Physiological Benefits of Meditation

When I was growing up in my predominately Euro-protestant mid-western culture, eastern philosophies and religions were at best a distant curiosity colored by our naïve stereotypes made worse by popular post WWII generalizations about "Orientals". Among those stereotypes, we dismissed meditation as a strange and useless religious ceremony of cross-legged sequestered monks humming in monotonous monotones about nothingness. (As I said, it was a naïve generalization.) I've since grown to appreciate many of the ancient eastern traditions, both cultural and medical. In the late 1970's, I was serendipitously introduced to meditation through a groundbreaking form of therapy practiced by Dr. Michael Emmons, author of The Inner Source, and co-author with Janet Emmons of Meditation Therapy (Impact Publications, 1999). Since that time, meditation therapy has become a more widely practiced therapeutic technique. If you Google "meditation therapy", you will find over 250,000 sites.

It is no secret that meditation has its primary origins in eastern philosophies. Indeed, meditation can be traced as far back as 5000 B.C. in Hinduism. But the practice of meditation can be found in many religious traditions, including Christianity and Islam. In Christianity we know it as "prayer", especially the ritualistic forms of prayer such as the rosary and the Adoration in Catholicism. As late as 1975, Benedictine monk, John Main, re-introduced a form of meditation characterized by a repetitious chant of a prayer-phrase. In 1991, the World Community for Christian Meditation was founded.

New Age, an outgrowth of the hippie-counterculture and the astrological coming of the "Age of Aquarius" of the '60s and '70s, synthesized contemporary western ideas of science (psychology) and ecology with Yoga, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Because New Age was/is more of an individualized spiritual movement than an organized religion, it significantly contributed to a wider, more secular acceptance and practice of meditation. The increasing recognition and validation of the benefits of Yoga have resulted in an increasing number of secularized happinesslifetime.com Yoga training centers, not so much as a religious practice but more as a body/mind fitness regimen. Many fitness and exercise clubs offer Yoga and Yogic fitness classes in addition to their physical exercise classes. My wife is a certified instructor in a Body Training Systems (BTS) program called Group Centergy, a synthesis of Thai-chi Yoga and Pilates. The increased popularity of Yoga and its symbiotic relationship with meditation have by mere association contributed to an increased secularization of and familiarity with meditation in the mainstream of contemporary western culture.

With the ever-increasing recognition of life-style induced psychological stress and its negative side effects on health and longevity, the medical disciplines have taken a closer look at the long-professed benefits of meditation. This has been accompanied by an increased interest and acceptance in ancient non-western medicine (sometimes grouped in the category of "alternative medicine"). As early as the 1920's western physicians were making scientific correlations between reduction of muscular tension and reduction of anxiety. In the 1960s, Dr. Ainslie Meares published Relief Without Drugs, a secular treatise on Hindu relaxation techniques to reduce stress and chronic pain. In 1975, Dr. Herbert Benson wrote The Relaxation Response, an expansion of the same subject. Today, Yogic meditation is common in western theories of counseling and psychotherapy. But more interestingly, medical research is finding more and more scientific evidence of the physiological benefits of meditation.

We know that undue physical and psychological stress can have short and long term negative consequences on our health and our longevity. Our contemporary culture is looking for more and more for ways to "decompress". But with our modern lifestyles under accelerated two-income-family financial pressures it's difficult to find the "down time" from the negative stressors. Certainly, weekend escapes from our multi-tasking lifestyles provide short-term relief. And the annual vacation to the slower pace of the tropics (if we can afford it) may lower our blood pressure for a while. But how often do we hear about a friend that arrived home from their vacation more exhausted than when they departed. It seems we are so conditioned to our activity-packed lives that even when we escape, we tend to plan our vacations as if we were in one of those shopping spree contests, frantically running from one tourist attraction to another making sure we get our money's worth.

The question is, how can we reduce and counteract the effects of stress in our everyday lives?

There are everyday proactive strategies for de-stressing. For starters, there is scientific medical evidence supporting the benefits of singing, laughter, and meditation. Not only can these activities reduce stress, they can significantly strengthen our immune system. For the sake of simplicity, let's consider the physiological benefits of meditation.

