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MEDITATION
FOR HEALTH by Nancy Poitou, M.A., M.F.T., C.T.S. ©1988 Most of the research done on meditation has been done on Transcendental
Meditation referred to as TM. I am not promoting TM over any other type of
meditation, any technique is used has pretty much the same effects on health. Research in the new field of psychoneuroimmunology
show that emotional states, behavioral patterns, and mental attitudes are
central issues in health and disease. A well documented relationship between
the brain and body function is the neuroendocrine pathway. Stressful
circumstances reduce the body’s immunologic response by suppressing
disease fighting blood cells, lymphocytes with the production of
cortisone-like compounds. A ten CPS (cycles per second) Alpha state induces a
strong immunological system, more control over pain, blood pressure, heart
rate, body temperature and even bleeding. The most well known and well
documented study of the power of the mind in an Alpha state is of course that
of Dr. Carl Simonton and his use of relaxation and visualization in the early
‘70’s. Dr. Bernie Siegel, author of Love, Medicine and Miracles,
states, “Visualization takes advantage of what might almost be called a
‘weakness’ of the body: it cannot distinguish ~ between a vivid
mental experience and an actual physical experience.” If we,’can
“experience” a vivid mental picture of health we can fool the
subconscious mind into activating the immune system. A relaxed Alpha state is
the first requirement toward producing the mental state necessary to vivid
visualization. The average survival time of the Simontons’ patients is
about two and a half times that of similar patients who received only the
standard medical treatment. Studies conducted around the
country, confirm the negative connection between stress and the immune system
and the positive connection between meditation, resulting in the reduction of
stress and a strengthened immune system. “ Scientists at Studies done by Janice
Kiecolt-Glaser and Ronald Glaser, at Ohio State University School of Medicine
on students found that the stress of taking academic examinations, resulted
in a measurable decline in the aspects of immunity including the ability to
produce interferon. Other studies in the early ‘70’s done by
Keith Wallace at U.C.L.A. and David Orme-Johnson at the University of Texas
have shown that the physiological effects of Transcendental Meditation (TM)
were the exact opposite of those caused by stress. Stress expert Hans Selye
states that, “ stress is a fundamental cause of almost all human health
problems.” Long term studies are showing that meditation not only
increases longevity but improves human functioning in many areas indicating
an improved quality of life. In a 1976 study done by
Boston’s Kundalini Research Institute at the Veterans Administration
Hospital in La Jolla, California, showed that regular yoga and meditation
increased blood levels of three important immune system hormones by 100%. In
1980 psychologist Alberto Villoldo of San Francisco State College showed that
regular meditation and self-healing visualization improved white-blood
response and improved efficiency of hormone response to a standard test of
physical stress - immersing one arm in ice water. To quote Dr. Siegel again, The
immune system, than, is controlled by the brain, either indirectly through
hormones in the bloodstream or directly through the nerves and
neurochemicals. One of the most widely accepted explanations of cancer, the
‘surveillance’ theory, states that cancer cells are developing in
our bodies all the time but are normally destroyed by white blood cells
before they can develop into dangerous tumors. Cancer appears when the immune
system becomes suppressed and can no longer deal with this ~ routine threat.
It follows that whatever upsets the brain’s control of the immune
system will foster malignancy . . . Studies of people who meditate regularly
have shown that their physiological age is much lower than their
chronological age. These techniques do people no good without the motivation
to use them. The first requirement is to get people to love themselves enough
to care for their bodies and minds . . . Meditation also raises the pain
threshold and reduces one’s biological age. Its benefits are multiplied
when combined with regular exercise. In short it reduces wear and tear on
both body and mind, helping people live better and longer. Herbert Benson, M.D., author of
The Relaxation Response, The Mind/Body Effect and Beyond the Relaxation
Response, has outlined his meditation technique he calls the
“Relaxation Response” as a simplified, demystified and
non-denominational way to open the door to a renewed mind and changed life.
He has found that as we meditate and quiet the conscious mind a building of
communications between the left and right brain hemispheres takes place. This
alters our habitual ways of thinking. A breaking up of old thought ~ patterns
helps up stop habits that are unhealthy. Exposure to health promoting
influences immediately after meditation sets the stage for new more
beneficial habits to take root. Electroencephalograms reveal an increased
coherence of the Alpha and Theta brain wave frequencies between the left and
right sides of the brain during meditation, resulting in greater creativity.
Creativity allows new ideas to flow into the conscious mind, new options, and
new responses. A shutting off of stress and accompanying production of
catecholamine hormones associated with the “fight or flight”
response and may be a habitual unnecessary reaction to a stressful lifestyle.
