I've been meditating for a few years now and the benefits are just how you outlined them. At first they were more immediate and relieved a lot of my anxiety but over time its a gradual waking up to ones thought processes and biases. It changes the minds "default mode" amongst so many other benefits making for better overall emotional control.
I felt more peaceful and relaxed just reading about mindfulness, thank you :)
Oh @cizzo, your comments are always so nice and positive! No wonder why I am not surprised to hear you practice meditation :)
And you are so right, during the process of preparing this post and while going through my materials I felt relaxed too!
All the best to you.
:)