There was a problem loading more pages. Retrying... Whoops! There was a problem previewing this document. Retrying... Do
July
2015 5155
Research on Sahaja Yoga Meditation
Copyrights © Katya Rubia
Research on Sahaja Yoga Meditation A compilation of existing works
Copyright © Meditation Research CO UK 2
July 2015
3
Table of Contents
Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 5 Effects of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on systolic blood pressure and heart, respiratory and pulse rates ......................................................................................................................... 6 Effects of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on skin temperature reduction ....................................... 7 Effects of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on brain activation.......................................................... 8 Effects of Sahaja Yoga Meditation and neurochemistry ......................................................11 Long term effects of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on emotional resilience/emotional reactivity.12 Effects of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on personality ...............................................................13 Effects of Sahaja Yoga on General Health ..........................................................................14 Effects of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on State and Trait Anxiety............................................ 145 Effects of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on Depression ...............................................................15 Sahaja Yoga Meditation as a family treatment programme for children with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) ................................................................................16 Effects of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on drug abuse ...............................................................18 Effects of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on Epilepsy ....................................................................20 Effects of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on Asthma................................................................... 222 Effects of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on menopausal symptoms .............................................23
4
Introduction
Meditation is essentially a hypo-metabolic state with parasympathetic dominance different from sleep- that elicits physical and mental calm and has been reported to enhance psychological balance and emotional stability. In Western psychology three states of consciousness have been defi ned: sleep, dream and wakefulness. In Eastern philosophy and in several Western religious and mystical traditions, an additional and higher state of consciousness has been described, the so -called fourth state of consciousness, the state of “thoughtless awareness” (Ramamurthi, 1995). In thoughtless awareness the duality of the mind is transcended and the practitioner experiences a state of deep mental silence. This state can be achieved by the practice of “Meditation”. According to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (Patanjali and Shearer, 1993), one of the oldest recorded scriptures on Meditation, “Yoga is a voluntary inhibition of irrelevant mental activity”. Today a large variety of Meditation practices have emerged, some of them not going beyond relaxation techniques; however, the original goal of Meditation is the elimination or reduction of thought processes, the cessation or slowing of the internal dialogue of the mind. This elimination of the thinking process has been reported to lead to a deep sense of physical and mental calm while at the same time enhancing pure awareness, untainted by thoughts, and perceptual clarity. Meditative experiences of thoughtless awareness furthermore seem to trigger feelings of positive emotions, which can range from detached joy to absolute bliss. A common experience of Meditation is a meta-cognitive shift where thoughts and feelings rather than occupying full attention can be observed from a detached witnessing awareness from which they can be dealt with in a more efficient manner. Achieving this mystical peak experience of complete thoughtless awareness is the ultimate goal of most traditional Meditation techniques. Although Meditation techniques differ widely, a common characteristic of most techniques is the training of concentrative attention skills in order to achieve the reduction or elimination of thoughts. This involves either focussing the attention on internal events such as the breath, an object, a mantra or attending non-judgmentally on the present moment (different Buddhist practices), observing thoughts from a metacognitive awareness (Mindful Meditation) or eliminating thoughts altogether (Sahaja Yoga). To our knowledge Sahaja Yoga Meditation is the only Meditation technique that teaches the practitioner to achieve the state of mental silence on a regular, daily basis. Although achieving the peak experience of thoughtless awareness is the goal of the Meditator, it is the long-term trait effects of Meditation, achieved after years of training that are thought to be therapeutic and have attracted the interest of Western Science.
