Meditation Group Research Articles

The Differential Relationship Between Mindfulness and Attachment in Experienced and Inexperienced Meditators

Several recent studies have examined the association between mindfulness and attachment. However, close inspection of these studies suggests that the strength of this association may differ based on participants’ experience in mindfulness meditation. The aim of the present research was to examine a possible differential relationship between mindfulness and attachment in experienced and inexperienced mindfulness meditators. Results revealed that mindfulness and attachment were significantly related in both groups, but attachment anxiety and avoidance together accounted for more than twice the variance in mindfulness in experienced meditators compared with their inexperienced counterparts. The relationship between attachment anxiety and mindfulness was significantly stronger in the group of experienced meditators, such that this association was moderated by mindfulness meditation experience. This stronger association between attachment anxiety and mindfulness may reflect the beneficial effects of mindfulness training on both mindfulness and attachment anxiety and provides some evidence that mindfulness interventions may enhance secure attachment.

マインドフルネス瞑想の怒り低減効果に関する実験的検討

This study explores the impact of mindfulness meditation on anger. A meditation group (N = 37) attended 5-10 minutes of mindfulness meditation daily for a week. They were assessed with self-report scales measuring three aspects of anger (rumination, arousal, and lengthiness) before, just after, and four weeks after their one-week participation. Their scores were compared to a control group (N = 27), which was assessed at the same intervals as the meditation group. The meditation group was also asked to evaluate their current mood using the Affect Grid before and after each meditation. The results indicated that participants in the meditation group who continued meditation voluntarily after the week of their participation had decreased anger rumination scores just after and four weeks after their participation. Additionally, the pleasant score on the Affect Grid increased after meditation for almost all the participation days. These findings suggest the efficacy of mindfulness meditation on improving the tendency to ruminate about anger episodes in the medium-term to long-term, and also on improving mood in the short-term.

Randomized Controlled Trial of Mindfulness Meditation and Exercise for the Prevention of Acute Respiratory Infection: Possible Mechanisms of Action

Background. A randomized trial suggests that meditation and exercise may prevent acute respiratory infection (ARI). This paper explores potential mediating mechanisms. Methods. Community-recruited adults were randomly assigned to three nonblinded arms: 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (N = 51), moderate-intensity exercise (N = 51), or wait-list control (N = 52). Primary outcomes were ARI illness burden (validated Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey). Potential mediators included self-reported psychophysical health and exercise intensity (baseline, 9 weeks, and 3 months). A Baron and Kenny approach-based mediational analysis model, adjusted for group status, age, and gender, evaluated the relationship between the primary outcome and a potential mediator using zero-inflated modeling and Sobel testing. Results. Of 154 randomized, 149 completed the trial (51, 47, and 51 in meditation, exercise, and control groups) and were analyzed (82% female, 94% Caucasian, 59.3 ± SD 6.6 years old). Mediational analyses suggested that improved mindfulness (Mindful Attention Awareness Scale) at 3 months may mediate intervention effects on ARI severity and duration (P < 0.05); 1 point increase in the mindfulness score corresponded to a shortened ARI duration by 7.2–9.6 hours. Conclusions. Meditation and exercise may decrease the ARI illness burden through increased mindfulness. These preliminary findings need confirmation, if confirmed, they would have important policy and clinical implications. This trial registration was Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01057771.

Impact of gibberish meditation on students learning in a dental school

Background: Gibberish meditational technique claims to reduce the stress and decrease unnecessary thought currents helping the practitioner to be relaxed and attentive. Aims & Objective: The aim of the present study was to know the effect of this technique, just prior to a learning session, on the student’s academic performance, perception and pulse rate. Material and Methods: 87 dental students were divided into two groups by systematic allocation. One group practiced Gibberish meditation technique and the other was control group. Both groups attended a one hour lecture as a part of their regular lecture series. Results: Results did not show any significant difference between the groups in academic performance, although meditation group scored higher. Significant number of students in gibberish group reported to be more attentive, comfortable, relaxed and had better memory and had significant reduction in mean pulse rate. Students expressed a feeling of relaxation and of having a fun filled learning atmosphere after meditation. Conclusion: This simple and easy technique of meditation could be adopted to enhance student learning.

Projekt medytacji chrześcijańskiej według J. Maina w Polsce. Próba oceny dogmatyczno-pastoralnej.

