Mente Intuitiva: agosto 2010

terça-feira, 24 de agosto de 2010

meditation and life quality

OPTIMIZING LEARNING & QUALITY OF LIFE
THROUGHOUT THE LIFESPAN:
A Global Framework for Research & Application

Joseph Loizzo, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in Complementary & Integrative Medicine,
Cornell University College of Medicine
Visiting Scholar of Indo-Tibetan Studies,
Columbia University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
Founder and Director, Nalanda Institute for Meditation & Healing

Conference on Longevity
Co-Sponsored by The Complementary Care Center of Columbia Presbyterian Hospital
& Tibet House US at Menla Mountain Retreat, Phoenicia New York
September, 2006

Contact:
Joe Loizzo, Director
Nalanda Institute for Meditation & Healing
16 East 65th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10021
www.nalandameditation.org
joeloizzo@nalandameditation.org

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Background and Significance

Of all aspects of aging, none seems more crucial to human quality of life than the
preservation or decline of mental functioning.

This panel explores the new optimism about the aging mind-brain, touching on several promising lines of research in stress-reduction,learning enrichment and quality of life.

Previous panels have reviewed the growing evidence that the rate and quality of aging is not genetically fixed but subject to wide-ranging variation due to environmental, psychophysical and lifestyle factors (Sapolsky et al, 1986; Lesnikov & Pierpoali, 1994; Pierpaoli, 1998).

This variability is most dramatically illustrated by two complementary lines of research: McEwan’s work on the systemic effects of stress (Shulkin et al, 1994, 1998) and Pierpaoli’s work on the biology of regeneration (Pierpaoli et al, 1991, 1998, 2000; Bushell, 2005).

Not surprisingly, variability at the level of general physiology has been found to apply at the level of mental capacity, neural structure and function by two parallel lines of research in neuroscience and neuropsychiatry: Darnell’s work on the corrosive effects of traumatic stress on mind and brain (Darnell et al, 1994; Bremner et al. 1994; McEwan & Sapolsky, 1995) andRosensweig’s work on the environmental enrichment of neural plasticity and learning (Rosensweig & Bennet, 1996; Carney et al, 1999; Shimamura et al, 1995).

Previous panels have drawn attention to the existence of cultural traditions and practices meant to protect the mind and body from stress, trauma and illness and also
cultivate and replicate healing and rejuvenation.

Crucial to our focus in this panel is the fact that the ultimate application of the technology of self-regulation in these traditions is the preservation, rejuvenation and extension of mental capacity through contemplative methods of enriching plasticity (Skt. pra?rabdhi) and learning (adhi?i ya).

A growing body of findings from basic and clinical studies of various meditation techniques has given general support to traditional claims that contemplative practices help self-regulate and enhance mental functioning in the cognitive, affective and behavioral domains My own work has been on the rigorous and systematic methods of self-regulationpreserved in the Indian and Tibetan traditions (Loizzo & Blackhall, 1998; Loizzo, 2000).

While much of meditation research focuses on virtuouso practitioners, one of the great contributions of Indic traditions is the systematization and simplification of practice for public health and education (Carlson et al, 2003; Loizzo et al, 2006).

Thus my overview focuses on both basic research on virtuoso meditators as well as clinical research on methods of teaching novices and the general population.

In this way, I hope this panel will

not only elucidate the optimizing mechanisms and effects of contemplative practices but also show how contemplative lifestyles can be generally applied outside the lab or monastery, in mainstream clinical, business and educational contexts.

Research & Theoretical Framework

One way to summarize this brief overview is to say that recent physiological and

neuropsychiatric research has given us a picture of the relationship between aging and mental capacity far more complex and variable than previously thought.

The picture is

more complex because it challenges the conventional wisdom that aging and mental

decline are inexorably linked in a simple, linear progression, varying only in rate not

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overall curve or direction (Sapolsky et al, 1986; Frolkis, 1993; Eppel et al, 2004). It ismore variable because current research shows that external and internal factors may yield wide variations from psychoneural decline to enrichment (Mattson et al, 2002; Conboy et al, 2005); and because it also shows that such variation is possible in both synchronic and diachronic dimensions (Lesnikov & Pierpoali, 1994; Pierpoali, 1998; Bushell, 2005).

So

any comprehensive attempt to study or explain the relationship between mind/brain capacity and aging must seek a broad integration of a variety of research and theoreticalperspectives.

Also, given the cross-cultural scope of this conference, we have a further

burden in that any rigorous attempt to link Western research with Asian practices that may

advance basic science or clinical application requires a more or less coherent translation between widely divergent cultural paradigms of valid knowledge and method.

Over the years, I have developed an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural framework for
research and teaching in this challenging area (Loizzo, 2000).

This global framework assumes McEwan’s model of allostatic load as a measure of the wear-and-tear caused by consistent aversive stimulation and stress hormone exposure (Sapolsky et al, 1986; Shulkin et al, 1994).

Following McEwan, it applies that model to explain findings of cortical atrophy, decreased neurogenesis and declining function in mental disorders from trauma to depression as failures in adaptation to environmental challenges (Darnell et al, 1994;Bremner et al. 1994; McEwan & Sapolsky, 1995; Sheline et al, 1996).

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the framework assumes Rosensweig’s model of environmental enrichment

as a measure of the use-dependent increase in mind/brain function caused by consistent positive reinforcement and exposure to growth factors like melatonin (Rosensweig and Bennet, 1996; Obler & Fein, 1988; Csikszentmihalyi, 1990).

It then applies that model to Optimization

Loizzoexplain findings of cortical enlargement, increased neurogensis and enhanced function in

social learning contexts as successes in adaptation to environmental challenges

(Shimmamura et al, 1995; Bushell, 2001; Lazar et al, 2005; Fredrickson, 2005).

The framework links the two models by hypothesizing that they are limiting cases in a synchronic spectrum of mind/brain functioning that ranges in a biphasic continuum from the worst case of traumatic stress-reactivity to the best case of optimal learning and creativity (Lesnikov & Pierpoali, 1994; Ryff & Singer, 1998; Rosenkranz et al, 2003;

While these models describe a range of neurophysiology, they line up quite naturally with models that describe the spectrum from traumatic to optimal mental

functioning in terms of a corresponding range in neuropsychology.

Traumatic functioning has been linked with patterns of cognitive dissociation, aversive affect and stereotyped behavior (Shulkin et al, 1994; Morgan et al, 2004).

Since such patterns are not just the effects of aversive conditioning but also causative factors in the stabilization and

reinforcement of stress-reactive maladaptation, they figure in the framework as cognitive, affective and behavioral forms of allostatic resistance or drag. An extreme model of this mode of reactive neuropsychology is the short-circuiting of cortical processing by amygdalar startle circuits under conditions of experienced threat (Skuse et al, 2005).

A less complete dissociation, between verbal and non-verbal cortex, positive and negative affect,is normal in the ordinary waking state under perceived stress (Warrenburg & Pagano, 1983; Delmonte, 1995; Shapiro et al, 1997)

Both forms of processing offer models of how stress-reactive mental functioning defaults to an impoverished mode of automatic information processing with decreased attention and learning .

The opposite, enriched mode of neuropsychological functioning is linked with enlarged working memory,enhanced cognitive association, positive affect and behavioral spontaneity and creativity

Since such patterns are not just the effect of positive conditioning but also causative factors in stabilizing and reinforcing optimal adaptation, they figure in the framework as cognitive, affective and behavioral forms of allostatic facilitation or lift.

One research model of this neuropsychological mode is virtuoso musical processing, in which normally dissociated verbal and non-verbal

modules are linked in a network that gives musicians greater attention, recognition,

appreciation and mastery of musical processing (Limb et al, 2006). Here again, the framework hypothesizes that these two models represent limiting cases in a biphasiccontinuum of neurpyschological functioning.from stress-reactivity to optimal creativity.

