veronikasmith
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Ever wonder why breathing a certain way is supposed to help you? Or doing yoga? Vibrating a word? Ever have doubts? Well, no more. Anything not understood can be googled with "______scientific study." The spiritual practices are being studied and proven to work. This essay barely scrapes the surface. I have read wonderful blogs and articles online about specific breathing exercises and other practices. Please, research. Here is the jist of it:
*Credit to HP Mageson666 for posting the study on Satanama, included below, and which prompted much of my research about how yoga works.
Physiological Effects of Yoga and Meditation Yoga and meditation have long been touted as beneficial to the body and psyche, but how so? Where is the science to verify these claims? Hence forth, the term “yoga” will be used alone instead of saying both yoga and meditation. Most Westerners think of yoga as physical postures. This is not entirely so. To perform yoga may mean to perform physical asana and may also mean to meditate, to recite mantra, to perform mudra, pranayama, and bhakti. Therefore, “meditation” doesn’t need to always be written out, for it is implied. It is a commonly accepted notion that yogic practices reduce stress. How does this happen? The answer depends upon the specific technique used. The most simple and obvious is merely practicing mindful meditation focusing on thinking positively. Of course one would feel positive by thinking positive. Is it so simple? Thinking is one thing, but a state of mind is another, more long term thing. Let's explore how a state of mind is achieved and what is happening in the body during this practice of positive mindfulness. Joe Dispenza explains: “Everytime you have a thought, you make a chemical. Specific emotions turn on circuits in your brain that fire in various combinations to produce a level of mind. That level of mind stimulates another part of your brain to release a chemical so you can begin to feel exactly the way you think. “ Sometimes it is difficult to think positively, and diffuclt to calm the mind. There are physical techniques used to calm the mind so that one is more perceptive to positive thinking. Pranayama or breathing exercies may help achieve a calm state of mind. How a calm state of mind is achieved through breathing depends upon the specific breathing exercise. Just breathing slowly and rhythmically switches on the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system. This part of the nervous system produces a relaxing effect and slows the heart rate. The other part of the automonic nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system, is responisble for fight or flight. Rapid, shallow, breathing switches it on, further excacerbating the stress respose. What about breathing exercises with specific instructions further than just breathing slowly and deeply? Alternate-nostril breathing is a yogic breathing practice known to activate the different sides of the autonomic nervous system, depending on which side is focused upon. The left side of the body is connected with the right side of the brain which is connected with the parasympathetic nervous system and breathing dominantly through the right or left nostril can affect this! studies have been conducted showing the evidence for this. Mantra is perhaps the most subjective of all yogic practices. On the surface, we see a person repeating a word. One may wonder, how can this help a person? Sure, it is a medium of focus which can still the mind and produce calm. Is that it? Also, why are there so many different mantras? Why do the monks believe that each one has different applications? Everything is vibration. Sound =light. Theories abound regarding mantra and physiological change. The most interesting mantra study I have come across is about telomerase activity conducted by UCLA. One group practiced chanting the Kirtan mantra for 12 mintues per day. The other group closed their eyes while they relaxed and listened to a relaxation CD. The chanting group showed a 43.3 % increase in telomerase, and the relaxation group had an increase of 3.7 %. At the center of each cell we have a nucleus which contain chromosomes which are made out of DNA this is where we get telomeres. Every time the cells divide a telomere is lost. This is the reason for aging on the genetic level. Telomerase has been called the enzyme of immortality. Humans are only born with around 10,000 telomeres and when it reaches around 5,000, we die. With an adequate amount of telomerase, we don't have to break down and lose a teleomere every division process, thus turning off the aging process. The same study also found a significant decrease in inflammation in the bodies of participants in both groups. A study using MRI was done with participants chanting “om.” It was found that the vagus nerve was stimulated by this. Vagus nerve stimulation may be beneficial to individuals with depression and epilepsy.
