Meditation Pt. 1: Lasting Transformation
Origins and Benefits of Meditation
Some of the more traditional schools define meditation as the process of watching your own mind, of not trying to control it or fight with it. In other words, of remaining a witness without criticism, being compassionate.
By focusing on the present, you can observe your current state and the thoughts that arise in your head with the goal of, eventually, letting go of any associated feelings before they have a negative impact.
As mentioned in our previous post, in order to comply with what is going on in terms of common usage, we prefer to refer to mindfulness as a general way of being and doing things consciously- while meditation as a specific technique used to achieve a variety of results.
Where did meditation originate?
Interestingly, meditation has existed almost as long as has the human being. It has been inherent in our human and spiritual development as a species. In fact, prehistoric religions involved repetitive rhythmic chants, which today are called mantras.
Some of the earliest written records of meditation come from the Hindu traditions of Vedatism circa 1500 BC. It was only until around the 6th and 5th centuries BC that the Taoist and Buddhist forms of meditation, which we study closely today, were developed in China and India.
In the West, Philo of Alexandria wrote about a similar form of spiritual exercises in 20 BC. Similarly, there is evidence that Judaism inherited meditative practices. Eastern Christian meditation can be traced back to the Byzantine period, which involved the repetition of the Jesus prayer. Sufism, a form of Islamic mysticism, is hugely influenced by meditative practices.
Western Christian meditation progressed from the 6th century practice of Bible reading among Benedictine monks. However, the practice of repetition and focusing on the present got lost in Western Christianity in the latter part of the 6thcentury.
By the 18th century, the academic study of Buddhism and Hinduism began to reintroduce these practices in the West. However, only in the last few decades has the practice of mindfulness and meditation become widespread in the western world.
Why meditate?
The psychological and physical benefits of meditation have been studied for many years. In fact, the last few decades have seen an exponential rise in the creation of centers dedicated solely to this academic endeavor in the West. The Oxford mindfulness Centre and the University of Oxford was established in 2008, while Harvard’s Center for Wellness and Health Promotion focuses on holistic educational experiences. The American Mindfulness Research Association, founded in 2013, lists over sixty mindfulness research or training programs.
Professor Mark Williams, former director at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre, explains mindfulness as knowing what is going on inside and outside ourselves, moment by moment. “An important part of mindfulness is reconnecting with our bodies and the sensations they experience. Another important part is an awareness of our thoughts and feelings as they happen. When we do that it can positively change the way we see ourselves and our lives.”
So, what are the benefits?
Every year, as the scientific study of mindfulness grows, we discover new benefits of making this practice a habit in our lives.
The measurable benefits of mindfulness include:
Improved cognition, particularly as we age
Research has shown that meditation has positive effects on cognition in younger and middle-aged adults, and may be able to offset normal age-related cognitive decline or even enhance cognitive function in older adults. It has also shown to lessen hippocampal brain damage that leads to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Decreased negative behaviors related to addiction
Obesity related behaviors like binge eating or emotional eating are known to decrease and, in some cases, disappear using mindfulness based therapies. Mindfulness techniques have also been used to reduce dependency to smoking and other addictions effectively.
Reduced symptoms of stress and anxiety related to cancer
A number of studies have shown that the stress, anxiety and depression related to cancer are significantly reduced with mindfulness and meditation.
Cancer recovery
The Tom Baker Cancer Centre at the University of Calgary has been carrying out breakthrough research on mindfulness for the treatment of cancer and cancer recovery. Over 2,000 people have been through the yoga and meditation program at the center, in groups of 15 to 20 at a time.
It is well known now, as with aging, that mindfulness practice has a positive impact on telomere length, the protein complexes at the ends of chromosomes.
Mindfulness has a proven impact on a cellular level!
– Significant reduction of stress and pain intensity in patients with chronic pain.
– Improved intestinal function for people with gastrointestinal diseases.
– Improved immune system and decreased inflammation
A comprehensive review of randomized trials examining the effects of mindfulness on immune system parameters showed that there are clear effects on specific markers of inflammation, cell mediated immunity, and biological aging.
Improved mental health
Mindfulness has long been known to improve our mental health through the management and reduction of stress, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts and other mental health issues. In fact, a growing number of health systems across the globe are using mindfulness-based interventions to treat mental health. The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) has determined that these treatments are as or more effective than taking prescription drugs.