An insight common to modern observers as early as Freud and ancients as far back as

Empedocles and Shakyamuni is that the stress-reactive and enriched growth modes of

mind/body function seem to be reciprocally inhibitory (Freud, 1923; MacLean, 1959;

Doidge, 1990; HH Dalai Lama, 1995; Loizzo, 2000).

In the dimension of comparative biology, this insight has prompted modern and

ancient observers to place their binary frameworks of stress or enrichment in the context of

an evolutionary view of human life (Doidge, 1990; McEvilley, 2002). Since the human

brain evolved as a hybrid of three successive mind/brains which take turns driving the

overall system, in stress or trauma higher systems default to a survival mode of worst-case

projection, defensive emotion & fight-flight reflexes run by the reptilian brain’s stress

response (MacLean, 1959; Panksepp, 1998). This primitive response appears to have been

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preserved as a conservative mode to protect mammals from predators in the wild (Bracha,

In contrast, the evolution of self-regulation is based on a complementary growth-

and-reproductive mode of reptilian brain function and involves the mammalian synergy

between enlarged cortex, enhanced social learning and greater safety and abundance

through cooperation. It reflects an enriched, abundance mode based in the biology of sex

and inhibiting the stress-based survival mode (Doidge, 1990; Panksepp, 1998). This mode

enhances fertility, nurturance, empathy and social learning, capitalizing on windows for

childrearing (Carter, 1998). It fosters an outlook of open curiosity; an emotional style of

trusting self-disclosure and behavioral style of conscious mind/body sensitivity, tending to

optimize higher mind/brain functioning (Panksepp, 1998).

The ability to switch from survival to abundance mode likely grew more crucial as

isolated periods of abundance gave way to stable agrarian surpluses and civilization.

Religious disciplines like contemplation seem to work by cultivating a natural, mammalian

capacity to disarm worst case defenses and reset the mind/brain for optimal social living

and learning (Thayer et al, 1994; Riff and Singer, 1998; Dietrich, 2003). Meditative and

therapeutic techniques like mindfulness, free-association and hypnosis share brain features

like greater functional coherence, more lateral cortical balance, better vertical integration

of neural systems & conscious regulation of unconscious processes (Davidson & Goleman,

1977; Rieser, 1984; Delmonte, 1987; Loizzo, 2000; Grant & Rainsville, 2005).

In sum, the human mind/brain combines three heterarchical systems of higher

intelligence, each of which works in one of two systems modes: a conservative, egocentric

mode heightening self-preservation and memory; and a generative, altruistic mode

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heightening self-correction and learning (Freud, 1923; Kandel & Schwartz, 1991;

Panksepp, 1998; Fredrickson, 2005). Cultural practices like meditation and psychotherapy

work in part by teaching the self-regulation of shifts in state of consciousness from the

former, reactive mode to the latter, generative mode (Block, 1977; Rieser, 1984; Doidge,

1990; Dietrich, 2003). This shift allows a shift from allostatic drag to allostatic lift,reducing wear-and-tear and enhancing optimization.

Practical Typology & Framework

While these general models and theories of optimizing mind/brain function must remain tentative and will no doubt need modification in light of future research, they provide at least a working basis for another piece of the puzzle. A rate-limiting step for the extension of research to humans and the application of findings to clinical challenges ism incorporating within the global framework a systematic, universal typology of cultural practices that permits their rigorous study and optimal application.

This procedural or clinical dimension of the global framework maps optimization

practices along a biphasic continuum starting with practices that reduce allostatic drag and

culminating in those that promote allostatic lift. Clinical practices meant to help overcome

blocks to optimal allostasis include stress-reduction and conventional dynamic and

cognitive therapies (West, 1987; Loizzo, 2000). Meditative techniques meant to do so

include low arousal practices like mindfulness meditation, TM and Hatha yoga (Wallace et al, 1971; ; Kabat-Zinn et al, 1992; Massion et al, 1995; Telles & Naveen, 1997). One model for these practices is Delmonte’s paradigm that free-association and mindfulness help heal traumatic stress reactivity by reducing cortical dissociation, hence facilitating the analysis of traumatic memories and affect stored in the non-verbal cortex (Delmonte,

1995).

Clinical practices meant to enhance positive factors of optimal allostasis include

alternative psychotherapies like existential, interpersonal and hypnotic therapies, as well as

unconventional forms of psychoanalysis (Loizzo, 2000). Meditative techniques intended to

do so include complex low arousal practices like Zazen and high arousal practices like Tibetan gTum-mo (Lesh, 1970; Benson et al, 1982, 1990; Kim et al, 2005).

One research model for these practices is the self-regulation of euphoric arousal in practitioners of gTum-mo meditation, Sahaja and Kundalini yoga (Benson et al, 1982, 1990; Corby, 1987; Shannahoff-Khalsa & Beckett, 1996).

Based on these assumptions, the global framework includes a comprehensive

typology of optimization practices that dovetails with current brain-based models of stress-

reactivity and learning as well as with traditional Indo-Tibetan models of meditative stress-reduction and learning enrichment (Loizzo, 2000). Informed by comparative evolutionary models of neural structure and function, the brain-based typology classes optimization practices according to whether they reduce stress-reactivity/enhance learning at the neocortical, limbic or core brain level. These are categorized as practices that optimize personal cognitive style, social emotional style and instinctive behavioral style, respectively.

Indic meditative typologies also assume a triune model of neural structure and function and class optimization techniques according to whether they overcome obstructions and enhance mental functioning at the level of individual, social and

instinctive behavior. In the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist tradition, they are viewed as belonging to three vehicles of contemplative life called the personal, social and process vehicles (skt.hinayana, mahayana, vajrayana) and conceived as progressive phases of a continuous pathof self-regulation and optimal human development that begins with psychopathology,moves through normal distress and culminates in an optimal mind/body state described as perfect, complete awakening (samyaksa buddhatva), unobstructed omniscience(anav?ra a-sarvajñ?t?) and unexcelled integration (anuttara-yuganaddha) (Thurman,

Consistent with the consensus of current health psychology and cognitive

neuroscience (Scherwitz et al, 1986; Shulkin et al, 1994), personal contemplative practices aim at overriding the self-referential, worst-case cognitive style that characterizes stress-reactive thinking, and at cultivating a self-critical, open-minded style that supports objectivity and reality-testing.

Examples are practices such as mindfulness, transcendental meditation (stages 1-2) and Hatha Yoga (Patanjali stages 1-4). As with free-association and

mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, the putative mechanism is to override stress-reactive dissociation of verbal processing and to equalize and enhance attention to both verbal and non-verbal processing, supporting the self-regulation and optimization of neocortical-thalamic learning systems of recognition and encoding. Research paradigms here include the findings of alpha coherence, increased cerebral blood flow, dopamine and GABA,increased neocortex, balanced cortical dominance, heightened attention and enhanced perceptual discrimination and problem-solving in mindfulness, TM (1-2) and Hatha yoga(Anand et al, 1961a; Dillbeck, 1982; Brown et al, 1984; Dillbeck & Vesley, 1986; Alexander et al, 1989; Fergusson, 1992; Jella & Shannahoff-Khalsa, 1993; Jevning at al, 1994; Elias et al, 2000; Tooley et al, 2000; Kjaer et al, 2002; Carlson, 2003, 2004; Harinath

et al, 2004; Lazar et al, 2005).

Consistent with current health psychology and affective neuroscience (Rosenkranz

et al, 2003), social contemplative practices aim at overriding the traumatic perceptual-emotional style that characterizes social stress-reactivity, and at cultivating a more trusting,sociable style that supports empathy and collaboration (Dietrich, 2003; Fredrickson, 2005).

Examples are practices such as insight-empathy meditation (Skt. vipasyana, Pali

vipassana), loving kindness (Pali metta), mind-clearing (Tib. blo-byong), Zazen, TM stage

3, Hindu Vedanta and Bhakti Yoga (Patañjali stages 5-6).