5
Sahaja Yoga Meditation on systolic blood pressure and heart, respiratory and pulse rates Studies comparing experienced Meditators compared to controls or shortterm Meditators have demonstrated physiological changes during Meditation suggestive of a wakeful hypo-metabolic state that is characterised by decreased sympathetic nervous activity, important for fight and flight mechanisms, and increased parasympathetic activity, important for relaxation and rest (Rai et al. 1988). This wakeful hypo-metabolic state with parasympathetic dominance has been shown to be qualitatively and quantitatively different from simple rest or sleep Sahaja Yoga Meditation, for example, a technique that evokes thoughtless awareness on a daily basis, presumably via activation of parasympathetic-limbic pathways, has been shown to reduce autonomic activity in short and long-term practitioners compared to controls. A series of studies conducted by Prof Rai from the Department of Physiology of the University of Delhi have shown that Sahaja Yoga Meditation when compared to a Sham meditation elicits a reduction in stressrelated physiological parameters than indicate an increase of the parasympathetic nervous system, important for rest and relaxation. This included a reduction in heart, respiratory and pulse rates, of systolic blood pressure, and oxygen metabolism, and of urinary Vanilly Mandelic Acid (VMA) and increases o skin resistance.
6
These physiological alterations are indicators of deep parasympathetic activation and therefore physiological relaxation that have been related to stress relief and may have a role in the prevention of stress-related illness, such as respiratory, hypertensive of cardiovascular disease. In fact, the same physiological effects achieved with Sahaja Yoga Meditation in healthy individuals, could also be achieved in patients with epilepsy and with asthma and hypertension after 4 weeks of Meditation training, which furthermore were related to the significant reduction of asthma/epilepsy attacks.
Sahaja Yoga Meditation on skin temperature reduction A study conducted in Australia by Dr Manocha and colleagues (Manocha et al., 2000) showed that long-term Meditators compared to a group of subjects who practiced simple Relaxation showed a reduction in the temperature of their hands during the Meditation. This correlates with the subjective feelings of coolness in the hands and on top of the brain that is experienced by SY Meditators and has been related to an activation of the parasympathetic-limbic pathway.
7
Effects of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on brain activation Electrophysiological studies (EEG) measure the electrical activity from groups of neurons on the surface of the scalp. EEG studies comparing the brain activation of long-term Sahaja Yoga practitioners (11) to short-term Sahaja Yoga meditators (16) found specific brain activation patterns corresponding to the subjective feelings of thoughtless awareness and happiness experienced by the Meditators (Aftanas and Golocheikine, 2001, 2002, 2003). In their EEG measures, the long-term meditators showed increased power in low band frequency EEG activity of theta and alpha, which was particularly pronounced over the left frontal regions. Brain activation correlating with thoughtless awareness and happiness During the Meditation, the long-term meditators showed less mental activity, i.e. less thoughts (IV) and more feelings of happiness (VI) according to their subjective ratings. In their EEG measures, the long-term meditators showed increased power in low band frequency EEG activity of theta, which was particularly pronounced over the left frontal regions. The intensity of mental activity correlated negatively with theta activity over frontal and central brain regions, suggesting that less internal dialogue is related to more activation. Frontal theta activity is thought to originate from limbic and frontal regions such as the anterior cingulate and prefrontal cortex and has shown to be increased during both affective and attentional states such as emotion processing and sustained attention (Aftanas & Golocheikine, 2001). The intensity of the feelings of happiness was positively correlated with the theta activity over left frontal regions. This is in line with the evidence for a role of the left frontal lobe in positive emotions whereas the right prefrontal lobe plays a greater role in negative ones. There was also increased activation in the alpha power range over the same regions, which is thought to reflect a reduction in brain regions that mediate mental effort and external attention. Increased activation in alpha activity has commonly been observed in Meditators of different traditions and been found to correlate with reduce d levels of anxiety (Aftanas & Golocheikine, 2002). In addition to enhanced frontoparietal theta activation, the authors also found enhanced connectivity of fronto8
parietal theta bands - suggesting the enforcement of attentional networks (Aftanas & Golocheikine 2003).
A reduction in the chaotic dimensional complexity was also observed suggestive of the inhibition of task-irrelevant processes.
Taken together, the findings suggest that during Meditation, the reduced mental activity is mediated by increased activation of networks of internalised attention which seem to trigger the activity in regions that mediate positive emotions (left frontal cortex) while decreasing networks related to external attention and irrelevant processes. The enhanced connection between frontal and parietal regions is probably the prerequisite for the general intensification of internalised attention necessary for the induction of the altered state of mental silence. In conclusion, this ground-breaking study shows that the subjective experiences of mental silence and positive emotions during Meditation have very specific neurophysiological correlates in the activation and connectivity of regions that mediate internalised attention and positive affect.
