The west takes a while to catch up to the east
I don't think people are all that different east / west, we just did different things like sit in saunas and go to church. Going to church is IMO a form of meditation too, you sit still ish for an hour (depending on church), go through repeated rituals, specific kinds of evocative music and speaking, prayer often involves closed eyes and intentional clearing of mind and / or focusing on specific subjects mentally, but most importantly, it's an intentional break from your regular programming.