Our mind in concert with our vagus nerve, the primary monitor of infection throughout our major organs, reacts to stress as if it were detecting the pathogen cells of a bacterial invasion. If you had an infected cut on your finger, the mind/body reaction is to send in the white blood cells to fight the battle against the infection. Our finger at the point of the cut inflames - turning red, swelling, and radiating heat. Under stress, the vagus nerve can over-react telling the brain to defend our primary organs and our cardiovascular system.

When our vagus nerve detects the tension in organs associated with stress, it tells the brain to send in the troops to fight the battle as if we had an invading infection, the same way our immune system will order a response to the infected cut on our finger. This leads not only to increased stomach acid and inflammation but also to the inflammation of the linings of our arteries making us more susceptible to arterial sclerosis and stroke.

It has been found that meditation helps to calm the overly sensitive vagus nerve and shuts down the physiological mechanism that causes these types of inflammation due to stress. Meditation does not eliminate the stress. It alleviates our physiological reaction to the stress. It can also reduce our level of pain.

We certainly know our body's need good quality air rich with oxygen to function at its best. Football fans have seen players sitting on the sidelines breathing supplemental oxygen to restore their depleted oxygen due to the demands of the physical exertions, especially in cities at higher altitudes such as Denver. You may have noticed that the players inhale deeply through their nose. To increase stamina and endurance, long distance runners inhale through their nose and exhale through their mouth. Obviously, we are should be able to inhale much greater quantities of air (and oxygen) through our mouth. So why would a distance runner or an exhausted footfall player benefit from inhaling through their nose? The reason is not due to an increase in oxygen intake but an increase in nitric oxide (NO) that allows blood vessels to relax and dilate thus increasing overall blood flow. We hear little about this very important but ephemeral gas (it lifespan is mere seconds) that plays a major role in our bodily functions. Nitric oxide, normally in small percentages of the air that we breath, is absorbed only through the lining of our nasal passages. Since it has a very short lifespan in our system, we need to replenish it by breathing as often and as deeply as we can through our nose.

Some exercises of meditation encourage deep inhalation through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. This appears to have quite positive effects in restoring and rejuvenating organ function, especially associated with the cardiovascular system. Improved absorption of nitric oxide through meditative deep breathing acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain, similar to serotonin and dopamine, having a calming effect in reducing stress at the same time it promotes wakefulness. Consequently, this type of meditation is best practiced shortly after awakening from sleep. Nitric oxide also promotes healthy skin and reduces hair loss.

Meditation may not be a cure for baldness, but there is considerable evidence that its benefits in the reduction of stress and increased blood flow contribute significantly in improving immunity to infection and reducing cardiovascular inflammation. Heart surgeons are more routinely prescribing mediation as part of the post-surgery regime for their patients.

If you would like more information on the benefits of mediation, I highly recommend reading You Staying Young, by Dr. Michael F. Roizen and Dr. Mehmet C. Oz (a.k.a "Doctor Oz" as frequently seen on the Oprah Winfrey Show), Free Press, 2007.

Chuck Jennings has over thirty years experience assisting individuals make successful and meaningful life transitions through wellness, self-esteem, self-confidence, and spiritual recovery. He has helped thousands of individuals define and achieve career goals. He practices a holistic approach to life coaching. He believes that transitions through life issues must be addressed on multiple levels, including the physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual levels.

Life Coach Chuck is certified by the Life Coaching Institute and is a member of the International Coach Federation and a contributing expert to SelfGrowth.Com. Chuck has been awarded his B.A., M.A., M.F.A., and a Diploma of Life Coaching. He has forty years experience as a university professor in the arts, as well as fourteen years administrative and managerial experience in the academic environment.

Chuck enjoys the challenges and adventures of life lived to the fullest. At the age when most persons might slow the pace of their lives, Chuck considers his life the most exciting and interesting. At 59 years, he changed his career, and he took on a life-long dream to become an accomplished and skilled pilot. His optimistic confidence generously spills over into his practice as a life coach, encouraging his clients to pursue their passions and to never assume a dream as unattainable. His life and what he offers his clients are splendid examples of the power of the law of attraction.