The answer to mantra not a totally objective one, by rather one of connecting the dots. I connect the dots by observing cymatic experiments. In observing this, molecules are seen changing shape and form when different sounds resonate through them. The same sounds are known to produce the same shapes. One can read about others' experiments online about negative and positive talk to things like plants and even molecules of water observed through a microscope! Guess which plants did well? Everything is in a constant state of vibration. Everything has its own frequency. Sounds are vibrations. Emotions have their own vibration. When “yoga” is mentioned, the most common thought that occurs is one of someone doing physical postures called asana. Asana, like any exercise, can help increase physical fitness. Is there anything beyond that? If one looks to an acupuncturist's map of the body, it is found that there are multiple meridians. Certain postures may stimulate these meridians, leading tho physiological effects. Just one example of this is this: “Direct stimulation of the pancreas by the postures can rejuvenate its capacity to produce insulin. Regeneration of pancreatic beta cells could occur by yoga exercises that promote blood circulation in the region of the pancreas and yoga asanas that stimulate the meridian of pancreas also could assist in some diabetic patients.” (Balaji, Varne, and Ali). It may be safe to assume that other areas of the body may be similarly affected. The idea is the same with mudra. With all of the research on yogic practices out there, there are still those who believe that the results are only subjective. Theoretically, the studies do not directly prove that yogic practices are the cause for the changes. All in all, it comes down to cause and effect. The effects are ____ and the only known variable is the yogic practice.
Works Cited:Last, First M. “Article Title.”<em>Website Title</em>. Website Publisher, Date Month Year Published. Web. Date Month Year Accessed.
Balaji, P A, Smitha R Varne, and Syed Sadat Ali. “Physiological Effects of Yogic Practices and Transcendental Meditation in Health and Disease.” North American Journal of Medical Sciences 4.10 (2012): 442–448. PMC. Web. 16 Dec. 2016.
Lavretsky, H. et al. “A Pilot Study of Yogic Meditation for Family Dementia Caregivers with Depressive Symptoms: Effects on Mental Health, Cognition, and Telomerase Activity.” International journal of geriatric psychiatry 28.1 (2013): 57–65. PMC. Web. 16 Dec. 2016.
Kalyani, Bangalore G et al. “Neurohemodynamic Correlates of ‘OM’ Chanting: A Pilot Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.” International Journal of Yoga 4.1 (2011): 3–6. PMC. Web. 16 Dec. 2016.
Kabel, Olga. “Yogis ahead of science: One nostril breathing determines how you feel.” www.sequencewiz.org. Sequence Wiz. Web. 6 Aug. 2014.
*Credit to HP Mageson666 for posting the study on Satanama, included below, and which prompted much of my research about how yoga works.
Physiological Effects of Yoga and Meditation Yoga and meditation have long been touted as beneficial to the body and psyche, but how so? Where is the science to verify these claims? Hence forth, the term “yoga” will be used alone instead of saying both yoga and meditation. Most Westerners think of yoga as physical postures. This is not entirely so. To perform yoga may mean to perform physical asana and may also mean to meditate, to recite mantra, to perform mudra, pranayama, and bhakti. Therefore, “meditation” doesn’t need to always be written out, for it is implied. It is a commonly accepted notion that yogic practices reduce stress. How does this happen? The answer depends upon the specific technique used. The most simple and obvious is merely practicing mindful meditation focusing on thinking positively. Of course one would feel positive by thinking positive. Is it so simple? Thinking is one thing, but a state of mind is another, more long term thing. Let's explore how a state of mind is achieved and what is happening in the body during this practice of positive mindfulness. Joe Dispenza explains: “Everytime you have a thought, you make a chemical. Specific emotions turn on circuits in your brain that fire in various combinations to produce a level of mind. That level of mind stimulates another part of your brain to release a chemical so you can begin to feel exactly the way you think. “ Sometimes it is difficult to think positively, and diffuclt to calm the mind. There are physical techniques used to calm the mind so that one is more perceptive to positive thinking. Pranayama or breathing exercies may help achieve a calm state of mind. How a calm state of mind is achieved through breathing depends upon the specific breathing exercise. Just breathing slowly and rhythmically switches on the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system. This part of the nervous system produces a relaxing effect and slows the heart rate. The other part of the automonic nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system, is responisble for fight or flight. Rapid, shallow, breathing switches it on, further