Health benefits through Sahaja Yoga

[Guest guest]

The psychological benefits of thoughtless awareness through Sahaja

Yoga

 

Meditation cannot be deemed to be authentic if it does not lead to

the experience of the fourth or Turyiya state, i.e.'thoughtlessness'

or thoughtless awareness. Meditation refers to an exercise where the

thinking mind is relaxed and silenced so that the gap between

thoughts is progressively widened. When in meditation we enter this

gap between two thoughts, we enter a space of absolute presence, of

present silence, of thoughtless awareness. This state is

fundamentally different to the normal thinking state, where the

content of our thoughts is always either the future or the past, but

never the present.

 

Stress is caused by the thinking brain, either through thinking

excessively about past experiences (causing trauma or experientially

causal psychological problems) or worries about the future (future

related feelings of stress). The 'here and now' state which comes

from the practice of an authentic meditation leads to a witness

state, where past or present life events, future worries and

problems are perceived from a detached perspective, the perspective

of the observer. Problems can be dealt with in a much more effective

way from this distant and detached perspective than from the usual,

emotionally involved, state of mind.

 

This detached state of mind, that is concomitant to the mystical

meditative experience, has been denominated by western philosophers

as 'serenity' or 'ataraxia' (the Greek word for a state of joyful

indifference). It refers to a state that lies beyond the short-lived

experiences of happiness or unhappiness, a state of ever-lasting

serene joyfulness and detachment. It is this state of joyful

detachment that makes true yoga a path towards freedom from

suffering.

 

Relaxing the thinking brain through meditation by entering the space

of the present, the 'here and now', even if it is only for a few

minutes a day, has been shown to have numerous beneficial effects to

our health and physiological system. At a subjective level, this

state of thoughtless awareness is experienced as highly peaceful,

pleasant and relaxing. Questionnaires on quality of life have indeed

shown that people meditating with Sahaja Yoga show a significant

improvement in their quality of life (link: article: Spiro, 1996).

 

The physiological benefits of thoughtless awareness through Sahaja

Yoga

 

At a physiological level, the state of thoughtless awareness has

been shown to have numerous beneficial effects, especially on the

parasympathetic and limbic systems. According to traditional yoga,

there are seven energy centres in the body called Chakras, which

correspond to the seven nerve plexuses: the pelvic autonomic plexus

(Mooladhara Chakra), the aortic plexus (Swadhistana Chakra), the

coeliac plexus (Nabhi Chakra), the cardiac plexus (Heart Chakra),

the cervical plexus (Vishuddhi Chakra), and the optic chiasma (Agnya

Chakra): (links to chakras.ppt?)The seventh energy centre is the

limbic system of the brain, which consists of seven nerve nuclei

which contains and integrates the control centers of the other six

energy centers. (link to limbic.gif).

 

In the limbic system all of the six Chakras form this final

integrative Chakra, the Sahasrara Chakra. Every Chakra thus has its

corresponding alternative location at a particular location in the

brain, which controls that particular energy center. Every one of

these energy centers looks after the physical organs surrounding it,

but is also responsible for the psychological processes which are

connected to particular body organs. By using yoga mediation to

energize this subtle system, which links both psychological and

physiological properties, the body, brain and the mind become

closely integrated.

 

This view of bi-directional interrelationships between body and mind

is very different to the still prevalent Cartesian dualism of body

and mind in our traditional western medicine, and can help to

overcome conventional problems in defining the relationship between

psychological and physiological processes. Physical damage to one of

the Chakras in the body can have an effect on the controlling center

of that Chakra in the brain (leading to concomitant psychological

effects). These psychological problems can thereupon lead to

psychosomatic disorders, which will manifest themselves in

particular via those physical organs which are being controlled by

the relevant regions of the brain.

 

Therefore, in yoga, body and mind are one, and are connected by this

subtle energy system, which consists of many feedback loops between

body energy centers and the energy centers of the brain. At the

microscopic level, almost every receptor of every single cell in the

body or the brain is folded in seven spanning loops (link to picture

of seven spanning loops: Gilman, 1987, Dohlman, 1987, Fraser, 1991).