9
A functional magnetic resonance imaging study of the state of mental silence A more recent study used a more modern brain imaging technique, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), to measure the function of the brain while long-term meditators of more than 10 years of meditation experience were meditating and compared this to the state when they were not meditating. The study found that in the initial stages of meditation the meditators activated the right inferior frontal cortex, which is a key re gion of concentrated attention and is also crucial for inhibition of thoughts and a few other attention regions in both hemispheres. The authors assume that the meditators tried to inhibit their thoughts and focus their attention to achieve the state of thoughtless awareness. With progressive stages of deeper meditation the meditators then showed progressively less brain activation which became more focused on the right inferior frontal cortex. The activation over this region was furthermore associated with the depth of the state of mental silence. It seems that Meditators appear to pass through an initial intense neural self-control process necessary to silence their mind. After this they experience reduced brain activation which is then associated with the deepening of the state of mental silence over right inferior frontal cortex, probably reflecting an ef fortless process of attentional contemplation associated with this state. (Hernandez et al., 2015).
On the left is shown the initial stage of meditation which is associated with more brain activation over inferior frontal and temporo-parietal regions in both hemispheres of the brain. The latest and deeper stages of meditation are associated with less activation which are focused on the right inferior frontal and superior temporal lobe. The findings suggest a more restricted, presumably more focused activation.
10
Sahaja Yoga Meditation and neurochemistry There is evidence that meditation experiences are related to limbic brain activation. Several studies have shown changes in neurochemicals that are released by limbic brain regions and mediate positive emotions. For example, a study conducted by Prof Ram Mishra at the McMaster's University, in Toronto (Mishra et al., 1993), showed that Sahaja Yoga Meditation compared to rest elicited a significant increase of 70% in betaendorphins as measured in the blood in males. Beta-endorphins are neuro-hormones, endogenous opioids that are released from the pituitary gland in the hypothalamus and have been associated to feelings of positive affect such as happiness and euphoria. They are also released during high performance sports and when people are in love. They are thought to play an important role in homeostatic mechanisms, pain reduction and may even affect the immune system. A strengthening of the immune system through meditation could explain why some people improve in severe illnesses such as cancer with Meditation.
11
Long term effects of Sahaja resilience/emotional reactivity
Yoga
Meditation
on
emotional
This study (Aftanas & Golocheikin 2005) published in the International Journal of Neuroscience is the first to demonstrate that long-term practitioners of Meditation show reduced emotional reactivity and are more resilient to stressful events. 25 long-term meditators compared to controls showed reduced psychological, physiological and electrophysiological reactivity to stressful stimuli, providing for the first time neurophysiological data to support the hypothesis that Meditation leads to emotional balance and greater emotional resilience to stressful life events. The Yoga Meditators were compared to controls in their response to a stressful video-clip, in which some teenagers tortured a family and killed all of them one by one. In a psychological selfrating scale, the Meditators compared to controls showed reduced subjective ratings of negative emotions elicited by the movie.
They also showed reduced levels of an autonomic indicator of stress (skin potential levels).
regions over
At the brain level they showed reduced gamma activity over frontal brain compared to controls. Gamma activity frontal regions in controls is reflective of increased focused arousal in relation to the emotional involvement.
These findings provide pioneering neurophysiological evidence for the claim that long -term effects leads to greater emotional stability reduced emotional reactivity and greater resilience to stressful stimuli.
12
Effects of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on personality A study (Aftanas & Golocheikin 2005) published in the International Journal of Neuroscience compared 25 meditators of Sahaja Yoga to a group of 25 comparison subjects who did not practice Meditation on a range of trait personality measures. The long -term Meditators scored significantly lower in personality features of anxiety, neuroticism, psychoticism, and depression and scored higher in emotion recognition and expression.