As with interpersonal anddialectical behavior therapy, the putative mechanism is to override post-traumatic

reactivity of frontolimbic processing and to equalize and enhance attention to negative and

positive emotional processing, supporting the self-regulation and optimization of

frontolimbic-hypothalamic learning systems of registration and motivation. Research

paradigms include findings of high frequency theta trains, increased dopamine, enhanced

lateral integration of limbic- processing, increased growth of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

in contemplative insight-compassion meditators (Kazumatsu and Harai, 1966; Lesh, 1970;

Emavardana & Tori, 1997; Easterlin & Cardena, 1998; Gackenbach, 1998; Kubota et al,

2001; Walde et al, 2004; Grant & Rainville, 2005; Lutz et al 2004) as well as the long-term

prosocial change in personality style in euphoric TLE (Persinger, 1984, 1993; Bear et al,

1985; Fieve, 1997).

Consistent with current health psychology and behavioral neuroscience (Shulkin et

al, 1994; Mattson et al, 2002), instinctive contemplative practices aim at overriding the

fight-flight response style that characterizes behavioral stress-reactivity, and at cultivating

a disarming, love-growth response style that supports nurturance and creativity (Dietrich,

2003; Fredrickson, 2005). Examples are practices such as optimal integral process (Skt.

anuttarayogatantra), kindling (Skt. candali Tib. gtum-mo), TM Siddhi (stage 4-5), Ananda

Marga, Sahaja Yoga, Kundalini Yoga (Patañjali stages 7-8) and Qi-gong. As with imagery

therapies and visualization-and-breath-based self-healing (Loizzo et al, 2006), the putative

mechanism is to override the instinctive stress reactivity of the core brain and to enhance

attentional control of fight-flight and love-growth responses, supporting self-regulation and

optimization of extrapyramidal-basal ganglia learning systems, i.e. rehearsal and

commitment. Research findings include fast beta or gamma frequencies in the EEG,

increases in endorphins, dopamine and arginine vasopressin, melatonin and DHEA, a

paradoxical pattern of high CNS arousal and muscular relaxation similar to REM sleep and

sexual response, a “heart-brain prep” pattern of centrally shunted blood flow and slowed

metabolism resembling that of hibernating, estivating and diving mammals (Das &

Gastaut, 1955; Anand et al, 1961a, 1961b; Hoenig, 1968; Kothari et al, 1973a, 1973b;

Corby et al, 1978; Benson et al, 1982, 1990; O’Halloran et al, 1985; Jedrczak et al, 1986;

Heller et al, 1987; Selvamurthy at al, 1988; Lui et al, 1990; Glaser et al, 1992; Shanhoff-

Kalsa & Beckett, 1996; Infante et al, 1998;Young & Taylor, 1998; Jones, 2001; Myamura

et al, 2002; Kjaer et al, 2002; Lutz et al, 2004).

Future Prospects for Research & Application

Given the interest all humans have in aging slowly and well, and given the primary

role mental capacity plays in quality of life, the importance of the topics addressed in this

panel should be clear. Also clear from even a cursory review of the field is that this is a

very exciting time for longevity research, when pessimistic assumptions are being

challenged by very encouraging findings in many areas. As if current research were not

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promising enough, this conference draws attention to the exciting possibility that a rapidly

advancing new science may be even further accelerated by contact with a time-tested non-

Western scientific tradition of promoting longevity and optimization. The very fact that

this may be true raises a number of complex issues of methodology that prudence requires

us to address, however briefly. Since these issues have been explored in prior panels on

methodology and scholarship, I trust it will suffice to say that the distance in theories and

methods between Western physical science and Indo-Tibetan meditative science is not as

great as that between Western science and Western religious contemplation. Instead, it is

closer to the distance between quantitative, physical science disciplines like neuroscience

and qualitative, intersubjective disciplines like hypnosis and psychotherapy (West, 1987;

Loizzo & Blackhall, 1998; Loizzo, 2000; Grant & Rainville, 2005). Further, the existence

of a time-tested and comprehensive tradition of mind/body theories and practices to

optimize longevity and mental capacity has enormous potential for speeding the work of

basic research and clinical application (Alexander et al, 1989; Thurman, 1995; Bushell,

On the basic science side, a cohort of systematically trained virtuoso subjects

promises to facilitate human studies of the mechanism and scope of self-regulation of

aging and mental capacity. On the clinical side, a comprehensive array of traditional

methods for teaching contemplative theories and practices for longevity and optimal

mental function to experts and the general public raises the possibility of more effective,

reproducible interventions in complementary medicine, mind/body medicine, public health

and education (Shapiro et al, 1998; Coker, 1999; Loizzo, 2000; Loizzo & Blackhall, 2001;

Weber et al, 2002; Walde et al, 2004; Loizzo et al, 2006). In particular, the Tibetan

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tradition is unique in preserving what may be the world’s most rigorous and

comprehensive systems for optimizing mental functioning as well as quality of living,

aging and dying. Most intriguing is the fact that these systems include ways of teaching a

variety of individuals of different inclinations and temperaments a variety of methods

suited to a variety of sustainable lifestyles (Thurman, 1995; Loizzo, 2000). Critical to

advancing this work is the adoption of a global, multi-disciplinary framework integrating

basic and clinical researchers in a wide range of fields with virtuoso practitioners and

scholars, clinicians and interventionists.

Beyond complementary medicine, another key area of where a global, systematic

approach to research and application is needed is business. Understanding and replicating

the optimization of mental function under stress would have obvious benefits for workers

and businesses caught in the structural tension between ever-rising expectations and ever-

mounting demands. Intersecting with optimizing health and well-being, optimizing mental

functioning at work has cognitive, affective and behavioral dimensions and involves the

whole range from stress-protection to enrichment of mental function. The limitations of

disease-management programs and personal coaching have become clear in recent research

and appear to overlap with those of conventional medicine and psychotherapy. A more

radical, complex and complete approach to the rate-limiting internal variables limiting

allostasis and optimal functioning promises to have greater impact on presenteesim, stress-

hardiness, motivation and productivity, commensurate with that seen in meditative

approaches to health. A whole new avenue of human studies is indicated here, and is

something we are pursing at Cornell.

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Finally, perhaps the most obvious application of research on optimization relates to

education. In almost all areas of American education, the philosophy and direction of

change is not just uninformed by current science but at odds with it. The trend towards

uniform standards, standardized testing and narrowing of academic aims and methods fliesin the face of recent findings on the genetic and acquired variability in learning, thedetriments of stress and the benefits of positive affect, and the sensitivity of learning tosocial and cultural environment.

Here too the existence of time-tested Indic traditions ofcontemplative learning, as preserved in Tibetan Buddhist monastic colleges, offers an invaluable paradigm for bringing Western education more in line with the contemporary science on learning, including optimization (Travis, 1979; Aron et al, 1981; Shapiro et al,1998; Tloczynski et al, 1998).

As the most fully elaborated and preserved form of the

ancient Buddhist academic tradition, the Tibetan curriculum offers a time-capsule of the

classical world’s most optimization-friendly approach to universal education (HH Dalai

Lama, 1995; Thurman, 1995).

In sum, contemporary research on aging holds out real promise for the preservation

and optimization of mental function throughout the lifespan. Equally compelling, the

growing collaboration between Western and Indo-Tibetan mind science shows real

promise for the acceleration of advancement in this area of vital importance to us all.

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Goldstein, E. D. (2007) Sacred moments: Implications on well-being and stress. Journal of Clinical. Psychology. 63: 1001–1019

Hochwarter, W. A., Meurs, J. A., Perrewe, P. L., Royle, M. T., & Matherly, T. A. (2007). The interactive effect of attention control and the perceptions of others’ entitlement behavior on job and health outcomes. Journal of Managerial Psychology , 22 (5), 506-528.

Kabat-Zinn, J., Massion, A. O., Kristeller, J., Peterson, L. G., Fletcher, K. E., Pbert, L., et al. (1992). Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 149, 936-943.

Kirshbaum, C., Wolf, O. T., & May, M. (1996). Stress and treatment-induced elevation of cortisol levels associated with impaired declarative memory in healthy adults. Life Science , 58 (17), 1475-1483.