This particular characteristic of all receptor types has again been

postulated to be related to the seven energy centers in the body,

reflecting mini-Chakras at the cell level (Mishra et al., 1989).

 

During a Sahaja Yoga meditation, a spiritual energy called the

Kundalini, a coiled energy that resides at the base of the spine,

raises through all the six centers of the body and enters the

seventh center, the Sahasrara located within the limbic system. This

energetic process of ascent activates and nourishes the

parasympathetic nervous system, which in turn relaxes our bodily

functions. It also gently nourishes the limbic system, the emotional

and motivational center of the brain, which again relaxes the brain

by reducing thinking functions. This parasympathetic-limbic

activation is the underlying neurophysiological substrate of the

enrichment of body and mind in Sahaja Yoga meditation.

 

Sahaja Yoga (SY) meditation thus claims to activate the

parasympathetic-limbic pathway that relaxes body and mind (link to

parasympathetic.ppt). According to this traditional yoga, the

sympathetic nervous system is divided into a right-sided channel,

which is predominantly coordinated by the left prefrontal part of

the brain, and a left-sided sympathetic nervous system which is

coordinated by the right hemispheric posterior parts of the brain

(picture of Yin/Yang and brain). In our day to day lives we usually

oscillate between these two 'functions of action' (activation of

left prefrontal systems for action/thinking/future-planning/fight)

and 'functions of inhibition' or retrieval (activating more

posterior parts of the right hemisphere of the brain for inhibitory

functions/memory/depression/flight).

 

This division of the sympathetic nervous system into 'fight and

flight' mechanisms, with its different representation in the two

sides of the cerebral hemispheres, is fundamentally in line with

evidence from modern western neuroscience. In meditation, the

parasympathetic nervous system is being activated, which, unlike the

body-activating sympathetic nervous system, is responsible for

bodily nourishment and recuperative functions, such as resting and

restoration. The parasympathetic-limbic activation achieved through

the meditation relaxes us by bringing us " into the center " : the two

opposing sympathetic functions are therefore synthesized into

perfect balance and harmony with each other, giving us a more

balanced personality.

 

Alterations in physiological parameters during Sahaja Yoga meditation

The relaxed state which one experiences subjectively in meditation

is in fact accompanied by alterations in those physiological

parameters which have traditionally been related to stress.

At the level of the physical body a series of physiological

parameters have been shown to change after several weeks of SY

meditation, supporting this postulated activation of the para-

sympathetic nervous system.

 

1) Dilatation of pupils: The pupils of the eyes dilate, a sign of

parasympathetic activation (Rai, 1993).

 

2) Decrease of pulse rate (Rai, 1993, Rai et al., 1988; link to Rai

et al., 1998, 1997)

 

3) Decrease of the heart and respiratory rates (Rai, 1993, Rai et

al., 1988, 1997)

 

4) Decrease in urinary homovanillic mandelic acid (Rai et al., 1988,

1997, Chugh et al., 1987, 1997)

 

5) Decrease of systolic blood pressure (Rai et al., 1998, Chugh,

1997)

 

6) Decrease in blood lactic acid (Rai et al., 1988, 1997, Chugh,

1997)

 

7) Increase in galvanic skin response (measure of decreasing

sympathetic nervous activity) (Rai et al., 1991, 1988, 1997).

 

8) Decrease in the temperature in palm of hands and on top of the

head, correlating with the experience of thoughtless awareness (Rai

et al., 1991, 1988, 1993).

 

9) Increase in beta-endorphins: An interesting psychopharmacological

study by Mishra et al. (1993; link to Mishra) from the McMaster's

University in Canada, showed a 70% increase in plasma beta-

endorphins in male subjects after SY meditation. The endogeneous

opiates, b-endorphins, are known to have a role in body homeostasis.

They strengthen the immune system, and are involved in the

maintenance of a healthy psychological functioning. They can even

combat cancer cells, which could explain so-called 'miraculous

cures' in cancer patients after the practice of Yoga meditation.

