The
practitioner looked at her patient and said, “Your physical symptoms
are being caused by stress. One of the many ways to reduce stress and
think more clearly is to meditate.”
What does “meditation” mean? It can mean many things to many
people. But no matter what the meditation style or technique, during
meditation people sit quietly, witnessing internal thoughts and external
stimuli without getting caught up in them. Some of the practice forms
are ancient, and they come from numerous sources.
Modern science has developed sophisticated tools to explore
meditative practice for clues about how it affects our body and brain.
The findings shed new light on the power of meditation to make a
measurable difference in our experience of the world. A variety of
studies examining different approaches to meditation show that we can
exercise some degree of control over things we didn’t think we could
change. These scientific studies show that new options for self-healing
may be possible through meditation.
Concentration practices found in Transcendental Meditation and
mindfulness meditation are perhaps the best-known meditation techniques.
TM is a technique, derived from Hindu traditions, that promotes deep
relaxation through the use of a mantra. A mantra is a sacred word or
sound used to focus attention or concentration. Mindfulness meditation
uses a process of intentionally paying attention to what is happening in
the present moment, both internally and externally, without being
distracted by what has already happened or what might happen.
Mindfulness meditation trains the participant to be an observer without
passing judgment.
The relaxation response described by Herbert Benson, MD — the
author of the 1970s’ best seller “The Relaxation Response” and a pioneer
in studying the effects of relaxation and meditation techniques — cites
four basic elements common to eliciting such a response: a quiet
environment, a mental device (such as a word), a passive attitude and a
comfortable posture.1,2 Benson’s framework has been
established as the “relaxation response” that produces the opposite of
the fight-or-flight response.3 The response includes
decreases in oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide elimination, respiratory
rate and volume, heart rate, muscle tension, and blood pressure,
especially in hypertensive people. This relaxation response, or
relaxation response meditation, has been used in a variety of healthcare
settings by healthcare professionals of various disciplines to treat
hypertension and anxiety.4,5 Because of its physiological benefits, relaxation response meditation is used in most stress-reduction programs.
While other relaxation methods, such as prayer, visualization,
guided imagery and hypnosis, help people work through stressful issues,
they are not categorized as meditation. That is because they keep the
client focused on the body, mind and senses. Meditation, in contrast,
allows the client to quiet the mind to ultimately go beyond it. This can
only be achieved without engaging the senses — sight, hearing, touch,
smell and taste — and thoughts.
About 13% of U.S. adults use deep-breathing exercises, and 9.4% use
meditation as complementary to their healthcare, according to a
National Institutes of Health survey. These numbers are higher than for
yoga and massage therapy, 6% and 8% respectively.6
Relaxation and meditation have been shown to be beneficial in the
treatment of many diseases because they improve psychological and
physical health. As complementary modalities, including meditation, gain
more acceptance, healthcare providers as a team need to be informed
about their uses and application to clinical practice.
Ancient Origins
Today’s meditation techniques have their origins in ancient
spiritual and healing practices, mostly from Asian religions,
particularly those of India, China and Japan. But similar techniques can
be found in many other cultures around the world and throughout
history. These cultures viewed the mind and body as inseparable, and
meditation was the way to access the mind-body-spiritual matrix,
allowing for greater awareness.1 Meditation has been
traditional in the East, but became more accessible to the West in the
1960s within the context of science. Researchers began recording changes
in physical functions — such as the production of stress hormones and
changes in blood pressure, heart rate and respiratory function — that
occur with meditation.
Although Benson’s description of a relaxation response was
convenient as an initial explanation for what happens in the meditative
state, later work showed that what was happening physiologically was
much more complex than just a reduction in heart and respiratory rate.
By the 1990s, meditation was becoming accepted as part of Western
medicine, especially through the stress-reduction programs in healthcare
facilities. One well-known example is the mindfulness programs
organized by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, author, professor and stress-reduction
expert at the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of
Massachusetts Medical Center.
Inside the Brain
Using brain research, medical science has found concrete evidence
for meditation’s effect on the body and mind. Research has found that
mental discipline and meditative practice can change the workings of the
brain and allow people to achieve different levels of awareness,
including changes in states of consciousness and learning.7
Studies on the meditating brain are becoming more sophisticated with
advances in brain imaging and other techniques. Imaging advances have
led neuroscientists to reject the view that the brain is fixed early in
life and does not change in adulthood, replacing it with a belief that
the brain can adapt and change, a concept called neuroplasticity.
Some of the first research studies mapping the brain during
meditation used electroencephalography. This technique records the
electrical activity of the brain during meditation using an EEG monitor.
