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Science
of Meditation in Plain Language
Dr. Parmjit Singh
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| Effects
of Meditation on Brain and Heart We have seen that chronic
stress can damage functions of heart and brain and can set the stage
for serious illnesses. It should be noted here that stress per se
does not cause illness; however, it lays the groundwork for diseases
to follow by decreasing the vitality of immune system. The heath
cost of stress is staggering. More than 60% of visits to family
physician are generated by stress alone.
The health promoting effects of meditation are now established
by rigorous research. Even simple manipulation of breathing patterns,
as practiced in Transcendental Meditation, generates visible effects
on brain, and it's EEG. During meditation, the functions of brain
which takes care of daily hustle and bustle of life tends to slow
down. During deeper meditation stages, brain also works as a multiple
parallel processing systems as opposed to serial processor in waking
life. |
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This
multilevel processing is what gives the meditator an insight. Neuron
firing in the amygdale, the fear center, also slows down with prolonging
the out breath. Various parts of the brain also register altered
activity under meditation (see Fig. 1). The EEG patterns snapped
under meditation, exhibit distinct patterns (Fig 2) in comparison
to normal plot. Relaxation reached through meditation starts showing
in changing EEG patterns. Once the brain is relaxed, physical body
also follows the same suite and tends to fall toward allostasis
which is essential for healthy living. It is only when the whole
physiological apparatus is running in optimum manner, that physical
body starts the process of detoxification, renewal and healing.
Recall that reproduction, digestion, repair and healing all tend
to go offline when we are under severe stress response. That is
why Meditation has been found to be beneficial for women suffering
from infertility. It also helps people suffering from post-menopausal
hot flushes, |
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Fig. 2 |
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| depression,
anxiety, and irritable bowl syndrome and so on and so forth. The similar
effects are noticed on the cardiovascular system. Once the meditation
has neutralized the stress reaction, high blood pressure falls down
thereby relieving the heart of excessive labor of pumping the blood
through narrowed arteries. Deepened relaxation also allows for rapid
elimination of lactate acid from blood. Excessive blood lactate indicates
fatigue and proneness to anxiety. In a nut shell, meditation fine
tunes the bio-chemical system thereby maintaining vital homeostasis. |
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Fig 2
A: Beta Waves: Waking state. Pattern changes with abdominal breathing
B: Alpha Waves: Relaxation response. Calm state with measurable benefits
C: Theta Waves: Deeply relaxed state. Observed among Zen meditators
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