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what is it?
For thousands of years meditation has been an important spiritual practice among Buddhists, Islamic Sufis, Christian mystics and other religious groups. But as recent research demonstrates its benefits for mental and physical well-being, efforts are underway to demystify and secularise the practice. Different schools of meditation favour different techniques, but all share a common basis: a focus of attention to which the mind can return if distracted.
what it's supposed to do
Professor Herbert Benson of the Mind/Body Institute of Harvard Medical School developed what he calls the 'Relaxation Response' after studying transcendental meditation practitioners in the 1970s. He found that simply sitting in a quiet place for about 20 minutes and concentrating on the breath or a particular word or phrase can reverse the physiological changes produced by stress. (In theory a word plucked at random from the telephone book will do, but most people seem to prefer something with a spiritual connotation.) Blood pressure, heart and breathing rates, metabolism and muscle tension are reduced, and the brain slips into a slower, calmer rhythm.
Meditation is commonly recommended to relieve stress and anxiety, high blood pressure, headache, migraine, fatigue, depression, insomnia, chronic pain, to overcome addictions, to enhance the immune system and for personal development.
what happens
Whatever approach is used, you will probably need a quiet environment where you won't be disturbed, a comfortable position (the lotus position is not obligatory but lying down can send you to sleep; many people like to sit upright in a chair), and a focus for your mind. The usual advice is 15-20 minutes meditation once or twice a day, before a meal when you won't be distracted by a full stomach.
The aim is to achieve a state of 'passive awareness', alert but detached from everyday surroundings. Whenever the mind wanders, draw it calmly back to the focus of meditation. Breathing is slow and regular so that the abdomen rises and falls gently.
The focus of meditation may be the rhythm of your breathing, a mantra (a word or phrase that is repeated continually, either silently or aloud), a physical object such as a candle flame or religious icon, a positive affirmation, feelings of loving kindness, visualising a sacred figure, or (for those who find it difficult to sit still) a repetitive movement, as in walking or t'ai chi. The Buddhist technique of vipassana or 'mindfulness', is defined as 'moment-to-moment non-judgmental awareness', or paying attention to whatever feelings or actions one is experiencing at the time.
what's the evidence?
Followers of transcendental meditation (TM), who work with an allocated mantra, have carried out extensive studies, though not always of a high quality. But recent trials published in Stroke in 2000 and The American Journal of Cardiology in 1996 and 2000 show that TM can reduce atherosclerosis and the risk of heart disease.
A form of meditation known as sahaja yoga, based on yogic breathing exercises, was found to help people with severe asthma, according to an Australian study in Thorax in 2002.
Research into an adaptation of the Buddhist technique of 'mindfulness' led by Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, shows relief for symptoms of heart disease, chronic pain, irritable bowel syndrome, high blood pressure, headaches, anxiety and panic, cancer, AIDS, stress and chronic fatigue syndrome. Patients also claimed to have more energy, confidence, 'enthusiasm for life', and be more able to deal with stressful situations.
When combined with cognitive therapy (which aims to change unhelpful beliefs and thoughts), mindfulness meditation halved the risk of relapse for people with a history of clinical depression, according to a recent Medical Research Council study in Cambridge.
Neurobiologists have used positive emission topography (PET) scans and functional MRI scans to study what happens in the brain during meditation. Results indicate that different areas of the brain are involved than when merely resting, and suggest the mind can control the autonomic nervous system, which regulates involuntary body functions like respiration and circulation.
precautions
Go to the safety first section of 'before you start' for some general precautions to take into account when considering a complementary therapy.
- Check with your doctor before starting meditation if you have a history of psychiatric problems.
how to find a practitioner
Although it is possible to learn meditation from a book, it helps to have a teacher. But finding a technique that doesn't require you to buy into a particular spiritual practice like Buddhism or transcendental meditation, if that is not what you want, can be difficult in the UK. Classes are sometimes advertised at local libraries or community centres but find out something of the teacher's background first.
» help and info
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(July 2002)
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