Probes are placed on the scalp, and the changes in electrical activity
occur as brain waves. Different regions of the brain are recorded and
compared. Such studies on meditation usually report increased alpha
waves, the waves that are extensive in anterior channels in the central
and frontal regions of the brain and are associated with relaxation of
the entire nervous system.7,8 Theta waves have also been
recorded during meditation. Theta waves are dominant in the frontal
region, indicating a deeper state of mental silence and pleasant
experiences.9,10 Because these waves occur mostly in the part
of the brain occupied by the limbic system — the home of emotional
response — they are believed to activate our emotions. During deep
meditation, experienced subjects sometimes enter into delta waves,
associated with dreamless sleep.7
Through EEG monitoring during meditation, scientists have
discovered increased correlated activity between the two hemispheres
with respect to the distribution of alpha activity between the four
anatomically distinct regions of the brain — left, right, anterior and
posterior — or what is termed brain synchronicity. The research outcome
linked hemispheric coherence (the correlated activity) to clear and pure
thinking and to creativity.11,12 This provides evidence that meditation can train the mind to influence and change the structure and connectivity of the brain.13 (Level B)
In past two decades, neuroimaging techniques — such as positron emission tomography, single photon emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging —
have been used to explore meditation’s effects on the brain. These
techniques all measure cerebral blood flow and, therefore, record the
metabolic activity in the brain. Because of their expense, these
techniques have not been used as extensively as EEG monitoring. The
first published study using neuroimaging to examine the meditative state
recorded the metabolic state using glucose as the marker.14
Later, a study measuring oxygen metabolism among meditators proved to be
more sensitive in detecting the increased frontal lobe activity.15 (Level B)
Recent studies involving functional magnetic resonance imaging
(fMRI) and meditation are advancing the understanding of mind-body
mechanisms.16 With fMRI, it is possible to get a reading on
brain activity in just seconds. The research involving fMRI suggests
that various parts of the brain known to be involved in attention and in
the control of the autonomic nervous system are activated, providing a
neurochemical and anatomical basis for the effects of meditation on
various physiological activities. Studies have shown signal increases
during meditation in the areas that govern concentration, mood and
memory, which include the dorsolateral prefrontal and parietal cortices,
hippocampus/parahippocampus, temporal lobe, pregenual anterior
cingulate cortex, striatum, and precentral and postcentral gyri.16
Data have shown that people who meditated 40 minutes a day had a
thicker cerebral cortex (the area playing a critical role in
decision-making) than people who did not meditate.17 This
research suggests that daily meditation can alter the physical structure
of the brain, and it may have positive applications related to aging,
such as enhanced memory. Meditation has been shown to produce
significant increases in left-sided anterior brain activity, which is
associated with positive emotional states. Neuronal firings in the
amygdala have been associated with positive emotions and have led
researchers to discover and measure the connection between the brain’s
lighted activity centers and mood.18 (Level B)
Not only did this map brain activity, but it also took the concept of
neuroplasticity a step further by showing that meditation may change the
mapping of brain circuitry. In a recent review, researchers say that
meditation may be of benefit to adults with cognitive impairment, such
as Alzheimer disease, but more research is needed.19
Mind Over Matter
Many studies have shown the health benefits of meditation on various disorders and diseases.
Affective disorders. Studies have examined the
effects of meditation-based practices on the treatment of depression and
anxiety. In one study, patients diagnosed with generalized anxiety
disorder with or without agoraphobia showed a reduction in symptoms
after a stress-reduction program based on mindfulness meditation.20 (Level B)
Patients who participated in a three-year follow-up study using
mindfulness meditation techniques — which included body scanning (a
practice of turning one’s attention to various areas of the body to
de-stress), sitting meditation and mindful hatha yoga — showed a
significant improvement in the number of occurrences and severity of
anxiety symptoms.21 Others studies have shown a significant reduction in anxiety and depressive symptoms among subjects with a mean age of 49.22 (Level B)
In a recent meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, researchers
found significant benefits for using mindfulness-based interventions for
current episodes of depression, but not for anxiety.23 (Level B)
Sleep disturbances related to cancer. A common
problem for patients with cancer, sleep disturbance has remained largely
unaddressed in the clinical intervention literature. In a study
examining the effects of an eight-week program of mindfulness-based
stress reduction on a sample of 63 outpatients with cancer, clinical
benefits included improved sleep and mood and reduced stress and
fatigue. The study findings suggest that programs based on meditation
may improve quality of life in patients with cancer.24 (Level B)
Chronic pain. Strong evidence exists that
relaxation practices are useful for pain. Mindfulness meditation was
the basis for an effective behavioral program in self-regulation for
chronic-pain patients experiencing low-back, neck and shoulder pain and headache. The 10-week study showed an improvement in patients while traditional medicine had not.25
Another examination of mindfulness meditation in a 10-week study of 90
patients with chronic pain showed positive results in measures of pain,
negative body image, symptoms, mood disturbance, anxiety and depression
as compared to patients who were given traditional treatment protocols.26 (Level B)
A study looking at mindfulness meditation for the treatment of chronic
low-back pain in adults with a mean age of 75 showed that an eight-week
program may lead to improvement in pain acceptance as well as physical
function.27 (Level A)
Fibromyalgia. The chronic illness fibromyalgia
is characterized by widespread pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance and