Langer, E. J., & Piper, A. (1987). The prevention of mindlessness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 53, 280-287.

Medical, Research, & News. (2005, February 7). Mindfulness meditation helps relationships. Retrieved October 30, 2007, from News-Medical.Net: http://www.news-medical.net/?id=7660

Miller, J. J., Fletcher, K., & Kabat-Zinn, J. (1995). Three-year follow-up and clinical implications of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction intervention in the treatment of anxiety disorders. General Hospital Psychiatry , 17, 192-200.

Neff, K. D. (2003). Self-Compassion: An alternative conceptualization of a healthy attitude toward oneself. Self and Identity , 2, 85-101.

Neff, K. D. (2004). Self-compassion and psychological well-being. Constructivism in the Human Sciences , 9 (2), 27-37.

Neff, K. D., Hsieh, Y. & Dejitterat, K. (2005) Self-compassion, Achievement Goals, and Coping with Academic Failure. Self and Identity, 4: 263 – 287

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Orsillo, S. M., Roemer, L. & Barlow, D. H. (2003) Integrating Acceptance and Mindfulness Into Existing Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment for GAD: A Case Study. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice 10, 222-230,

Roemer, L. & Orsillo, S. M. (2002) Expanding our conceptualization of and treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Integrating Mindfulness/Acceptance-based approaches with existing cognitive-behavioral models. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice. 9 (1): 54-68

Rosenzweig, S., Reibel, D. K., Greeson, J. M., Brainard, G. C., & Hojat, M. (2002). Mindfulness-based stress reduction lowers psychological distress in medical students. Teaching and Learning in Medicine , 15 (2), 88-92.

Roth, B. & Robbins, D. (2004) Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Health-Related Quality of Life: Findings From a Bilingual Inner-City Patient Population. Psychosomatic Medicine 66:113–123.

Shapiro, S. L., Astin, J. A., Bishop, S. R., & Cordova, M. (2005). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for health care professionals: Results from a randomized trial. International Journal of Stress Management , 12 (2), 164-176.

Shapiro, S. L., Schwartz, G. E., & Bonner, G. (1998). Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on medical and premedical students. Journal of Behavioral Medicine , 21 (6), 581-599.

Speca, M., Carlson, L. E., Goodey, E., & Angen, M. (2000). A randomized, wait-list controlled clinical trial: The effect of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction program on mood and symptoms of stress in cancer outpatients. Psychosomatic Medicine , 62, 613-622.

Tacon, A. M., Caldera, Y. M., & Ronaghan, C. (2004). Mindfulness-based stress reduction in women with breast cancer. Families, Systems and Health , 22 (2), 193-203.

Tams, S. (2008) Constructing self-efficacy at work: a person-centered perspective. Personnel Review. 37 (2): 165-183

Teasdale, J. D., Moore, R. G., Hayhurst, H., Pope, M., Williams, S., & Segal, Z. V. (2002). Metacognitive awareness and prevention of relapse in depression: Empirical evidence. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology , 70 (2), 275-287.

Teasdale, J. D., Segal, Z. V., Williams, J. M., Ridgeway, V. A., Soulsby, J. M., & Lau, M. A. (2000). Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology , 68, 615–623.

Teasdale, J. D., Segal, Z. V. & Williams, J. M. G. (2003) Mindfulness Training and Problem Formulation. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2): 157-160.

Walsdorf, W. & Argus, B. (2006) Stress Management to Enhance Mental and Physical Energy in the Workplace.

Williams, J. M., Teasdale, J. D., Segal, Z. V. & Soulsby, J. (2000) Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy reduces overgeneral autobiographical memory in formerly depressed patients. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 109 (1): 150-155

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Physiological Links

Alexander, C. N., Langer, E. J., & Newman, R. I. (1989). Transcendental meditation, mindfulness, and longevity: An experimental study with the elderly. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 57 (6), 950-964.

Barnes, V. A., Davis, H. C., Murzynowski, J. B. & Treiber, F. A. (2004) Impact of Meditation on Resting and Ambulatory Blood Pressure and Heart Rate in Youth. Psychosomatic Medicine 66:909–914

Davidson, R. J., Kabat-Zinn, J., Schumacher, J., Rosenkranz, M., Muller, D., Santorelli, S. F., et al. (2003). Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Psychosomatic Medicine , 65 (4), 564-570.

Kabat-Zinn, J., Wheeler, E., Light, T., Skillings, A., Scharf, M. J., Cropley, T. G., et al. (1998). Influence of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction intervention on rates of skin clearing in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis undergoing phototherapy (UVB) and photochemotherapy (PUVA). Psychosomatic Medicine , 60 (5), 625-632.

Books & Book Chapters

Baer, R. A. (2006). Mindfulness-Based Treatment Approaches: Clinician's Guide to Evidence Base and Applications. London: Academic Press.

Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2004). Fostering healthy self-regulation from within and without: A self-determination theory. In P. A. Linley, & S. Joseph, Positive Psychology in Practice (pp. 105-124). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Guanaratana, B. H. (1990). Mindfulness in Plain English. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications

Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994) Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life. New York: Hyperion

Kabat-Zinn, M & Kabat-Zinn, J. (1997) Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting. New York: Hyperion

Kabat-Zinn, J. (2001) Mindfulness Meditation for Everyday Life. Piatkus

Langer, E. J. (1997). The power of mindful learning. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Langer, E. J. (2002). Well-being: Mindfulness versus positive evaluation. In C. R. Snyder, & S. J. Lopez, Handbook of Positive Psychology (pp. 214-230). New York: Oxford University Press.

Linehan, M. M. (1993). Skills Training Manual for Treating Borderline Personality Disorder. New York: Guildford Press.

Segal, Z. V., Williams, J. M., & Teasdale, J. D. (2002). Minfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression. New York: Thr Guildford Press.

Shapiro, S. L., Schwartz, G. E., & Santerre, C. (2005). Meditation and positive psychology. In C. R. Snyder, & S. J. Lopez, (Eds.) Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 632-645). New York: Oxford University Press.

Vessantara. (2005). The Art of Meditation: The Breath. Birmingham: Windhorse Publications.

Weick, K. E., & Sutcliffe, K. M. (2001). Managing the Unexpected: Assuring High Performance in an Age of Complexity. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

segunda-feira, 23 de agosto de 2010

meditaçâo

Meditação

Truly, the issue of aging has constantly left people in wonder and curiosity. In the middle of the 1970s, a new way to slow aging was introduced by a Harvard professor in his then newly published book-The Wonders of Meditation. Meditation involves psychological discipline in order to overlook one's conscious state of mind and focus on the subconscious state.

Contrary to what many think, meditation can be practiced in my different ways-while eating, walking, and while one is motionless. What is important is that the person meditating is in a quiet environment and has a point of focus while doing the meditation (toe, finger, knee, or anything stationary that the eyes can focus on.)

How Does Meditation Slow Aging?

The healing power of meditation does not confine itself to only spiritual and emotional benefits. Over the years, one eminent effect of meditation was its ability to slow aging. How? Through the fortification of the telomere.

You might now be asking yourself what is a telomere. Telomeres are the ends of a person's chromosomes that determine life's longevity. Research has proven that meditation reinforces and strengthens a person's telomeres therefore prolonging the age of one's cells. Healthy cells mean healthy living and longer life.

Although meditation can help slow a person's aging, there are some other tips that a person can observe in order to further strengthen telomeres on top of meditation:

Sleep

Getting enough sleep is important to supplement meditation. This will eventually aid the enhancing of the telomeres that can leave a person looking younger. The suggested amount of sleep a person should get every night is eight hours although research shows that four hours of sleep daily can be adequate for some people.

Socialize

Spend time with people you love being around. Another factor that slows aging is happiness and laughter. By being with friends and family, you are having a good time and making cherished moments that will make not only your heart young but also your face.