Powstawanie grup medytacyjnych działających na podstawie nauki J. Maina staje się okazją do głębszej analizy tej propozycji oraz jej oceny w świetle nauki chrześcijańskiej, jak również badań religioznawczych i psychologicznych. Punktem wyjściowym dyskusji na ten temat stała się w 2013 roku publikacja E. Christie Medytacja chrześcijańska w szkołach. Przewodnik dla nauczycieli i rodziców, rozpowszechniana przez polskie środowisko Światowej Wspólnoty Medytacji Chrześcijańskiej (WCCM).Idea medytacji stanowi niewątpliwie w rzeczywistości współczesnego świata, zwłaszcza w społeczeństwach zlaicyzowanych, konsumpcyjnych czy jedynie tradycyjnie religijnych (ukierunkowanych na rytualizm), ważny impuls w kwestii kontemplacji. Nie można jednak przejść obojętnie wobec wyraźnych lub pośrednich zapożyczeń z praktyk buddyjskich czy jogicznych, które są obecne w nauczaniu WCCM. Duchowość chrześcijańska i praktyki dalekowschodnie mają bowiem zupełnie inny punkt wyjścia i punkt dojścia. Dla ochrzczonych jakakolwiek modlitwa, w tym również medytacja, jest darem Boga, sposobem budowania osobistej relacji z Trójjedynym, a cel stanowi jedność z Nim, przy zachowaniu autonomii i tożsamości dwóch relacyjnych podmiotów – Boga i człowieka. Tymczasem w praktykach buddyjskich czy jogicznych istotna jest aktywność człowieka (dojście do bezruchu, zapanowanie nad myślami, działaniem ciała), a cel określony jest jako doświadczenie pokoju, harmonii, jedności ze sobą, całym światem, siłą wszechświata.W związku z tym trudno czegoś uczyć się w wymiarze duchowym od tych tradycji filozoficzno-religijnych, a w czasach zamętu i wyraźnej promocji New Age oraz związanych z tym praktyk i treści z Dalekiego Wschodu postawa chrześcijan winna być zdecydowanie jednoznaczna.Dlatego rodzą się następujące postulaty wobec środowiska WCCM: wyraźne powiązanie medytacji z życiem sakramentalno-eklezjalnym; zaniechanie praktyk wspólnych medytacji z buddystami; oczyszczenie nauczania z treści sugerujących synkretyzm; zaniechanie czerpania z duchowości niechrześcijańskiej; głębsze osadzenie nauczania w doktrynie i życiu Kościoła.

A randomized controlled trial of the effects of brief mindfulness meditation on anxiety symptoms and systolic blood pressure in Chinese nursing students

Previous studies suggested that mindfulness meditation effectively reduced stress-related anxiety and depression symptoms, but no research has evaluated the efficacy of mindfulness meditation in nurses and nursing students in China. To evaluate the effects of brief mindfulness meditation on the anxiety and depression symptoms and autonomic nervous system activity in Chinese nursing students. A randomized controlled trial. A medical university in Guangzhou, China. One hundred and five nursing students were randomly approached by email and seventy-two responded. Sixty recruited students were randomized into meditation and control group (n=30 each) after screening and exclusion due to factors known to influence mood ratings and autonomic nervous system measures. The meditation group performed mindfulness meditation 30 min daily for 7 consecutive days. The control group received no intervention except pre-post treatment measurements. The Self-Rating Anxiety Scale and Self-Rating Depression Scale were administered to participants, and heart rate and blood pressure were measured. Pre- and post-treatment data were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance. Differences between pre- and post-treatment Self-Rating Anxiety Scale scores were significantly larger in the meditation group than in the control group, but no similar effect was observed for Self-Rating Depression Scale scores. Systolic blood pressure was reduced more after the intervention in the meditation group than in the control group, with an average reduction of 2.2 mmHg. A moderate level of anxiety was associated with the maximum meditation effect. Brief mindfulness meditation was beneficial for Chinese nursing students in reducing anxiety symptoms and lowering systolic blood pressure. Individuals with moderate anxiety are most likely to benefit from a short-term mindfulness meditation program.