excacerbating the stress respose. What about breathing exercises with specific instructions further than just breathing slowly and deeply? Alternate-nostril breathing is a yogic breathing practice known to activate the different sides of the autonomic nervous system, depending on which side is focused upon. The left side of the body is connected with the right side of the brain which is connected with the parasympathetic nervous system and breathing dominantly through the right or left nostril can affect this! studies have been conducted showing the evidence for this. Mantra is perhaps the most subjective of all yogic practices. On the surface, we see a person repeating a word. One may wonder, how can this help a person? Sure, it is a medium of focus which can still the mind and produce calm. Is that it? Also, why are there so many different mantras? Why do the monks believe that each one has different applications? Everything is vibration. Sound =light. Theories abound regarding mantra and physiological change. The most interesting mantra study I have come across is about telomerase activity conducted by UCLA. One group practiced chanting the Kirtan mantra for 12 mintues per day. The other group closed their eyes while they relaxed and listened to a relaxation CD. The chanting group showed a 43.3 % increase in telomerase, and the relaxation group had an increase of 3.7 %. At the center of each cell we have a nucleus which contain chromosomes which are made out of DNA this is where we get telomeres. Every time the cells divide a telomere is lost. This is the reason for aging on the genetic level. Telomerase has been called the enzyme of immortality. Humans are only born with around 10,000 telomeres and when it reaches around 5,000, we die. With an adequate amount of telomerase, we don't have to break down and lose a teleomere every division process, thus turning off the aging process. The same study also found a significant decrease in inflammation in the bodies of participants in both groups. A study using MRI was done with participants chanting “om.” It was found that the vagus nerve was stimulated by this. Vagus nerve stimulation may be beneficial to individuals with depression and epilepsy.
The answer to mantra not a totally objective one, by rather one of connecting the dots. I connect the dots by observing cymatic experiments. In observing this, molecules are seen changing shape and form when different sounds resonate through them. The same sounds are known to produce the same shapes. One can read about others' experiments online about negative and positive talk to things like plants and even molecules of water observed through a microscope! Guess which plants did well? Everything is in a constant state of vibration. Everything has its own frequency. Sounds are vibrations. Emotions have their own vibration. When “yoga” is mentioned, the most common thought that occurs is one of someone doing physical postures called asana. Asana, like any exercise, can help increase physical fitness. Is there anything beyond that? If one looks to an acupuncturist's map of the body, it is found that there are multiple meridians. Certain postures may stimulate these meridians, leading tho physiological effects. Just one example of this is this: “Direct stimulation of the pancreas by the postures can rejuvenate its capacity to produce insulin. Regeneration of pancreatic beta cells could occur by yoga exercises that promote blood circulation in the region of the pancreas and yoga asanas that stimulate the meridian of pancreas also could assist in some diabetic patients.” (Balaji, Varne, and Ali). It may be safe to assume that other areas of the body may be similarly affected. The idea is the same with mudra. With all of the research on yogic practices out there, there are still those who believe that the results are only subjective. Theoretically, the studies do not directly prove that yogic practices are the cause for the changes. All in all, it comes down to cause and effect. The effects are ____ and the only known variable is the yogic practice.
Works Cited:Last, First M. “Article Title.”<em>Website Title</em>. Website Publisher, Date Month Year Published. Web. Date Month Year Accessed.
Balaji, P A, Smitha R Varne, and Syed Sadat Ali. “Physiological Effects of Yogic Practices and Transcendental Meditation in Health and Disease.” North American Journal of Medical Sciences 4.10 (2012): 442–448. PMC. Web. 16 Dec. 2016.
Lavretsky, H. et al. “A Pilot Study of Yogic Meditation for Family Dementia Caregivers with Depressive Symptoms: Effects on Mental Health, Cognition, and Telomerase Activity.” International journal of geriatric psychiatry 28.1 (2013): 57–65. PMC. Web. 16 Dec. 2016.
Kalyani, Bangalore G et al. “Neurohemodynamic Correlates of ‘OM’ Chanting: A Pilot Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.” International Journal of Yoga 4.1 (2011): 3–6. PMC. Web. 16 Dec. 2016.
Kabel, Olga. “Yogis ahead of science: One nostril breathing determines how you feel.” www.sequencewiz.org. Sequence Wiz. Web. 6 Aug. 2014.
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