Exercise

Exercising, as many know, helps a person maintain a healthy heart and is ideal for overall good health. However, exercising also keeps a person's heart young. Increased blood flow means a good rate of metabolism, and a good rate of metabolism is a sure way to burn fat. Fat, when accumulated can cause effects that speed up aging.

Activities that calm

Participating in activities that have calming effects may also slow the aging process. Yoga, reading, poetry, only to mention a few are excellent activities that will boost the telomeres of the human chromosomes.

Aging is something that one should not fear. What is more concerning about getting older is the many health issues that await the human body. It is, therefore, a more reasonable concern to be mindful not only of one's outer looks, but also in one's health practices that will be responsible for long years of fruitful living.

Meditation along with some healthy habits such as resting well, socializing, exercising and keeping calm will not only promote good health, but will keep you looking and feeling young.

By: Emily Taggart

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Transcendental Stress Management, a Mantra-Based Meditation Program
Deepak Chopra, M.D. on the Benefits of Meditation

A mantra based meditation which includes the most important component: Learning how to use that mantra.

"The most significant health benefits of meditation are stress reduction, better sleep, lower blood pressure, improved cardiovascular function, improved immunity, and the ability to stay centered in the midst of all the turmoil that's going on around you. Meditation helps you do less and accomplish more."

"If you were to ask me what was the most important experience of my life, I would say it was learning to meditate. Meditation has been the key to the creativity, success and happiness I have enjoyed in my own life and it continues to be the most powerful healing tool we offer here at the Chopra Center."

"Although, as I've said, meditation is a spiritual journey reconnecting us with our true essential nature, in the West it has come to be thought of as a technique for stress-management. We are constantly being bombarded with stress from work or family pressures, environmental conditions, poor diet and lifestyle choices and a variety of other distractions, therefore releasing stress is essential for a healthy life. Meditation takes us from activity into silence, giving our body a very deep level of rest. Rest is how the body heals itself, which it does by throwing off the stress, fatigue and the toxins accumulated during our life. Thus meditation serves a twofold purpose: it gives us direct experience of our Spirit and in the process dissolves the impurities which are preventing Spirit from shining forth in our lives."

"As a young physician in the 1970's, I was attracted to meditation for two reasons, one personal, the other professional. The personal reason was the promise of inner growth, of reaching an expanded state of mental and spiritual development. The professional reason was the large body of research on meditation that established that this meditation was "real", that is, it produced tangible benefits.

Meditation is not forcing you mind to be quiet; it's finding the quiet that is already there. In fact, when you examine the background static of worry, resentment, wishful thinking, fantasy, unfulfilled hopes, and vague dreams in your head, it becomes clear that the internal dialogue going on inside is literally controlling us. Each of us is the victim of memory. That's how the Ayurvedic masters diagnosed it thousands of years ago.

Behind the screen of our internal dialogue, there is something entirely different: the silence of a mind that is not imprisoned by the past. That is the silence we want to bring into our awareness through meditation. Why is this important? Because silence is the birthplace of happiness. Silence is where we get out bursts of inspiration, our tender feelings of compassion and empathy, our sense of love. These are all delicate emotions and the chaotic roar of the internal dialogue easily drowns them out. But when you discover the silence in your mind, you no longer have to pay attention to all those random images that trigger worry, anger, and pain."

"The science of Yoga, in use for thousands of years in India, "unites the thinking mind with its source in pure awareness i.e., the quantum space, the silent, empty void that is the womb of all matter and energy that exists in the gap between thoughts; the unchanging background against which all mental activity takes place." Our minds are preoccupied with thoughts, wishes, dreams, fantasies, sensations and only Meditation "shows the mind its own origins in the quantum depths."

Dr Chopra claims that meditation lowers biological age. He writes, meditation is "based on the silent repetition of a specific sanskrit word, or mantra, whose sound vibrations gradually lead the mind out of its normal thinking process and into the silence that underlies thought."

Time Magazine heralded Deepak Chopra as one of the 100 heroes and icons of the century, and credited him as "the poet-prophet of alternative medicine." Entertainment Weekly described Deepak Chopra as "Hollywood's man of the moment, one of publishing's best-selling and most prolific self-help authors." He is the author of more than 50 books and more than 100 audio, video and CD-Rom titles. He has been published on every continent and in dozens of languages. Over a dozen of his books have landed on the New York Times Best-seller list. Toastmaster International recognized him as one of the top five outstanding speakers in the world. Through his over two decades of work since leaving his medical practice, Deepak continues to revolutionize common wisdom about the crucial connection between body, mind, spirit, and healing. His mission of "bridging the technological miracles of the west with the wisdom of the east" remains his thrust and provides the basis for his recognition as one of India's historically greatest ambassadors to the west. Chopra has been a keynote speaker at several academic institutions including Harvard Medical School, Harvard Business School, Harvard Divinity School, Kellogg School of Management, Stanford Business School and Wharton.

Note: Transcendental Stress Management® is a mantra based meditation program, a specific mantra meditation method that is taught by trained teachers. Learning how to meditate with a mantra also includes the most important component: Learning how to use that mantra. This requires several easy sessions. This enables every student to gain the ease and simplicity of meditation. There is the mantra and also how to use it properly, effortlessly.

The TSM technique allows your mind to settle inward, beyond thought, to experience the silent reservoir of energy, creativity and intelligence found within everyone—a natural state of restful alertness. During the practice, your brain functions with significantly greater coherence and your body gains deep rest.

Below are 2 separate lists of tips from Deepak Chopra, M.D. entitled The 10 Secrets of Longevity and The Ten Keys to Happiness.

Part 1

The Ten Keys to Happiness
Deepak Chopra - January 01, 2006
Physical well-being is inseparable from emotional well being. Happy people are healthy people. The wisdom traditions of the world tell us that happiness does not depend on what you have, but on who you are. As we begin the new year, it may be worthwhile to reflect on what really creates happiness in us. The following ten keys, gleaned from the wisdom traditions, may give us some insight.

1. Listen to your body's wisdom, which expresses itself through signals of comfort and discomfort. When choosing a certain behavior, ask your body, "How do you feel about this?" If your body sends a signal of physical or emotional distress, watch out. If your body sends a signal of comfort and eagerness, proceed.

2. Live in the present, for it is the only moment you have. Keep your attention on what is here and now; look for the fullness in every moment. Accept what comes to you totally and completely so that you can appreciate it, learn from it, and then let it go. The present is as it should be. It reflects infinite laws of Nature that have brought you this exact thought, this exact physical response. This moment is as it is because the universe is as it is. Don't struggle against the infinite scheme of things; instead, be at one with it.

3. Take time to be silent, to meditate, to quiet the internal dialogue. In moments of silence, realize that you are recontacting your source of pure awareness. Pay attention to your inner life so that you can be guided by intuition rather than externally imposed interpretations of what is or isn't good for you.

4. Relinquish your need for external approval. You alone are the judge of your worth, and your goal is to discover infinite worth in yourself, no matter what anyone else thinks. There is great freedom in this realization.

5. When you find yourself reacting with anger or opposition to any person or circumstance, realize that you are only struggling with yourself. Putting up resistance is the response of defenses created by old hurts. When you relinquish this anger, you will be healing yourself and cooperating with the flow of the universe.

6. Know that the world "out there" reflects your reality "in here." The people you react to most strongly, whether with love or hate, are projections of your inner world. What you most hate is what you most deny in yourself. What you most love is what you most wish for in yourself. Use the mirror of relationships to guide your evolution. The goal is total self-knowledge. When you achieve that, what you most want will automatically be there, and what you most dislike will disappear.

7. Shed the burden of judgment - you will feel much lighter. Judgment imposes right and wrong on situations that just are. Everything can be understood and forgiven, but when you judge, you cut off understanding and shut down the process of learning to love. In judging others, you reflect your lack of self-acceptance. Remember that every person you forgive adds to your self-love.

8. Don't contaminate your body with toxins, either through food, drink, or toxic emotions. Your body is more than a life-support system. It is the vehicle that will carry you on the journey of your evolution. The health of every cell directly contributes to your state of well being, because every cell is a point of awareness within the field of awareness that is you.