This suggests that long-term Meditation practice is associated with higher psychoemotional stability and better emotional skills.
Effects of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on General Health A study conducted in a large number of over 350 SY Meditators in Australia showed that long-term meditators had better mental and general health than the Australian population. The study compared scores on a general health questionnaire between the SYM meditators and the average scores of the Australian population. The long-term SY meditators had significantly better general and mental health than the Australian average. Moreover, the study showed that the frequency of achieving the state of mental silence was directly associated with the health benefits. Thus, the meditators who achieved the state of mental health several times a day had the most health benefits, while those who achieved the state of thoughtless awareness only once a month or less had no benefit compared to the Australian average. This suggests that it is the state of mental silence that causes health benefits. This also means that meditation techniques that only lead to relaxation and do not train the practitioner to achieve the state of mental silence most likely have no health benefits (Manocha et al., 2012).
13
Mental Health subscale score for each category of frequency of mental silence (thoughtless awareness) experience. The first 3 columns represent significantly higher scores in long term meditators compared to the average Australian population.
Effects of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on State and Trait Anxiety A study (Hackl 1995) conducted at the University of Vienna found a significant beneficial effect of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on state and trait anxiety in healthy adults. A group of 37 adults was taught Sahaja Yoga Meditation for 8 weeks and compared to a group of 32 adults who received no intervention and a group of 32 adults who had to listen to music of Mozart. The group who received Meditation showed a significant reduction in their levels of state and of trait anxiety compared to both controls and to the group that listene d to Mozart. a: State anxiety
b. Trait anxiety
14
Effects of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on Depression A study conducted at the University of Exeter, UK, showed that Sahaja Yoga Meditation has a beneficial therapeutic effect on the symptoms of patients wi th depression and anxiety (Morgan et al., 2000). 24 patients with depression & anxiety were divided into three groups: a group receiving Sahaja Yoga Meditation over 6 weeks, a group receiving the conventional behavioural treatment for depression, i.e. cognitive behavioural therapy and a control group that received no treatment. The group treated with Sahaja Yoga Meditation compared to the non-treated group showed a statistically significant reduction in the symptoms of anxiety, depression and general mental health. At a trend level the Sahaja Yoga Meditation group also showed improvements compared to the group treated with CBT.
The study shows that Sahaja Yoga Meditation has a significant effect on improving the symptoms of anxiety and depression, which was more pronounced than the conventional behavioural treatment for the disorder.
15
Sahaja Yoga Meditation as a family treatment programme for children with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
A study [conducted in Australia, at the Natural Therapies Research Unit, at the Royal Hospital for Women in Sydney, and in collaboration with the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK, showed significant improvement of the symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (Harrison et al., 2004). ADHD is a disorder that develops in childhood and is characterised by problems of attention, impulsiveness and hyperactivity. The treatment of choice in ADHD is the administration of stimulant medication. However, there are side effects, there is concern about the unknown long-term effects of stimulants on brain development and there is evidence for limited long-term effectiveness. For these reasons parents, patients and clinicians prefer non-pharmacological treatment and there is a search for effective alternative non-pharmacological treatment options. 26 children with ADHD, aged between 4 and 12, were treated for 6 weeks with Sahaja Yoga Meditation adjunctive to their usual treatment (i.e. some of them were receiving stimulant Medication) and then compared to a waiting list control group who received no treatment. Children with ADHD who learned how to meditate compared to the waiting list control group showed a significant reduction of the main symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsiveness and inattention.
Other, secondary benefits were an improved child-parent relationship and enhanced self-esteem in children.
This reduction of symptoms was observed equally in medicated and non-medicated patients.
16
Furthermore, of the children who were treated with stimulant Medication, over 50% either discontinued or reduced their stimulant medication but still improved in their symptoms.
The children improved in their behaviour at home and at school.
This pioneering study suggests that Meditation is clearly a promising nonpharmacological treatment option for children with ADHD that needs to be further explored.