A Wireless Accelerometer-Based Body Posture Stability Detection System and Its Application for Meditation Practitioners

The practice of meditation has become an interesting research issue in recent decades. Meditation is known to be beneficial for health improvement and illness reduction and many studies on meditation have been made, from both the physiological and psychological points of view. It is a fundamental requirement of meditation practice to be able to sit without body motion. In this study, a novel body motion monitoring and estimation system has been developed. A wireless tri-axis accelerometer is used to measure body motion. Both a mean and maximum motion index is derived from the square summation of three axes. Two experiments were conducted in this study. The first experiment was to investigate the motion index baseline among three leg-crossing postures. The second experiment was to observe posture dynamics for thirty minute’s meditation. Twenty-six subjects participated in the experiments. In one experiment, thirteen subjects were recruited from an experienced meditation group (meditation experience > 3 years); and the other thirteen subjects were beginners (meditation experience < 1 years). There was a significant posture stability difference between both groups in terms of either mean or maximum parameters (p < 0.05), according to the results of the experiment. Results from another experiment showed that the motion index is different for various postures, such as full-lotus < half-lotus < non-lotus.

Teaching Mindfulness on an Inpatient Psychiatric Unit

This pilot study sought to determine if mindfulness skills could be taught to patients hospitalized with depression in a short-term, inpatient psychiatric setting. Mindfulness is the disposition to be aware of one’s current internal and external experiences while accepting them without judgment. Awareness of the breath shaped the meditation experiences used in this study. Twenty-three patients enrolled and participated in at least three mindfulness-based interventions (MBI’s). The interventions available were one-to-one meditation exercises, meditation groups, and yoga groups. Subjects completed the Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale (PHLMS) measuring mindfulness trait upon admission and at the time of discharge. The Toronto Mindfulness Scale (TMS) measuring mindfulness state was completed after each MBI. In addition, subjects completed brief written descriptions of their present-moment experience after each MBI. PHLMS scores showed a significant increase in total score and the awareness subscale. A trend analysis of TMS scores was significant for total score and both subscales. Content analysis of the present-moment statements identified five major themes in the awareness category and two in the acceptance category. This pilot study suggests that mindfulness, cultivated through meditation and yoga can be taught to, and practiced by, individuals experiencing acute psychiatric symptoms.

The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis.

In this meta-analysis, we give a comprehensive overview of the effects of meditation on psychological variables that can be extracted from empirical studies, concentrating on the effects of meditation on nonclinical groups of adult meditators. Mostly because of methodological problems, almost ¾ of an initially identified 595 studies had to be excluded. Most studies appear to have been conducted without sufficient theoretical background. To put the results into perspective, we briefly summarize the major theoretical approaches from both East and West. The 163 studies that allowed the calculation of effect sizes exhibited medium average effects (r = .28 for all studies and r = .27 for the n = 125 studies from reviewed journals), which cannot be explained by mere relaxation or cognitive restructuring effects. In general, results were strongest (medium to large) for changes in emotionality and relationship issues, less strong (about medium) for measures of attention, and weakest (small to medium) for more cognitive measures. However, specific findings varied across different approaches to meditation (transcendental meditation, mindfulness meditation, and other meditation techniques). Surprisingly, meditation experience only partially covaried with long-term impact on the variables examined. In general, the dependent variables used cover only some of the content areas about which predictions can be made from already existing theories about meditation; still, such predictions lack precision at present. We conclude that to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of why and how meditation works, emphasis should be placed on the development of more precise theories and measurement devices.

Meditation Makes A Peaceful State of Mind: People’s Positive and Negative Emotional Response Can Be Reduced by Meditation Training

