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MEDITATION
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Definition of Meditation
Meditation: A self-directed practice for relaxing the
body and calming the mind. Most meditative techniques
have come to the West from Eastern religious practices,
particularly India, China, and Japan, but can be found
in all cultures of the world. Until recently, the
primary purpose of meditation has been religious,
although its health benefits have long been recognized.
It is now being further explored as a way of reducing
stress on both mind and body.
Studies have found that regular meditation can reduce
healthcare use; increase longevity and quality of life;
reduce chronic pain; reduce anxiety; reduce high blood
pressure; reduce serum cholesterol level; reduce
substance abuse; increase intelligence-related measures;
reduce post-traumatic stress syndrome in Vietnam
veterans; and lower blood cortisol levels initially
brought on by stress.
Yoga Gets Hearts Healthy
Yoga and meditation 3 times a week improves heart
disease risk
Stretching may do more than make you limber, according
to new research from Yale University School of Medicine.
Findings show that people who practice yoga and
meditation at least three times a week may reduce their
blood pressure, pulse and -- most importantly -- their
risk of heart disease.
Moreover, yoga improves heart health in both healthy
individuals and those with diagnosed heart disease, says
Satish Sivasankaran, MD, who conducted the study while
training at Yale. He says that volunteers taking a
six-week yoga-meditation program improved blood vessel
function by 17%. Blood vessel function, also called
endothelial function, is the way vessels contract and
expand to aid blood flow and is a measure of healthy
vessel function. However, study participants who had
heart disease had close to a 70% improvement in
endothelial function.
Endothelial function is an important indicator of
atherosclerosis because as the disease and plaque
build-up progresses, the blood vessels become less
supple and less able to constrict and expand.
"Stress is known to increase the risk of coronary
events. Both anxiety and type A behavior have been
associated with coronary diseases," Sivasankaran, who is
now a cardiology fellow at the Lahey Clinic in
Burlington, Mass., tells WebMD. Yoga and meditation, on
the other hand, are often recommended as a way to
relieve stress.
The study, which was presented during the opening day of
the American Heart Association's 2004 Scientific
Sessions here, is the first to look at the way blood
vessels respond to stress.
"The endothelial function improved in the total cohort
of patients and was most dramatic in patients already
diagnosed with heart disease," he explains.
And, it doesn't take years of lotus positions and
meditation to see improvement -- the study volunteers
had measurable improvement in just six weeks, he says.
The yoga and meditation program included 40 minutes of
postural yoga, 20 minutes of deep relaxation, 15 minutes
of yoga breathing, and 15 minutes of meditation.
The study enrolled 33 patients, 30% of whom had heart
disease. The study required them to practice yoga and
meditation for an hour and a half at least three times a
week. More than 60% of the volunteers were men and the
average age of the study participants was 55.
The researchers monitored blood pressure, pulse, body
mass index (BMI, an indirect measure of body fat used to
measure weight), and cholesterol levels at the beginning
of the study and again after six weeks.
The researchers used an ultrasound to measure the blood
flow in an artery of the arm, he explains.
Yoga Improves Blood Pressure
At the beginning of the study the average blood pressure
was 130/79 mmHg. The American Heart Association says
that a normal blood pressure reading is 120/80 mmHg.
After six weeks the average blood pressure reading was
125/74 mmHg, which was a significant decrease with yoga
and meditation classes. The volunteers also had a modest
reduction in BMI -- from 29 to 28, and they "had an
average reduction in pulse rate of nine beats per
minute," he says.
While people with heart disease had the biggest
improvement in blood vessel function, that improvement
"was independent of any improvements in blood pressure,"
he says. And after six weeks it was the healthy patients
who posted the biggest improvements in blood pressure,
pulse rate, and BMI.
"Even with a small number of patients for a short period
of time there was a benefit of yoga and meditation seen
in people with heart disease," he says. He says,
however, that the researchers don't know the mechanism
involved in that benefit, which means that more study is
needed.
Gerald F. Fletcher, MD, a cardiovascular disease
specialist at the Mayo Clinic Florida in Jacksonville,
tells WebMD that "it is probably exercise. There are
several studies that suggest that exercise -- any kind
of exercise -- improves oxygen consumption, which
improves endothelial function." Fletcher, who was not
involved in the study, is a spokesman for the AHA.
"I'm not sure that meditation has a specific benefit,
but if combining meditation with exercise will get
people to exercise, then I'm all for it. But the most
important message is that exercise works," Fletcher
says.
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