resistance to treatment. Seventy-seven patients meeting the 1990
criteria of the American College of Rheumatology for fibromyalgia took
part in a 10-week group outpatient program to evaluate the effectiveness
of a meditation-based stress-reduction program on their illness. The
program proved effective, with patients experiencing increased pain
relief, global well-being and reduced fatigue.28
Immunity. A study compared 10 male runners who
practiced meditation for a mean of 12 years to a control group of
runners who did not practice meditation. Blood samples were taken
before, immediately after and two hours after a race. The study found
that runners practicing meditation had lower lymphocyte counts at rest
before the race. Just after the race, both groups had more than doubled
their white blood cell counts. The study suggests that the long-term practice of meditation may influence absolute lymphocyte counts at rest.29
Recent studies involving psychosocial factors and immunologic
functioning prove positive. A study based on participation in a
mindfulness-based stress reduction program for eight weeks showed not
only reductions in anxiety and distress, but those experiencing
psychosocial improvements also had reductions in C-reactive protein and
an increase in natural killer cell cytolytic activity.30 (Level B)
Quality of life. Mindfulness-based cognitive
therapy has been shown to enhance quality of life in patients with
cancer in different areas and stages. The study involved eight weekly
two-hour sessions; participants showed improvement in depression,
anxiety, stress and quality of life.31
Stress. Scientists now understand that under
stress, the nervous system activates the fight-or-flight response. The
activity of the sympathetic portion of the nervous system increases,
causing an increased heart rate, increased respiratory rate, elevated
blood pressure and increased oxygen consumption. This fight-or-flight
response has an important survival function: It helps an organism to run
quickly and escape an attack or to fight off an attacker. But if the
fight-or-flight response is activated repeatedly, as often happens in
modern societies, the effects are harmful. Many researchers believe that
the epidemic of hypertension and heart disease in the Western world is a
direct result of this stress. Through meditation, the body gains a
state of deep relaxation that diminishes accumulated stress and fatigue.2
Other studies have shown that an eight-week meditation program may
be effective in reducing perceived stress and improving sleep, mood and
memory.13 (Level B)
Disordered eating and weight loss. Obesity is an
epidemic. A new movement, “mindful eating” brings awareness to an
individual about their relationship to food and how that shapes our
actions, thoughts and feelings. In a systematic review of the
literature, mindful meditation was effective at decreasing binge eating
and emotional eating, but had mixed results for weight loss.32
The Contemplative Connection
Healthcare practitioners of various disciplines and patients use
meditation in a variety of settings. A healthcare provider’s
relationship with patients can influence the outcome of clinical
problems as well as the satisfaction of provider and patient. A
healthcare provider’s physical, emotional and mental health can
influence the provider-patient relationship. A study showed that
healthcare providers practicing hospice care benefited from meditation
practice and that patients in general benefited when their healthcare
providers practiced meditation.33 Meditation training has
proved an excellent adjunct therapy for many conditions and should be
discussed as an option among healthcare providers.34 And meditation and relaxation techniques are part of a program to help patients reverse heart disease.35
Meditation is being incorporated into many clinical practices by
teams of healthcare providers. By reducing stress and developing
concentration, meditation can not only increase concentration but also
may help prevent job burnout.36 (Level C) The result is a better relationship with patients and perhaps a method for self-healing.
Meditation is contraindicated in certain conditions and situations.
A rule of thumb is that meditation should be used with caution if
concerns exist about a patient’s reality testing, ego boundaries, lack
of empathy or rigid overcontrol. For example, when treating a patient
with schizophrenia with active psychotic symptoms, it may be inadvisable
to include meditation as part of treatment because reality testing may
be impaired.37
Similarly, meditation may be inadvisable in treating some
personality disorders that involve a lack of empathy. In such cases,
meditation could reinforce the preoccupation with the self that
characterizes the disorders.38
Meditation is becoming more accessible. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine,
which is part of the National Institutes of Health, considers
meditation a “mind-body method,” a category of complementary and
alternative medicine that includes interventions that use a variety of
techniques to boost the mind’s capacity to affect bodily function and
symptoms. Research on meditation and mind-body interventions continues
through the National Institutes of Health. With the growing concern
about stress-related illness, there may be room for meditation programs
as a component of protocols.
Some forms of meditation can help you improve personal image and have a much more positive attitude.
BalasHapusTwo specific studies in mindfulness mediation showed that depression was reduced in more than 4,600 adults. ( 1 , 2 ).
Another controlled study compared the electrical activity between brains of people who continuously practiced mindfulness meditation and those who did not. And it was found that those who meditated had changes in the areas of the brain related to positive thinking and optimism.
I don't mean you become wise or something. I mean that you are able to be more aware of what you think in each moment, of your beliefs, of your behaviors which will lead you to understand you better. This will undoubtedly help you develop better as an individual.
BalasHapusFor example, there are meditations that will help you examine your own ideas and come to a better understanding of who you are and how you interact with the people around you.
Other ways can help you recognize those negative thoughts or self-sabotage. Which will lead you to create better thinking habits and therefore have a behavior aligned to that way of thinking.
In another study of 21 women suffering from breast cancer, it was found that by participating in a tai chi program, their self-esteem improved more than in social assistance sessions.