9. Replace fear-motivated behavior with love-motivated behavior. Fear is the product of memory, which dwells in the past. Remembering what hurt us before, we direct our energies toward making certain that an old hurt will not repeat itself. But trying to impose the past on the present will never wipe out the threat of being hurt. That happens only when you find the security of your own being, which is love. Motivated by the truth inside you, you can face any threat because your inner strength is invulnerable to fear.

10. Understand that the physical world is just a mirror of a deeper intelligence. Intelligence is the invisible organizer of all matter and energy, and since a portion of this intelligence resides in you, you share in the organizing power of the cosmos. Because you are inseparably linked to everything, you cannot afford to foul the planet's air and water. But at a deeper level, you cannot afford to live with a toxic mind, because every thought makes an impression on the whole field of intelligence. Living in balance and purity is the highest good for you and the Earth.

Part 2

10 Secrets of Longevity
Deepak Chopra, M.D.
Dr Deepak Chopra prescribes 10 simple rules for ageing with health and happiness in his "most optimistic book" Ageless Body, Timeless Mind - A Quantum alternative to growing old. Here's an interpretation:

1. Intake fresh food, eat frugally, drink wholesome liquids, abstain from stimulants and sedatives, and have a bowel movement once a day.

2. Maintain a high level of personal hygiene, get plenty of fresh air, sunlight and rest, have enjoyable leisure time, satisfying hobbies.

3. Exercise, meditate, practice balanced refined breathing (pranayam) and yoga, listen to the body's signal of comfort and discomfort.

4. Work for a happy marriage, long-term relationship, have ability to laugh easily and to make friends and keep close friends.

5. Choose a congenial occupation, go on vacation every year, be optimistic about the future, feel financially secure and live within means.

6. Develop an easygoing personality, cultivate nonviolent behavior, have reverence for life.

7. Live in temperate climate, enjoy a reasonable sex life, and get proper medical attention in case of illness.

8. Live in the present - accept what comes your way, appreciate it, learn from it and let go. Resisting the natural flow of things causes negative emotions.

9. Relinquish external approval, avoid being judgmental, replace fear-motivated behavior with love-motivated one, nurture positive emotions and express them freely.

10. Always know the world outside is a reflection of your deeper intelligence - the real "you" is within.

To continue, please click on Benefits at the top of the page.

Transcendental Stress Management, a Mantra-Based Meditation Program

Longevity, Anti Aging Meditation Research

Longevity, Anti Aging Meditation Research

Anti Aging and Longevity Facts:

Forget the fads! There are four longevity solutions that have withstood the test of time:

1.) Getting Enough Exercise

When it comes to anti aging, exercise is one of the most interesting recommendations given. Because, on the one hand, exercise increases the metabolism and speeds up many of the processes that cause aging (for this reason continuous, extremely heavy, exercise is not recommended for longevity).

Moderate excise on the other hand has proven to be essential for both longevity and keeping the body looking young. For maximum longevity a variety of types of exercise are recommended. Strength training is recommended for keeping the bones strong, and the body toned. While cardiovascular training helps to keep the heart strong and the blood flowing normally.

2.) The Transcendental Meditation Program

The Transcendental Meditation Program is listed here because it has been proven to reduce mortalities during a 17 year longitudinal study . In other words, there is conclusive evidence that people live longer when they practice Transcendental Meditation.

As well as keeping people alive longer, the Transcendental Meditation Program also helps to improve many aspects of the physiology that normally degrade with age. Research has shown that practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation Technique are particularly less susceptible to stress related conditions like high blood pressure, weight gain, and depression.

Most interesting however is a new study showing that long term practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation Program actually have lower levels of free radicals*.

The chart below shows free radicals measured in three different groups; practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation Program, practitioners of other meditation programs, and people not practicing meditation at all.

Practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation Program showed a significant decrease in free radicals at each area measured. Practitioners of other meditation techniques also showed consistently decreased free radicals, although not to the same degree.
* Most aging theories agree that free radicals are one of the fundamental causes of aging, if not the primary cause of aging.

3.) Eating the Right Diet.

There is a certain amount of controversy over what exactly is the best diet to keep you young, but there are several dietary guidelines that almost everybody agrees upon, and have been proven over time to reduce aging, these are:

Eat a diet high in a broad range of antioxidants and free radical scavengers**. Foods that include high levels of free radical scavengers(antioxidants) include: beans, olive oil, citrus fruits, and broccoli.

There are of course many other good sources of antioxidants, we recommend you do your own research to find a good selection of anti oxidant rich foods which taste good to you.

Avoid red meat. The meat industry would prefer you to believe that red meat is not that bad, but research proves otherwise. There are plenty of other more healthy sources of protein, fat and iron.

Eat fresh foods. Fresh foods are much higher in vital sources of nutrition, including vitamins, minerals, enzymes and antioxidants, as well as many micro nutrients. Fresh foods are also easier to digest and less likely to produce toxins in the body.

Avoid processed foods and eat whole foods, including whole grains. Processed foods are older and contain many dangerous ingredients including unstable fats and highly refined sugars. Whole grains have been proven to be much healthier than their refined counterparts.

**Consuming free radical scavengers reduces free radicals in the body, free radicals are considered a primary cause of aging.

4.) Avoid the obvious sins that cause aging

If you smoke, drink heavily, deprive yourself of sleep, or regularly use recreational drugs, then you are going to age faster. No rocket science degree needed for this one.

Aging a meditation

According to the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, 90% of all adult illness is due to the degenerative processes of aging. Anti-aging medicine, aiming for longevity and optimal health, is most certainly the 'specialty' of the future and is based on the early detection, prevention and reversal of age-related disease. While science continues to search for answers, research has already revealed that meditation is a potent anti-aging practice that can take years off your physiological age.

STRESS = AGING

Aging is most certainly a complex issue with many factors coming into play, but one thing that researchers do agree on is that stress (mental, emotional, and physical) causes us to age.

Eva Selhub, MD, Medical Director of the Mind/Body Medical Institute says, "If we can affect the stress response, we can affect the aging process." She says "There`s a reason why experienced meditators live so long and look so young." (The Anti-Aging Effects of Meditation; http://www.more.com/2025/2674-the-a...)

In a recent interview with CNN, Dan Buettner, author of "The Blue Zones" and researcher into longevity hotspots around the world, suggests small lifestyle changes can add up to 10 years to most people`s lives. He says aging is 10% genetic and 90% lifestyle. Buettner stated that having mechanisms to shed stress, like prayer and meditation, was of high importance in the longevity hotspots he studied and a major factor in long-term health and aging.

Dr. Robert Keith Wallace was one of the first scientists to study the effects of meditation on aging and he published his findings in the International Journal of Neuroscience (16: 53 58, 1982). His research was based on the practice of Transcendental Meditation.

Dr. Wallace found that subjects with an average chronological age of 50 years, who had been practicing Transcendental Meditation for over 5 years, had a biological age 12 years younger than their chronological age. That means a 55-year-old meditator had the physiology of a 43-year-old.

Several of the subjects in the study were found to have a biological age 27 years younger than their chronological age. This study has since been replicated several times. Other studies have also shown the beneficial effects of Transcendental Meditation on the aging process. (The Transcendental Meditation Program; http://www.tmprogram.com.au/book/ch... )

History reveals many examples of seemingly `ageless` saints, dedicated to the practice of meditation, whose lives have demonstrated the enormous capacity of the human body to live much longer than today`s average life span.

Yes, these `ageless` saints and yogis practically dedicated their whole lives to meditation but even we, as average householders, can potentially live much longer, healthier lives. Meditation has revealed itself to be one of the most beneficial practices to relieve some of the stress related to aging.

Bernard Siegel, M.D., Professor, Yale University School of Medicine, wrote in Love, Medicine and Miracles (New York: Harper and Row, 1986): "Other doctors` scientific research and my own day-to-day clinical experience have convinced me that the state of the mind changes the state of the body by working through the central nervous system, the endocrine system, and the immune system. Peace of mind sends the body a `live` message, while depression, fear and unresolved conflict give it a `die` message."