17
Effects of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on drug abuse A study (Hackl 1995( conducted at the University of Vienna by Dr Hackl showed highly significant effects of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on drug consumption. The study used a retrospective questionnaire in 501 Meditators of Sahaja Yoga of which 268 people had used drugs before starting with the meditati ve practice. The retrospective questionnaire showed that 97% of chronic drug consumers stopped taking drugs, most of them at the beginning of the Meditation practice, i.e. 42% after the first week of meditation, 32% after the first months (Hackl, 1995).
18
A reduction of drug consumption was observed both for heavy and light users: a) Light users
b) Heavy users
19
In 93% of cases, the duration of abstinence could be assessed, that lasted for several years.
The study thus shows that Sahaja Yoga Meditation is associated with a significant and lasting effect of on drug consumption and drug abuse.
Effects of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on Epilepsy One of the most consistent findings in the Meditation literature is the effectiveness of Sahaja Yoga Meditation in Epilepsy. A series of studies (Gupta et al., 1991, Panjwani et al., 1995, 1996, 2000, Yardi, 2001) have shown significant reductions of the number of seizures in patients with epilepsy of up to 86% after 6 months of treatment with Sahaja Yoga Meditation compared to sham Meditation. Sahaja Yoga Meditation elicited a reduction in seizures of 65% 20
after 3 months and of 86% after 6 months. The sham meditation condition or the nontreatment condition was not associated with significant changes over 6 months. In addition, there was also a reduction of stress-related physiological indicators only in those patients treated with Sahaja Yoga Meditation.
An increase in skin resistance indicating decreased sympathetic activity (more relaxation). A reduction in blood lactate indicating less anxiety A reduction in Vanillil Mandelic Acid (VMA), indicating reduced stress levels.
The authors argue that the reduction in stress following Sahaja Yoga practice may be responsible for the clinical improvement of their epilepsy.
21
Effects of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on Asthma Given the effects of Mediation on reducing sympathetic activity and respiratory rates, several studies (Chugh, 1997, Manocha et al., 2002) have investigated whether Sahaja Yoga meditation would have an effect on respiratory diseases. A study conducted at the Natural Therapies Unit of the Royal Hospital for women, in Sydney, Australia, showed a significant beneficial effect of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on Asthma patients who were resistant to steroids (Manocha et al., 2000). 47 patients with severe asthma were randomly allocated to two groups: one group received Sahaja Yoga Meditation treatment (21 patients), the other group received general relaxation treatment (26 patients), both conducted over 4 months and involving a 2 hour session. The Sahaja Yoga Meditation group showed a significant reduction in the severity of asthma as measured in airway-hyper-responsiveness in response to chemical challenge (an objective indicator of the severity of asthma) compared to the control group who received relaxation.
In addition there was an increase in the subjective ratings of mood.
Similar findings were observed previously in a smaller trial using the same meditation technique (Chugh et al., 1997).
22
Effects of Sahaja Yoga Meditation on menopausal symptoms A study conducted at the Sydney Menopause Centre, Royal Hospital for Women, Australia, showed that Sahaja Yoga Meditation is effective as treatment for menopausal symptoms. Sahaja Yoga Meditation was taught for 8 weeks, twice weekly, in 10 women with menopausal symptoms instead of the more traditional treatment of hormone replacement therapy for the management of menopausal hot flushes (Manocha et al., 2007). The average improvement after Sahaja Yoga Meditation training was similar to that expected from hormone replacement therapy and similar or better than that of other behavioural treatments such as cognitive behavioural therapy. Improvements were observed in the frequency of hot flushes, which were reduced to 67% below the baseline frequency rate. At follow up, it was still 57% below baseline (a reduction in hot flashes frequency of 50% is considered an improvement). Significant improvements also occurred in a Climacteric Scale, the Menopause Quality of Life Questionnaire, and both State and Trait Anxiety subscales.
Meditation is an attractive option for women with menopausal symptoms because they prefer non-pharmacological treatments, thereby avoiding the risks and side effects of hormone replacement therapy.
