Re: Meditation for healing (esp: hypertension)

From: Dr. Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD (andrew_at_heartmdphd.com)
Date: 08/29/04 

Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2004 15:53:00 -0400

Mozz wrote:
>
> 'The use of Meditation for healing is not new. Meditative techniques
> are the product of diverse cultures and peoples around the world. It
> has been rooted in the traditions of the world's great religions. In
> fact, practically all religious groups practice meditation in one form
> or another.

Christians call it prayer.

> The value of Meditation to alleviate suffering and promote
> healing has been known and practiced for thousands of years.
>
> In spite of its rich history and traditions, it is only during the
> past three decades that scientific study has focused on the clinical
> effects of meditation on health. During the 1960s, reports reached the
> West of yogis and meditation masters in India who could perform
> extraordinary feats of bodily control and altered states of
> consciousness. These reports captured the interest of Western
> researchers studying self-regulation and the possibility of voluntary
> control over the autonomic nervous system. At the same time, new
> refinements in scientific instrumentation made it possible to
> duplicate and substantiate some of these reports at medical research
> institutes. Health care professionals who were often dissatisfied with
> the side effects of drug treatments for stress-related disorders
> embraced meditation as a valuable tool for stress reduction, and today
> both patients and physicians enjoy the health benefits of regular
> meditation practice.

Yes, prayer works.
 
> He discovered by studying various yogis and longtime meditators that
> the meditation process counteracted the effects of the sympathetic
> nervous system-the one that wants to fight or flee. Whereas the
> sympathetic system dilates the pupils and gets the heart rate,
> respiration, and blood pressure up, the parasympathetic system,
> activated when we meditate, does just the opposite. Muscle tension
> decreases, blood pressure drops, and for some extraordinary
> practitioners, even temperature and basal metabolism rates drop during
> a prolonged meditation. Oxygen needs of the body are reduced when you
> are in a highly relaxed state, and brain waves change from the busy
> beta-waves to the blissful alpha waves.'

When they pray, Christians also enjoy the added benefit of God's
blessings for themselves and others on top of the stress reduction that
occurs with meditation. Such benefits would be expected to help folks
with complications arising from either diabetes or obesity making this
discussion on-topic for all NGs receiving this thread.

 
Servant to the humblest person in the universe,

Andrew 

--
Dr. Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Board-Certified Cardiologist
http://www.heartmdphd.com/
**
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