"The physical benefits of meditation have recently been well documented by Western medical researchers," says Dr. Siegel. "Meditation also raises the pain threshold and reduces one`s biological age... In short, it reduces wear and tear on both body and mind, helping people live longer and better." (Paramahansa Yogananda. 1995. The Bhagavad Gita, p 379-380)

Bibliography:

http://www.tmprogram.com.au/book/ch...
http://www.worldhealth.net/about-an...
http://www.more.com/2025/2674-the-a...
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/11/3...

Paramanhansa Yogananda. 1995. The Bhagavad Gita, p. 379-380. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship

About the author

A passionate advocate for organic living and personal empowerment, Angela hopes to inspire others to live a healthy, wealthy life of purpose.

Angela's expertise is organics, meditation & alternative healing techniques and philosophies. She holds qualifications in Natural Skin Care Product Development, Reiki, Thought Field Therapy, Organic Facials & Massage.

www.thesoulroom.com - PURE, CERTIFIED ORGANIC Skin Products, Health Products & Essential oils, Inspiration for the soul...

She is currently giving away a FREE EBOOK! Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill - go to www.thesoulroom.com
Contact: thesoulroom@gmail.com

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Aging and meditation

Meditation and aging

Imagine being able to rid yourself of a host of medical or psychological maladies without drugs or psychotherapy. Imagine being able to turn back the clock naturally. That's right without taking drugs and hormones, you can practice anti-aging medicine with non- invasive medical meditation. These are proven effective in one of the most overlooked forms of therapy available today.

Time is rushing into the future. You can't deny the truth of it. And with each passing day, you age. There is no way out. Welcome to the world of the graying of America. Every morning perhaps you notice a sign-a wrinkle here, a gray hair there, an ache, a pain or a little bulge somewhere.

While you see the visible signs of aging on the surface of your body, beneath the skin there are telltale signs as well. Physiological studies have shown that your cardiac, pulmonary, musculoskeletal and brain functions are also declining as you become older. As time passes, minor damage mounts up and cells, organs and systems simply wear out.

One of the first systems that wears out is the endocrine system, the glands that secrete hormones. Many researchers believe, and I agree, that the primary reason we deteriorate as we age is due to the degeneration of the endocrine system.

Furthermore, the function of the immune system generally follows the function of the endocrine system. For example, the production of critically important hormones, such as growth hormones, begin to drop off around age 30. The implications of this growth hormone decline are very disturbing; HGH is vitally important in helping you feel energetic, to repair your muscles and other tissues and to retain strong immunity.

Other endocrine glands are especially vulnerable to aging. The pineal gland, which produces the sleep hormone melatonin, quickly declines with age, until it generally becomes calcified and completely dysfunctional in most elderly people. It is believed that this decline contributes significantly to the increase in sleep disorders that occurs with aging. Melatonin is also a powerful antioxidant and free-radical scavenger so the decline of the pineal also contributes to an overall decrease in health.

Similarly, the extremely important steroid hormone, DHEA, drops off considerably with time and this decline causes innumerable problems. DHEA helps protect the body from stress and is vitally important for maintaining a good mood, a normal sex drive, a stable body fat ratio and a high level of energy. DHEA is also important to protect against the ravages of the stress hormone cortisone, which when elevated can lead to a decline in immunity, memory loss and accelerated aging.

Unbalanced stress in your life also causes the hypothalamus, a gland thought of by many doctors as the "brain's brain," to decline in function. As the hypothalamus declines it becomes far less adept at perfectly responding to minor imbalances. Sometimes it calls for the production of too few hormones and sometimes too many. In effect, it loses its elasticity and flexibility. Moreover, this degeneration triggers dysfunction of the rest of the endocrine system, which causes damage to the body and the mind. Fat clings to the abdomen. Skin loses its suppleness. Memories fade. Viruses go unopposed. Eye muscles lose their focus. Immunity wanes. Sex drive declines. Aging runs rampant.

Aging though is not the only problem caused by the decline of the endocrine system. The same factors that cause aging reduce quality of life and health in young people. You don't need to be old to have poor immunity, impaired eyesight, low energy, depression, insomnia, decreased sex drive, poor muscle tone, hypoglycemia, obesity, muscle pain, impaired cognitive function or any other of the many problems associated with endocrine decline.

These problems are more prevalent among the elderly but are absolutely common among young people. Unfortunately, many of them appear to be increasingly common among younger patients. Two of the most obvious are depression and obesity, which are now at their highest rates in history among the young. Remember, old age doesn't suddenly swoop down at 60; aging starts early, especially if you subject your body and brain to one physical and emotional assault after another.

By now I imagine you are ready for some good news. There is a powerful mechanism that can ameliorate the ravages of aging and confer youthful vitality-at any age. That mechanism is meditation. Meditation is the true anti-aging medicine because it activates our body's own natural anti-aging healing force. Beyond that, it is easy to do. There is no cost and it is totally free from dangerous side effects, which have been potentially attributed to some drugs and hormones. Medical meditation directly rejuvenates the hypothalamus, the pituitary, the pineal and other endocrine glands. Think of it as endocrine exercise. In addition, medical meditation is also the single most effective counter measure against stress. Moreover, medical meditation is specific for ailments, including those associated with aging such as change of life issues or menopause, Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, cardiovascular disease and stroke, among others.

Let's now scientifically assess meditation. According to the Office of Alternative Medicine of the National Institutes of Health, 1994 Omnibus 25-Year Report on Meditation, the research indicates that meditators achieve the following biological reactions: marked reduction in oxygen use; notably lower secretion of stress hormones; increase in immune factors, including blood leukocyte production; and calm brain wave activity.

Meditation has also been shown to produce the following general medical benefits:

reduction of anxiety
reduction of chronic pain
lowered levels of cortisone
increase in cognitive function
reduction of substance abuse
lowered blood pressure
improvements in post traumatic stress syndrome
reduction in the use of medical care and hospitalizations.

In a fascinating study on meditation, published over a period of years in three different medical journals, we find that when a group of researchers measured biological age (how old a person is physiologically rather than chronologically), determinants of blood pressure, vision and hearing were all improved for age with meditation. Those practicing meditation for five years were physiologically 12 years younger than their non-meditating counterparts. Even the short-term participants were physiologically five years younger than the controls.

An even stronger study on aging and meditation was conducted by researchers at Harvard and published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. This study analyzed elderly people who were introduced to meditation. In short they showed numerous beneficial changes and ultimately lived longer on average than patients in the control group that did not practice meditation. The positive results were noted to endure when a follow-up study was conducted more than 10 years later.

Medical meditation is also very specific to distinct medical problems. A recent study conducted at the Mind Body Medical Institute, through the Israel Deaconess Hospital at Harvard, showed the heightened specificity of medical meditation in that by changing one of the tools of meditation, increasing activity could be directed to different parts of the brain.

Medical meditation is so specific because it balances and regenerates the body's ethereal and physical energies, forging an extraordinary healing alliance. The five unique attributes that endow this type of meditation with tremendous power are special postures and movements, exact positioning of the hands and fingers, particular mantras or sounds, specific breathing patterns and a unique focus of concentration. The combination of those elements can change your entire profile of endocrine, neurotransmitter and hormone secretions, easing you into a calm, healing, anti-aging state.

Recently I was asked by a patient, "What's the most important thing I can do to protect my health, now that I've turned 50." 1 told her the most important thing she could do was to start each day in a positive way, what I call "wake up to wellness." In our accelerated society today we have been programmed to believe that the best part of waking up is coffee in our cup.

There is nothing supremely healthful or anti-aging about taking a drug, albeit from a natural plant, cooking it in water and drinking it to give ourselves a stimulating rush so we can jump right back into the stress cycle which has proven so detrimental to our health. The best part of waking up is to take some time for ourselves in the morning, while our hormones are rising, to bring balance to our endocrine system, strengthen our nervous system and stimulate our cardiovascular system so that we can set our mind, body and spirit right to enjoy a great day.