Previous studies have proved that meditation contributes to emotion regulation,but more researches are needed on if it works by making positive and negative emotion more positive,or making positive emotion more negative and negative emotion more positive.The present study was designed to explore the effects of meditation on evaluation of emotional pictures(from CAPS) and changes of brain alpha wave.62 university students without any previous meditation experiences were selected in this study.A random 31 participants learned meditation(for 5 days,20 minutes everyday),and the remaining participants had a usual rest with eyes closed in the same time.All participants were asked to evaluate emotional pictures before and after meditation\usual rest,as well as take alpha wave assessments.The scores of emotional pictures evaluation were recorded by E-prime,the dates of alpha wave were collected by the HXD-I brain electrical collector,and all of the dates were analyzed by SPSS 12.0.All participants rated emotional pictures(positive,neural and negative,10 pieces for each kind) before the experiment,before the fifth meditation\usual rest,and after the fifth meditation\usual rest.(1) On the evaluation of positive and negative pictures,the result of variance analysis showed significant differences in meditation group,but no significant differences in control group.(2) From the dates before experiment to that after the fifth meditation\usual rest,the increment rest of two groups showed significant differences on negative pictures,but no significant differences on positive and neural pictures.The experiment collected the participants' alpha wave at times before,in the process of,and after the fifth meditation\usual rest.The result of variance analysis showed that there were significant differences of alpha wave in meditation group,but no significant differences in control group.On the increment of alpha waves before and after the fifth meditation\usual rest,there were significant differences between two groups,which meant that the alpha waves increment of meditation group was higher than that of the control group.The experiment showed that,after 5 days' meditation,participants in meditation group were more peaceful on emotional pictures evaluation compared to the ones in the control group who have a usual rest.Further analysis showed that meditation could reduce some negative content in people's emotion cognition,and in the meanwhile reduce some positive content.The EEG data showed that the brain alpha wave increased significantly in meditation,and 5 minutes after a meditation exercise,the alpha wave could still keep on the increasing state.

Spirituality and Intergroup Harmony: Meditation and Racial Prejudice

Past research has examined the relationship between religious beliefs and intergroup bias but has not investigated the relationship between specific religious practices and bias. The current work fills this gap by investigating differences in racial prejudice between individuals engaged in an active compassion-based meditation practice and those who have no experience with meditation. We found that a group of experienced compassion-based meditators (from a range of religious traditions) expressed less racial prejudice and more empathy compared to a group of participants who had no experience with meditation, and that differences in prejudice were mediated by empathy. These results suggest that compassion-based meditators express lower levels of explicit, racial prejudice than non-meditators and that these differences are explained by differences in empathy. The implications of our results as well as future directions for research are discussed.

Cortical thickness, mental absorption and meditative practice: Possible implications for disorders of attention

Mental training techniques rooted in meditation are associated with attention improvement, increased activation and cortical thickening of attention/executive-related brain areas. Interestingly, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with behavioural deficits, hypo-activation and cortical thinning of similar networks. This study assessed the relationship between prior meditative training, attentional absorption, and cortical thickness. Grey matter thickness was measured in 18 meditators and 18 controls. Subjective reports of attentional absorption were modestly higher in meditators and across the entire sample correlated positively with cortical thickness in several regions corresponding to cingulo-fronto-parietal attention networks. Within these regions the meditation group had greater cortical thickness which was positively related to the extent of prior training. Evidence suggesting that meditative practice activates these cortical areas, improves attention and may ameliorate symptoms of ADHD by targeting vulnerable brain regions is discussed.

Heart rate variability and pulse transit time performance of leg crossing on meditation practitioner

Meditation is the traditional eastern method to improve health. Leg crossing is the main component on meditation to enhance the inner chi circulation. In this study, leg crossing effects was investigated with physiological parameters for meditation group. Five minute heart rate variability (HRV) and pulse transit time (PTT) was measured as feature for leg crossing. College students were recruited as subjects. There were 11 subjects as control group and 13 subjects with more than two years meditation practice experience as experimental group. Subjects were asked to sit with both legs stretched horizontally, and then in two half-lotus postures for five minutes, respectively. PTT was estimated from the Electrocardiogram (ECG) R peak to a characteristic point on the peripheral pulse by photoplethysmography (PPG). Physiological performances between free stretch and leg crossing posture were investigated. Concerned about the difference between free stretch and leg crossing posture, results indicated that there was significant HRV power increase but no PTT difference for meditation group, while there was less HRV variation but significant PTT increase for control group. PTT was proposed to be a good feature to measure meditation practice performance with the leg crossing practice. Key words: Heart rate variability, leg crossing, meditation, pulse transit time.

