Yoga And Meditation For Better Health Condition: Importance And Benefits.

 

How yoga, meditation benefit the mind and body?

Yoga and meditation have both become increasingly popular in the Western world, and practitioners praise their psychological and physical benefits. Current research also suggests that meditating and doing yoga can boost overall well-being and resilience to stress factors.

Increasingly, yoga practice and meditation have been the focus of research aiming to test their benefits. Recently, Medical News Today have reported on a wealth of studies pointing to many different advantages of yoga and meditation, including countering cognitive decline, acting on genetic factors that predispose individuals to stress, improving lower back pain, and easing depression.

A new paper published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience now shows that yoga and meditation appear to have a positive effect on the central nervous system as well as the immune system, and that it may improve the individuals’ overall sense of well-being.

The study – led by Dr. B Rael Cahn, from the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles – was part of a larger body of research addressing different approaches to promoting resilience.

Yoga and meditation may improve resilience

Dr. Cahn and team worked with some of the participants at a 3-month yoga and meditation retreat. At this retreat, the participants engaged in daily meditation and yoga practice, and they followed a vegetarian diet.

Of the 200 participants (both male and female), 98 volunteered to participate in tests measuring particular biomarkers. However, due to a lack of funding, only 38 volunteers (19 male and 19 female) underwent these assessments.

Additionally, due to circumstances that rendered some of the data unusable, biological samples collected from 26 of these volunteers were analyzed.

Many participants had previous experience of practicing yoga and meditation on a frequent basis, including Shoonya and Samyama meditation, Hatha yoga, and pranayama.

The participants were assessed both before and after participating in the yoga retreat. They had to undergo:

1. psychometric tests that collected data about their psychological well-beingTrusted Source, mindfulness, and psychological involvement.Trusted Source
2. measurements of the brain derived neurotrophic factorTrusted Source (BDNF), which is a protein that promotes the survival and growth of various nerve cells and is involved in immune response, metabolic regulation, and resilience to stress
3. assessment of the “cortisol awakening response” (CAR), which measured the secretion of cortisol, a hormone involved in the interaction between the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal gland (also known as the “HPA axis”)
4. measurements of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokineTrusted Source levels, which are involved in the functioning of the immune system

After analyzing the data, the team found that engagement in the yoga and meditation practices at the retreat was associated with decreased anxiety and depression levels – as reported by the participants – as well as with an increase in their level of mindfulness.

The Proven Health Benefits of Yoga and Meditation.

According to the National Institute of Health, 9.5% of Americans practice yoga. As yoga continues to grow, more studies are showing the mental and physical benefits. Yoga is a Sanskrit word meaning a “union of the body and mind.” Yoga combines the physical postures or asanas with the mental conscious breathing and the spiritual connection with universal consciousness.

Yoga has many physical benefits, including encouraging relaxation, increasing flexibility and strength, lowering blood pressure, and toning muscles. This practice has also been shown to alleviate arthritis and back pain and boost heart and mental health.

There are data that prove yoga's benefits. According to a randomized controlled trial at Johns Hopkins,1 2 groups of participants were assigned to a wait list or to twice-a-week yoga and an at-home yoga practice. After 8 weeks, the yoga group showed a significant reduction in pain as well as better moods, improved physical functions, and increased energy levels.

Research also shows that yoga affects cardiovascular health, lowering blood pressure and the heart rate. It may also improve quality of life in those with atrial fibrillation, a common heart rhythm disorder.2 Yoga and meditation help mitigate stress by decreasing activity in the sympathetic nervous system, otherwise known as the "fight or flight" response, which is typically responsible for constricting blood vessels and raising blood pressure and the heart rate.

Meditation practices can also improve one's mood and increase gray matter in the brain, aiding decision-making, reasoning, and self-control. Meditation also changes the neurology of the brain, helping transition beta waves (excitatory) to theta waves (relaxation), leading to a deeper awareness. A simple meditation to use to begin the transition from beta to the theta state is to focus on the breath. The breath and mind work in tandem, so as the breath begins to lengthen, brain waves begin to slow down.

In terms of mental health, research shows that practicing yoga increases the levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), an inhibitory neurotransmitter, in the brain. Low levels of GABA are associated with anxiety and depression. Numerous studies have shown improvements in mood in people with these conditions.