All these measures indicate an increase in parasympathetic

activation and a decrease in sympathetic dominance. Most of these

parameters are typically elevated during stress, which is a

manifestation of increased sympathetic activity.

 

Alterations in brain activation during Meditation

 

The electro-physiological activity of the brain changes through

prolonged practice of Sahaja yoga mediation from typical fast waves

during normal consciousness to a state of slow waves, similar but

not identical to the sleep state (Matsuoka et al., 1990, Aftanas et

al., 2001; link to Aftanas). The slow waves (the so called theta

waves) are thought to be formed by the limbic system, which it is

believed is activated during Sahaja Yoga meditation. Likewise,

studies using high resolution brain imaging have shown that during

meditation, activity in the frontal and other cortical brain regions

(thought to be the areas that originate thought processes) are

reduced, while activity in the limbic brain areas increases,

especially in the hippocampus (Lou et al., 1999, Lazar et al.,

2000), an area associated with the stress hormone cortisol.

 

The limbic system regulates emotion and motivation. It has

traditionally been considered an evolutionarily lower brain centre

than the cortex, which is responsible for higher level cognitive

functions. However, the limbic system is essential for regulating

our individual drives. Without this motivation no cognitive

functions would be possible. Indeed, depressed patients, for

example, with their lack of drive due to abnormal activation of the

limbic system, suffer from cognitive and attentional dysfunctions.

Without the battery, i.e. the emotional and motivational centre of

the brain, all other functions the brain is capable of are bereft of

their motivational charge and ultimately can not unfold to their

full potential.

 

Meditation with its relaxation of the body and limbic system,

provides the necessary energy sources for a full potential of

cognitive functioning. Only when we are fully relaxed, motivated,

satisfied and full of energy can we truly activate our full

potential, whether it is cognitive or artistic. Interestingly,

another brain region that appears to undergo increased activation as

a result of meditation is the hippocampus, which is linked to the

stress-related hypothalamus-pituitary-axis. Patients with post-

traumatic stress disorder or depression show a reduced size in their

hippocampi that may be related to increased stress-induced corticol

levels (Bremner et al., 1998, 1999). An increase in hippocampus

activation may thus be another indicator of stress reduction through

meditation. Thoughts can indeed have a corresponding reaction at the

physiological level. Anger, for example, has been shown to raise

pulse rates and blood pressure and can even tear blood vessels,

leading to heart infarction (Williams, 2001).

 

The therapeutic effect of SY meditation on disease processes

Several studies are being currently undertaken in Australia, Russia,

India and the UK to show the therapeutic effect of SY on several

physiological and mental diseases and disorders. The studies so far

published have shown that :

 

1) Epilepsy: Several months of Sahaja yoga meditation reduces the

number and the duration of epileptic attacks in patients with

epilepsy. It has also been shown to improve the clinical electro-

encephalographic pattern of epileptic brain activation (Rai, 1993,

Panjwani et al., 1995, Usha, 1991, Gupta et al., 1991 (link to

Gupta), Yardi et al., 2001)

 

2) Asthma: Patients with asthma and with hypertension have been

shown to significantly improve with SY meditation. The improvement

relate to a significant reduction in the number of acute asthma

attacks and an improvement in\ their lung function (Manocha et al.,

2000, Rai, 1993, Chugh, 1997).

 

3) Depression: A study in the UK has shown that several months of SY

meditation significantly reduced the depressive symptoms in patients

with major depression, as opposed to control patients treated only

with behavioral therapy (link to paper: Morgan et al., 2001).

 

4) Drug abuse: Sahaja Yoga meditation has been shown to have

impressive effects on reducing drug consumption in 501 drug abusers

treated for a year with Sahaja Yoga meditation at the University of

Vienna. 97% of chronic drug consumers stopped taking drugs, 42%

after the first week of meditation, 32% after the first months.

(Hackl, 1995).

 

5) Diabetes and Menopause: As yet unpublished studies from Melbourne

University in Australia have shown beneficial effects of Sahaja Yoga

meditation on diabetes and menopause. Details will be available in

the future.