Month: May 2016

“One conscious breath in and out is a meditation” – Eckhart Tolle

50 years ago there were no research papers on meditation. It was viewed in the Western world as a ‘feel good’ practise, something enjoyable, a little esoteric but not worth studying.

Today, our mainstream media – 60 Minutes, TIME, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Huffington Post, The New Yorker and Scientific American – frequently report on the benefits.

There are now hundreds of papers including randomised control trials, showing that what we think and how we feel have a profound effect on our body.
And not just: ‘Oh how lovely, I feel much calmer now I’ve meditated, recited a couple of joyous affirmations or completed my deep breathing exercises.’

Research shows that when we shift our thinking and regulate our emotional state, we can affect our body on a genetic and cellular level.

Hard science now provides evidence to show that when we calm our mind using skills like meditation, heart-coherence or Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), our body down-regulates or switches off certain genes and switches on others, resulting in an abundance of healthful changes.

And we are not just talking about a couple of molecules or proteins that are affected…

Throughout every system in our body, genes that regulate inflammation, immunity response, respiration, cell lifespan, uptake of oxygen, reproduction and digestion etc can be affected, resulting in significant biological changes.

So, developing the ability to relax and shift ones consciousness into a state of joy, love or bliss – and I have experienced this at times during meditation – seems to be a positive move. It takes time and practice but even a few minutes daily can be the start of something more profound.

The ability to maintain these skills to regulate emotional states in daily life is a mindful, present-moment practise in itself… I will leave it to Ekhart Tolle and his teachings, to go into more depth on this.

Having spent 6 months on sabbatical, deepening my own practise whilst in the power spots of Sedona in Arizona, Mount Shasta in CA, Machu Picchu in Peru and Glastonbury in England, meditation comes highly recommended! (There I am soaking up the vortex energy in the wilds of Sedona!)

• Balance, relaxation, self-control and the development of consciousness are the promise of what awaits us when we meditate
• Long term meditation leads to anatomical changes in the brain that can be measured by MRI, functional MRI, EEG
• Meditation reduces the stress hormone cortisol and increases melatonin which changes the pattern of gene expression. For example, this study shows that the genes responsible for producing inflammatory molecules can be reduced by meditation

• Specific regions of the brain are activated through meditation, changing brain cell connections and body chemistry. This  promotes lower blood pressure and heart rate, increased attention, faster recovery from injury, emotional stability and resilience

Meditation is not just about sitting in the lotus position, clearing your mind of thoughts. I have tried different approaches at various stages of my journey with a variety of teachers. Check out my next post for a collection of research on meditation.

Further info: Ted talk by Harvard neuroscientist, Sara Lazar on the brain benefits of meditation