Many of my patients say, "I've tried to meditate and gave up because of all the thoughts going through my mind." Don't let this stop you. The emergence of these thoughts is one of the most important aspects of medical meditation. The thoughts represent a release of energy from the subconscious mind to the conscious mind. Each time it happens, accept it. I have been meditating for 25 years and this happens every single day. It's very easy. Simply, when otherthoughts come in your mind, start all over again.

If you accept this, meditation will take you to what I call the "Fourth State." The Fourth State is elevated above the other three common states of mind: the wake state, the sleep state and the dream state. The Fourth State is the transcendent or bliss healing state. It creates the sacred space in which all healing and anti-aging physiological effects occur. Moreover, recent research has shown that with time and patience you will tap into a part of yourself known as the spirit. When you forge this alliance of body, mind and spirit, wonderful things begin to happen. You are healthier, happier and more whole as a human being. When medical interventions are needed, the results are enhanced.

As we go forward in our lives and come to a fork in the road, let's choose the natural way. Meditation is our most potent form of natural, anti-aging medicine.

Meditating is easy to learn. To be ready, all you need are comfort, quiet, a meditative tool such as a mantra and a meditative attitude.

Go to a private place by yourself or with another meditator where you won't be interrupted.

Allow 10-20 minutes for meditation and stick with it. You can look at your watch on occasion but don't set an alarm, because it might startle you and ruin your relaxation.

Sit down on a comfortable mat, cushion or chair and try to relax every muscle in your body from bottom to top. Close your eyes and breathe deeply.

To help stop your internal dialogue and health calm down, silently repeat a word or mantra. It can be religious or philosophical, as long as it makes you feel good. When thoughts intrude, just say, "Oh, well" to yourself and start all over.

Adopt a calm, passive attitude, a neutral mind in which you don't judge yourself or others.

After you finish, sit quietly for a couple of minutes and try to carry your calm, anti-aging, meditative attitude into your daily activities.

Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D., is the author of Brain Longevity, The Pain Cure, and Meditation as Medicine. He is also the president/ medical director of the Alzheimer's Prevention Foundation in Tucson, Arizona. Dr. Dharma is on the medical advisory board of Miraval, Life in Balance Resort in Tucson, Arizona, where he conducts workshops on Brain Longevity and Meditation as Medicine.

To learn more log on to: www.meditation-as-medicine.com

Telomerase e meditação

Telomerase Zen
Nobel de medicina relaciona tamanho dos telômeros com estresse crônico

Elizabeth Blackburn avalia efeito da meditação budista sobre envelhecimento celular

Meu primeiro contato com Elizabeth Blackburn foi em 2007, em Paris. Havia convidado-a para participar de um congresso sobre elementos transponíveis do genoma (transposons), que acabou resultando num interessante livro sobre a diversidade neuronal (“Retrotransposition, Diversity and the Brain”, Fondation IPSEN, 2008 – vendido pela Amazon).

Blackburn recebeu o prêmio Nobel de Medicina, junto com Carol Greider e Jack Szostak, pela descoberta da telomerase. Desde então, muito tem se falado sobre a telomerase, envelhecimento e câncer. Infelizmente, pouco ou nada se comenta sobre o controle mental desse processo, que é justamente a atual linha de pesquisa do grupo de Blackburn.

A conexão entre telomerase e retrotransposons não é tão obvia assim para a maioria dos leitores, então vale uma breve explicação sobre o tema. Telômeros são capuzes que ficam nas pontas dos cromossomos, protegendo as pontas do genoma. A manutenção dos telômeros é feita por uma série de proteínas celulares que incluem a telomerase. Essa enzima tem a função de reproduzir o DNA que é perdido dos telômeros cada vez que a célula se divide. Assim, a célula consegue evitar o encurtamento do comprimento dos telômeros.

A perda progressiva dos telômeros leva à senescência celular das células em divisão. Dessa forma, a telomerase, com sua função altamente especializada de transcrição reversa, é essencial para a estabilidade genômica e progressiva divisão celular.

Retrotransposons são elementos móveis do genoma, altamente ativos no sistema nervoso. Multiplicam-se por meio da transcrição reversa. Esse mecanismo de transcrição reversa é bem semelhante ao da telomerase, o que sugere uma relação de parentesco evolutivo entre esses dois mecanismos. No entanto, neurônios não se dividem, e portanto não precisariam de telomerases. Segundo Balckburn, neurônios humanos têm sim atividade de telomerase (EB, comunicação pessoal).

Outra observação importante é a correlação da telomerase com o crescimento de tumores. Células cancerígenas perdem a capacidade de controlar a divisão celular e passam a se dividir indefinidamente. Por essa razão, mesmo cientistas fazem a incorreta associação entre câncer e elevada atividade da telomerase. Já foi demonstrado que células cancerígenas continuam dividindo mesmo na ausência da telomerase (Li e colegas, JBC 2005; Lundblasd e Blackburn Cell 1993).

Talvez por isso mesmo, diversas terapias contra câncer baseadas no ataque às telomerases não deram certo até hoje. Aliás, essas terapias podem até ser prejudiciais. Telômeros curtos em células saudáveis aumentam as chances de rearranjos cromossômicos, que podem tornar o câncer ainda mais agressivo.

Essas duas evidências discutidas acima – que neurônios possuem alguma atividade telomérica e que células cancerígenas estão pouco se importando com a telomerase – sugerem que as telomerases possam ter outra função na célula além da proteção dos telômeros. Diversas observações sugerem que as telomerases estariam envolvidas na regulação da senescencia celular de forma independente da divisão celular.

A evidência mais forte entre telômeros curtos e envelhecimento veio de estudos de uma síndrome rara, chamada disqueratosis congênita, causada justamente por mutações na telomerase. Pacientes morrem de falha eventual do sistema hematopoiético, suportando a ideia de que o envelhecimento precoce das células do sangue é uma das causas da mortalidade.

Porém talvez mais interessantes sejam os últimos trabalhos de Elizabeth Blackburn, que correlacionam o tamanho dos telômeros com estresse crônico e depressão. Mas qual seria o mecanismo para explicar o envelhecimento celular por processos psicológicos?

Para tentar descobrir isso, o grupo de Balckburn tem usado da meditação budista como ferramenta para modular o estresse e prevenir o processo de envelhecimento. Vale lembrar que a meditação terapêutica no ocidente está dissociada de influências ritualísticas associadas à prática do budismo. Atualmente, técnicas de meditação são usadas como forma de buscar uma consciência mental focada em um determinado momento. Os efeitos positivos no controle de diversas funções fisiológicas, como respiração e pressão sanguínea, são amplamente documentados.

O estresse cognitivo é indiscutivelmente importante para a sobrevivência do indivíduo, mas se estiver baseado em percepções e dimensões distorcidas da realidade, pode produzir um ambiente não muito favorável à longevidade celular. Impressões distorcidas da realidade incluem falsas projeções e expectativas ou crenças baseadas no medo. Os trabalhos têm acumulado evidências de que o bloqueio desse tipo de pensamento negativo altera a expressão da telomerase sanguínea e evita o encurtamento dos telômeros, o que é simplesmente fascinante.

Os trabalhos de Blackburn estão caminhando num sentido bem diferente da biologia molecular tradicional. Seus estudos estão apontando para o cérebro como o grande responsável pelo envelhecimento, tendo a telomerase como intermediária do processo no nível celular. Ainda são obscuros os fatores envolvidos nessa conexão, mas os vilões mais prováveis são hormônios e danos oxidativos.

O campo ainda é novo e altamente especulativo, além de ter uma série de “buracos” em sua lógica. A justa vinda de um prêmio Nobel para uma pesquisadora que não tem medo de ousar deve trazer novo fôlego e mentes abertas para essa área. Vamos acabar descobrindo que o envelhecemos não com o corpo, mas com a mente.

Mente Intuitiva