Is it me or not me? Modulation of perceptual-motor awareness and visuomotor performance by mindfulness meditation

BackgroundAttribution of agency involves the ability to distinguish our own actions and their sensory consequences which are self-generated from those generated by external agents. There are several pathological cases in which motor awareness is dramatically impaired. On the other hand, awareness-enhancement practices like tai-chi and yoga are shown to improve perceptual-motor awareness. Meditation is known to have positive impacts on perception, attention and consciousness itself, but it is still unclear how meditation changes sensorimotor integration processes and awareness of action. The aim of this study was to investigate how visuomotor performance and self-agency is modulated by mindfulness meditation. This was done by studying meditators’ performance during a conflicting reaching task, where the congruency between actions and their consequences is gradually altered. This task was presented to novices in meditation before and after an intensive 8 weeks mindfulness meditation training (MBSR). The data of this sample was compared to a group of long-term meditators and a group of healthy non-meditators.ResultsMindfulness resulted in a significant improvement in motor control during perceptual-motor conflict in both groups. Novices in mindfulness demonstrated a strongly increased sensitivity to detect external perturbation after the MBSR intervention. Both mindfulness groups demonstrated a speed/accuracy trade-off in comparison to their respective controls. This resulted in slower and more accurate movements.ConclusionsOur results suggest that mindfulness meditation practice is associated with slower body movements which in turn may lead to an increase in monitoring of body states and optimized re-adjustment of movement trajectory, and consequently to better motor performance. This extended conscious monitoring of perceptual and motor cues may explain how, while dealing with perceptual-motor conflict, improvement in motor control goes beyond the mere increase of movement time. The reduction of detection threshold in the MBSR group is also likely due to the enhanced monitoring of these processes. Our findings confirmed our assumptions about the positive effect of mindfulness on perceptual-motor integration processes.

Meditation or exercise for preventing acute respiratory infection: a randomized controlled trial.

This study was designed to evaluate potential preventive effects of meditation or exercise on incidence, duration, and severity of acute respiratory infection (ARI) illness. Community-recruited adults aged 50 years and older were randomized to 1 of 3 study groups: 8-week training in mindfulness meditation, matched 8-week training in moderate-intensity sustained exercise, or observational control. The primary outcome was area-under-the-curve global illness severity during a single cold and influenza season, using the Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey (WURSS-24) to assess severity. Health care visits and days of missed work were counted. Nasal wash collected during ARI illness was assayed for neutrophils, interleukin-8, and viral nucleic acid. Of 154 adults randomized into the study, 149 completed the trial (82% female, 94% white, mean age 59.3 ± 6.6 years). There were 27 ARI episodes and 257 days of ARI illness in the meditation group (n = 51), 26 episodes and 241 illness days in the exercise group (n = 47), and 40 episodes and 453 days in the control group (n = 51). Mean global severity was 144 for meditation, 248 for exercise, and 358 for control. Compared with control, global severity was significantly lower for meditation (P = .004). Both global severity and total days of illness (duration) trended toward being lower for the exercise group (P=.16 and P=.032, respectively), as did illness duration for the meditation group (P=.034). Adjusting for covariates using zero-inflated multivariate regression models gave similar results. There were 67 ARI-related days of-work missed in the control group, 32 in the exercise group (P = .041), and 16 in the meditation group (P <.001). Health care visits did not differ significantly. Viruses were identified in 54% of samples from meditation, 42% from exercise, and 54% from control groups. Neutrophil count and interleukin-8 levels were similar among intervention groups. Training in meditation or exercise may be effective in reducing ARI illness burden.

Six weeks of meditation training influences response bias in a discrimination task with emotional distractors

Introduction: Focused attention meditation is the voluntary focusing of attention on a chosen object in a sustained fashion, whose objective is to develop attentional and emotional regulatory skills./objective: We investigated the effect of a six-week focused attention meditation training on a discrimination task with emotional distractors by comparing participants’ discriminability and bias before and after training. Method: College students were randomly assigned to either focused meditation (N=35), progressive relaxation (N=37), or control groups (N=28). 120 neutral and 120 emotional - negative and arousing – pictures (9º x 12º), flanked by two peripheral bars (0.3º x 0.3º), equidistant from the centre of the picture (9º), were equally and randomly distributed and displayed among three blocks, one with low attentional (LA) and two with high attentional demand (HA). Participants indicated if bars were parallel or not by pressing one of two buttons. In LA and HA conditions, respectively, bars differed with 90º and 6º in half of the trials. Trials started with a fixation cross (1500ms) followed by the pictures and bars (200ms). Next, a chessboard remained on the screen until a response was given or for 2000ms. Results: Mixed-design ANOVAs showed no discriminability difference across groups (meditation=26; relaxation=24; control=24) pre-post training; only task difficulty affected discriminability [F(1,68) = 739.8, p &lt; .001; LA &gt; HA]. Response bias was affected by difficulty [F(1,68) = 81.2, p &lt; .001; LA &lt; HA], and testing session [F(1,68) = 23.1, p &lt; .001; pre &gt; post]. Additionally, there was a significant difficulty × session × group interaction [F(2,68) = 4.02, p = .02]: meditation (M = .58, SE =.36) and relaxation (M = .65, SE =.36) presented a reduction in response bias relative to control (M = .69, SE =.37), but only after training in the HA condition (p &lt; 0.05). Conclusion: The reduction in response bias suggests that meditation and relaxation can affect decision making in a difficult perceptual discrimination task. Meditation showed the highest bias reduction, consistent with previous results linking meditation to attention and monitoring processes.