Improved brain function:
A number of studies have investigated changes in brain activation at rest and during specific tasks that are associated with the practice of, or that follow, training in mindfulness meditation. Evidence suggests that mindfulness might cause neuroplastic changes in the structure and function of brain regions involved in regulation of attention, emotion and self-awareness.
Research is still growing and we will be hearing about more and more benefits of mindfulness in the coming decades. What we do know now is that there are no reported disadvantages of practicing mindfulness, and there is increasing evidence of its benefits. So why not start creating this healthy habit today!
Resources:
Joseph, M. 1998, The effect of strong religious beliefs on coping with stress Stress Medicine. Vol 14(4), Oct 1998, 219-224.
The origin of Buddhist meditation by Alexander Wynne 2007 ISBN 0-415-42387-2 page 4
Zen Buddhism : a History: India and China by Heinrich Dumoulin, James W. Heisig, Paul F. Knitter 2005.
Christian Spirituality: A Historical Sketch by George Lane 2005
Oxford Mindfulness Centre, University of Oxford at http://oxfordmindfulness.org/
American Mindfulness Research Association
Gard, T., Hölzel, B. K., & Lazar, S. W. (2014). The potential effects of meditation on age-related cognitive decline: A systematic review. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1307(1), 89-103.
Larouche, E., Hudon, C., & Goulet, S. (2015). Potential benefits of mindfulness-based interventions in mild cognitive impairment and alzheimer’s disease: An interdisciplinary perspective. Behavioural Brain Research, 276, 199-212.
Katterman, S. N., Kleinman, B. M., Hood, M. M., Nackers, L. M., & Corsica, J. (2014). Mindfulness meditation as an intervention for binge eating, emotional eating, and weight loss: A systematic review. Eating Behaviors, 15(2),197-204.
O’Reilly, G. A., Cook, L., Spruijt-Metz, D., & Black, D. S. (2014). Mindfulness-based interventions for obesity-related eating behaviours: A literature review. Obesity Reviews, 15(6), 453-461.
Olson, K. L., & Emery, C. F. (2015). Mindfulness and weight loss: A systematic review. Psychosomatic Medicine, 77(1), 59-67.
Gong, H., Ni, C. X., Liu, Y. Z., Zhang, Y., Su, W. J., Lian, Y. J., . . . Jiang, C. L. (2016). Mindfulness meditation for insomnia: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 89, 1-6.
Ledesma, D., & Kumano, H. (2009). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and cancer: A meta-analysis. Psycho-oncology, 18(6), 571-79.
Piet, J., Würtzen, H., & Zachariae, R. (2012). The effect of mindfulness-based therapy on symptoms of anxiety and depression in adult cancer patients and survivors: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 80(6), 1007-20.
The Tom Baker Cancer Centre, University of Calgary at http://tbccintegrative.com/clinical-programs/mindfulness-based-stress-reduction (Previously functioning link).
Reiner, K., Tibi, L., & Lipsitz, J. D. (2013). Do mindfulness-based interventions reduce pain intensity? A critical review of the literature. Pain Medicine, 14(2), 230-42.
Abbott, R. A., Whear, R., Rodgers, L. R., Bethel, A., Thompson-Coon, J., Kuyken, W., . . . Dickens, C. (2014). Effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness based cognitive therapy in vascular disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 76(5), 341-351.
Aucoin, M., Lalonde-Parsi, M. J., & Cooley, K. (2014). Mindfulness-Based therapies in the treatment of functional gastrointestinal disorders: A meta-analysis. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, article ID 140724.
Simpson, R., Booth, J., Lawrence, M., Byrne, S., Mair, F., & Mercer, S. (2014). Mindfulness based interventions in multiple sclerosis-a systematic review. BMC Neurology, 14, 15.
Hilton, L., Hempel, S., Ewing, B. A., Apaydin, E., Xenakis, L., Newberry, S., . . . Maglione, M. A. (2016). Mindfulness meditation for chronic pain: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Annals of Behavioral Medicine.
Schutte, N. S., & Malouff, J. M. (2014). A meta-analytic review of the effects of mindfulness meditation on telomerase activity. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 42, 45-48.
UK National Health Service (NHS) at https://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/Pages/mindfulness.aspx
Tang, Y. Y., Hölzel, B. K., & Posner, M. I. (2015). The neuroscience of mindfulness meditation. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16(4), 213-225.
Lauche, R., Cramer, H., Dobos, G., Langhorst, J., & Schmidt, S. (2013). A systematic review and meta-analysis of mindfulness-based stress reduction for the fibromyalgia syndrome. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 75(6), 500-10.