Dr. Benson summarizes his physiological findings: 1. Overall reduction of the speed
of the body’s metabolism 2. Lowered blood pressure 3. Decreased rate of breathing 4. Lowered heart rate 5. More prominent slower brain
waves 6. Increased brain waves
simultaneous in left and right hemispheres The following short article I have
included in its entirety. Transcendental Meditation for Health Transcendental Meditation TM) has been
credited with improving such things as mental health, creativity,
intelligence, energy, self-esteem, and anxiety tolerance. All these
assertions have been substantiated in various research studies. TM is a means
for the general public to achieve self actualization. It has also proven to
be effective as a treatment for stress, having various physiological effects.
Given these facts, it would be natural to hypothesize that regular TM
practitioners would lead healthier lives. A major field study of the effects
of TM on health has recently been reported. For a five-year period, from 1981
through 1985, the medical care statistics of the SCI Insurance Group was
studied. SCI is a health insurance group which requires its membership to
have practiced TM for a minimum of six months before enrolling. Continued
eligibility is contingent on sustaining the practice of TM. MIC is a major health insurance
carrier of which SCI is a member, along with many other insurance groups. Annually,
MIC compiles claim averages for each insurance group. Because of MlC’s
statistical accounting, SCl’s figures could be compared against all the
other insurance group figures under MIC. Only those insurance groups having a
membership primarily of white collar professionals, comparable to the SCI
membership, were used in this study. Comparisons were made between SCI
and these other insurance groups on both inpatient and outpatient
medical-care utilization, including x-rays, laboratory tests, surgery, and
doctors’ office visits, and emergency room treatments. During each of the five years
studied, SCI used significantly less medical and surgical inpatient and
outpatient medical services than did the other groups. According to the five
-year averages on utilization rates, SCI had 63% fewer inpatient medical
admissions, 71% fewer inpatient surgeries, and 58% fewer outpatient
surgeries. The only area in which SCI’s admissions were greater than
the other groups was with regard to obstetric admissions. It was 5.6% higher
than the norm, but this was not a statistically significant difference. The following age groups were used
for comparative purposes: 0-18, 19-39, and 40+. This showed interesting
results. In the 0-18 range, there was 49% less utilization of medical care
among TM practitioners than among the other insured’s. In the 19-39 age
range, there was 52% less utilization, and in the 40+ age group, overall
utilization was 71% less. This result suggests that the positive effect of TM
Practice on health increases with age. This statistic may also indicate a
cumulative effect, reflecting the number of TM practice. Spending 20 minutes twice a day in
quiet contemplation seems to be an easy way to cut health care costs in half! Restful alertness, a state reportedly
experienced by regular TM practitioners, seems to have both a direct and an
indirect influence on health. It has a direct and marked effect on reducing
stress. Indirectly, it seems to help better life styles emerge as people
become “better choosers.” The reduction of stress may reduce
“inner noise,” thereby making it easier to receive messages from
the inner voice. Whatever the explanation, it would
seem that TM, besides its positive effects on health, has a definite economic
impact in terms of health-care utilization. Spending 20 minutes twice a day
in quiet contemplation seems to be an easy way to cut health care costs in
half! Source:
‘`Medical care utilization and the Transcendental Meditation
program.” Psychosomatic Medicine, 1987, Vol. 49, pp. 493-507. Author
David Orme-Johnson, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Dr. Kenneth Pelletier has made a
psychological study of many patients who recovered despite great odds, he
found five characteristics common to all of them: 1. Profound intrapsychic change
through meditation, prayer, or other spiritual practice. 2. Profound interpersonal changes,
as a result: Their relations with other people had been placed on a more
solid footing. 3. Alteration in diet: These
people no longer took their food for granted, they chose their food carefully
for optimum nutrition. 4. A deep sense of the spiritual
as well as material aspects of life. 5. A feeling that their recovery
was not a gift nor spontaneous remission, but rather a long, hard struggle
that they had won for themselves. In a recent article on stress in
the Accent section of the Orange County Register, Dr. Peter Gott wrote,
“Clearly, future studies will blaze trails into the wilderness of mind
over matter, how we can think our way to health and the physiologic basis of
prayer, meditation and a positive attitude. Our control over our destinies,
through our immune systems, may, in fact, lie in our minds - as the greatest
world thinkers have repeatedly emphasized.” In conclusion, this century has
seen the fastest most radical change in the average lifestyle, especially in
urban areas. Our daily stress level has risen and stays up. A common
experience of getting on a traffic packed freeway twice a day before and
after a stress filled day at work eats away at our body’s immune
system. Modernization and progress have outwardly improved the quality of
life but inwardly reduced our equilibrium necessary to counteract the effects
of stress. We need to now learn how to exercise mental control over our
bodies. By learning to control and make use of other states of consciousness
that come naturally we can again reach a balance that will allow our bodies
to regain its own defense against stress and disease. We as patients can work
with orthodox medicine and participate in our own inner healing process,
while feeling more in control of our own emotional states, mental attitudes,
and physical health. |