Meditative therapies for reducing anxiety: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Anxiety disorders are among the most common psychiatric disorders and meditative therapies are frequently sought by patients with anxiety as a complementary therapy. Although multiple reviews exist on the general health benefits of meditation, no review has focused on the efficacy of meditation for anxiety specifically. Major medical databases were searched thoroughly with keywords related to various types of meditation and anxiety. Over 1,000 abstracts were screened, and 200+ full articles were reviewed. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included. The Boutron (Boutron et al., 2005: J Clin Epidemiol 58:1233-1240) checklist to evaluate a report of a nonpharmaceutical trial (CLEAR-NPT) was used to assess study quality; 90% of the authors were contacted for additional information. Review Manager 5 was used for meta-analysis. A total of 36 RCTs were included in the meta-analysis (2,466 observations). Most RCTs were conducted among patients with anxiety as a secondary concern. The study quality ranged from 0.3 to 1.0 on the 0.0-1.0 scale (mean = 0.72). Standardized mean difference (SMD) was -0.52 in comparison with waiting-list control (p < .001; 25 RCTs), -0.59 in comparison with attention control (p < .001; seven RCTs), and -0.27 in comparison with alternative treatments (p < .01; 10 RCTs). Twenty-five studies reported statistically superior outcomes in the meditation group compared to control. No adverse effects were reported. This review demonstrates some efficacy of meditative therapies in reducing anxiety symptoms, which has important clinical implications for applying meditative techniques in treating anxiety. However, most studies measured only improvement in anxiety symptoms, but not anxiety disorders as clinically diagnosed.

Effect ofSahajaYoga Meditation on Quality of Life, Anxiety, and Blood Pressure Control

The present study investigates the effect of Sahaja yoga meditation on quality of life, anxiety, and blood pressure control. The prospective observational cohort study enrolled two study groups: those receiving treatment from the International Sahaja Yoga Research and Health Center (meditation group) and those receiving treatment from the Mahatma Gandhi Mission Hospital (control group). Researchers measured quality of life, anxiety, and blood pressure before and after treatment. Sixty-seven (67) participants in the meditation group and 62 participants in the control group completed the study. The two groups were comparable in demographic and clinical characteristics. At baseline, the meditation group had higher quality of life (p<0.001) than controls but similar anxiety level (p=0.74) to controls. Within-group pre- versus post-treatment comparisons showed significant improvement in quality of life, anxiety, and blood pressure in the meditation group (p<0.001), while in controls, quality of life deteriorated and there was no improvement in blood pressure. The improvement in quality of life, anxiety reduction, and blood pressure control was greater in the meditation group. The beneficial effect of meditation remained significant after adjusting for confounders. Meditation treatment was associated with significant improvements in quality of life, anxiety reduction, and blood pressure control.