23
References: Aftanas LI, Golocheikine SA. (2001): Human anterior and frontal midline theta and lower alpha reflect emotionally positive state and internalized attention: high-resolution EEG investigation of meditation. Neuroscience Letters 310(1):57-60. Aftanas LI, Golocheikine SA. (2002): Non-linear dynamic complexity of the human EEG during meditation. Neuroscience Letters 330: 143-146. Aftanas LI, Golosheikin S.A. (2003): Changes in cortical activity in altered states of consciousness: the study of meditation by high-resolution EEG. Human Physiology 29(2):143-151 Aftanas L, Golosheykin S. (2005): Impact of regular meditation practice on EEG activity at rest and during evoked negative emotions. International Journal of Neuroscience 115(6):893-909. Chugh D. (1997): The effects of Sahaja Yoga in bronchial asthma and essential hypertension. New Delhi Medicos 13(5):46-47. Gupta H, Dudani U, Singh SH, Surange SG, Selvamurthy W. (1991): Sahaja Yoga in the management of intractable epileptics. Journal of Association of Physicians of India39(8):649. Hackl, W. The effect of Sahaja Yoga on drug consumption. Die Auswirkungen von Sahaja Yoga auf das Drogenkonsumverhalten. Doctoral thesis submitted to the University in Vienna, 1995. Harrison, L., Rubia, K., Manocha, R. (2003) Sahaja Yoga Meditation as a Family Treatment Program for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Children. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 9 (4), 479-497. Hernandez, S, Suero J, Rubia K, Gonzalez-Mora (2015) Monitoring the Neural Activity of the State of Mental Silence While Practicing Sahaja Yoga Meditation. Journal of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine, 21, 3, 175–179. Manocha R, Marks GB, Kennhington P, Peters D, Salome CM. (2002): Sahaia yoga in the management of moderate to severe asthma: a randomised controlled trial. Thorax 57(2):110-115. Manocha R, Black D, Wilson L. (2012) Quality of life and functional health status of long-term meditators. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012: 350674 Manocha R, Black D, Spiro D, Ryan J, Stough C (2010) Changing Definitions of Meditation- Is there a Physiological Corollary? Skin temperature changes of a mental silence orientated form of meditation compared to rest. Journal of the International Society of Life Information Science (ISLIS) 28 (1): 23-31. Manocha R, Semmar B, Black D (2014) A Pilot Study of a Mental Silence Form of Meditation for Women in Perimenopause. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 14, 3: 266-273. Mishra R, Barlas C, Barone D. (1993): Plasma beta endorphin levels in humans: effect of Sahaja Yoga. Paper presented at the "Medical Aspects of Sahaja Yoga", Medical conference, held in New Delhi India, 1993. Morgan A. (2001): Sahaja Yoga: An ancient path to modern mental health? Transpersonal Psychology. Transpersonal Psychology Review 4:41-49.
24
Rai, U.C., Seti, S., Singh, S.H., 1988. Some effects of Sahaja Yoga and its role in the prevention of stress disorders. Journal of International Medical Sciences, 1923. Panjwani U, Gupta H, Singh SH, Selvamurthy W, Rai UC. (1995): Effect of Sahaja Yoga practice on stress management in patients of epilepsy. Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology 39:111-116. Panjwani U, Selvamurthy W, Singh SH, Gupta HL, Thakur L, Rai UC. (1996): Effect of Sahaja yoga practice on seizure control and EEG changes in patients of epilepsy. Indian Journal of Medical Research 103:165-172. Panjwani U, Selvamurthy W, Singh SH, Gupta HL, Mukhopadhyay S, Thakur L. (2000): Effect of Sahaja yoga meditation on Auditory Evoked Potentials (AEP) and Visual Contrast Sensitivity (VCS) in epileptics. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback 25(1):1-12. Yardi N. (2001): Yoga for control of epilepsy. Seizure -European Journal of Epilepsy 10(1):7-12.
For review see: Rubia K (2009) The Neurobiology of Meditation and its clinical effectiveness in psychiatric disorders. Biological Psychology, 82, 1–11.
25
