 2018. Six children of a child soccer team have been rescued on 08 July 2018 after 12 of them and their assistant coach have been trapped in Tham Luang cave since 23 June 2018. EPA

That benefit of meditation could have proved hugely helpful to the Thai players, who were cold, scared, and alone more than 2 1/2 miles deep into a labyrinthine cave network.

Additionally, meditation may be linked with heightened feelings of empathy, another key asset for a small team of isolated people who need one another to survive.

In a follow-up analysis, Davidson played the sounds of stressed-out voices to groups of experienced and novice meditators, then observed their brain activity patterns in an MRI. He noted increased activity in two brain areas known to be involved in empathy among members of both groups but found that activity was significantly more pronounced in the brains of the experienced meditators.

These results suggest that, given enough time, people who meditate regularly might have an enhanced ability to respond to others’ feelings and empathise with them without becoming overwhelmed, Davidson concluded.

‘We are not sure if this is a miracle, a science, or what’

A growing body of research on meditation also suggests that even a few minutes of daily mindfulness is linked to lower stress levels, more positivity, enhanced creativity, and even better focus.

Something about meditating seems to help people deal with worrisome thoughts. It’s somewhat like taking a broom to the bustling thoughts that can crowd our heads and waiting until all the dust has settled.

All those benefits likely drew Chanthawong to the practice – and helped keep his team alive.