Impact of Yoga and Meditation on Stress Levels of Industrial Employees

Stress is Sudden Biological Change. It has become the curse of 21st century and is silent killer in the modem world. Stress is the greatest danger the information era. Stress is the priceless poison for human life in the universe. It can disturb any one's physical, mental, emotional and behavioral balance. Stress can damage different parts of human body from muscles from tissues organs and blood vessels. It can speed up pulse rate and respiration. It can raise blood pressure and body temperature. It can also interfere with the body metabolism, digestion, appetite, sleep, sexuality and even fertilityIndian scholars viewed the phenomenon of stress from various perspectives ranging from stimulus oriented responses and psychodynamic point of view. A comprehensive description of certain concepts which relate closely the modem concepts of stress can be found in traditional texts like Charak Sumlita..Yoga sutrar and Bhagavat Gita. Some of these, for example, are Dukha (pain / misery) Klrsu (afflictions) Kumu or trisna (desires) Atman and Ahumkara (self & ego). It is interesting note that the body - mind relationship, characteristic of modem stress studies, The holistic ancient Indian view of stress and management of stress are obtaining currency at international levels.Yoga is an ancient art that is defined as the union of the soul with God (Anand, 2000). It is a path of personal spiritual development that utilizes meditation bring enlightenment, self-realization, and, ultimately, the attainment of God and bliss (p. 109). Originally, the ultimate goal of yoga was called Samadhi, or self-realization (Iyengar, 2001).The word meditate comes from the Latin word meditari, which means, to think or reflect upon (Bonadonna, 2003). It is defined as simple mind-body technique that allows you gain unique state of restful awareness or alertness. Mindfulness meditation is the more difficult of the two (Bonadonna, 2003). It is defined as attempting awareness of the whole perceptual field. More than 2 million Americans have learned meditation over the past years (Bonadonna, 2003). Recent studies and evidence have demonstrated that such yoga practices are effective in reducing stress.Smith et al.,(2007) reported that Yoga was found be as effective as relaxation in reducing stress, anxiety and improving health status on seven domains of the SF-36. Yoga was more effective than relaxation in improving mental health.James et al. (2010) reported that improved mood and significantly Meditation training has become popular intervention for the prevention and treatment of stress-related diseases and for the management of stress. Manocha et al. (2011) Conduct study on A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Meditation for Work Stress, Anxiety and Depressed Mood in Full-Time Workers. Results show that There was significant improvement for the meditation group compared both the relaxation control and the wait-list groups.Hartfiel et al. (2011) results show that even short program of yoga is effective for enhancing emotional well-being and resilience stress in the workplace.Mohan et al. (2011) Report that significant increase in physiologic galvanic skin response (GSR), heart rate (HR), electromyography (EMG), sympathetic reactivity(GSR, EMG, HR, QTc/QS2) and psycho logic (acute stress questionnaire scores) maikers of stress. Meditation was associated with relaxation (significant decrease in GSR, EMG, QTc/QS2, and acute stress questionnaire scores). Meditation, if practiced before the stressful event, reduced the adverse effects of stress. Memoiy quotient significantly increased, whereas cortisol level decreased after both stress and meditatioa visual-choice reaction time (VCRT).showed no significant change.Cutshall et al. (2011)report that self-directed, computer-guided meditation training program is useful for stress reduction in hospital nurses, this pilot study suggest the feasibility and efficacy of biofeedback-assisted, self-directed, meditation training program help hospital nurses reduce their stress and anxiety. …

A pilot study of yogic meditation for family dementia caregivers with depressive symptoms: effects on mental health, cognition, and telomerase activity

This study examined the effects of brief daily yogic meditation on mental health, cognitive functioning, and immune cell telomerase activity in family dementia caregivers with mild depressive symptoms. Thirty-nine family dementia caregivers (mean age 60.3 years old (SD = 10.2)) were randomized to practicing Kirtan Kriya or listening to relaxation music for 12 min per day for 8 weeks. The severity of depressive symptoms, mental and cognitive functioning were assessed at baseline and follow-up. Telomerase activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PMBC) was examined in peripheral PBMC pre-intervention and post-intervention. The meditation group showed significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms and greater improvement in mental health and cognitive functioning compared with the relaxation group. In the meditation group, 65.2% showed 50% improvement on the Hamilton Depression Rating scale and 52% of the participants showed 50% improvement on the Mental Health Composite Summary score of the Short Form-36 scale compared with 31.2% and 19%, respectively, in the relaxation group (p < 0.05). The meditation group showed 43% improvement in telomerase activity compared with 3.7% in the relaxation group (p = 0.05). This pilot study found that brief daily meditation practices by family dementia caregivers can lead to improved mental and cognitive functioning and lower levels of depressive symptoms. This improvement is accompanied by an increase in telomerase activity suggesting improvement in stress-induced cellular aging. These results need to be confirmed in a larger sample.