Yoga

Control Weight in Diabetes with Yoga

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“The medical literature tells us that the most effective ways to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and many more problems are through healthy diet and exercise. Our bodies have evolved to move, yet we now use the energy in oil instead of muscles to do our work.” – David Suzuki

Type 2 diabetes is a common and increasingly prevalent illness that is largely preventable. Although this has been known as adult-onset diabetes it is increasingly being diagnosed in children. It is estimated that 30 million people in the United States have diabetes and the numbers are growing. One of the reasons for the increasing incidence of Type 2 Diabetes is its association with overweight and obesity which is becoming epidemic in the industrialized world.

Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the United States. In addition, diabetes is heavily associated with other diseases such as cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, and circulatory problems leading to amputations. As a result, diabetes doubles the risk of death of any cause compared to individuals of the same age without diabetes.

A leading cause of Type II Diabetes is overweight and obesity and a sedentary life style. Hence, treatment and prevention of Type II Diabetes focuses on diet, exercise, and weight control. Yoga would appear to be an excellent potential treatment for Type II Diabetes as it is both an exercise and a help in weight control (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/heart-healthy-yoga/).

In today’s Research News article “Yoga: Managing overweight in mid-life T2DM”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1075845609106031/?type=1&theater

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4481745/

Tikhe and colleagues tested the effects of a 7-day integrated approach of yoga therapy (IAYT) on patients with Type II Diabetes. They found that the program resulted in a significant loss in weight and body mass index (BMI), resting metabolism, and body fat.

Yoga appears to be a potential safe and effective treatment for Type II Diebetes. In addition yoga is known to strengthen the immune system (see http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/healthy-balance-through-yoga/) making the individual less susceptible to infection, helping to ward of potential secondary consequences of diabetes. These are exciting results that need to be confirmed in a large controlled trial. Many treatments for disease are not well tolerated by the patient and compliance becomes a huge issue. But, yoga is generally enjoyed and compliance rates, when administered properly, can be very high. So, yoga would appear to have advantages over other treatments.

So, practice yoga and control weight.

“Diabetes is a great example whereby, giving the patient the tools, you can manage yourself very well.” – Clayton Christensen

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

Age Healthily – Yoga for Arthritis

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Yoga arthritis

Arthritis is a chronic disease that most commonly affects the joints. Depending on the type of arthritis symptoms may include pain, stiffness, swelling, redness, and decreased range of motion. It affects an estimated 52.5 million adults in the United States. It is associated with aging as arthritis occurs in only 7% of adults ages 18–44, while 30% adults ages 45–64 are affected, and 50% of adults ages 65 or older. Due to complications associated with arthritis, the lifespan for people with RA may be shortened by 10 years.

The pain, stiffness, and lack of mobility associate with arthritis produce fatigue and markedly reduce the quality of life of the sufferers. It can have very negative psychological effects diminishing the individual’s self-image and may lead to depression, isolation, and withdrawal from friends and social activities. It even affects the individual’s physical appearance. As the quality of life deteriorates the individual can feel a loss of control and become anxious about the future. Stress can build and influence the individual’s attitude toward life and can lead to frustration, anger, and hopelessness.

Arthritis reduces the individual’s ability to function at work and may require modifications of work activities. This can lead to financial difficulties. The normal chores at home may take much longer to accomplish and the individual may need the help of a relative or caregiver. Hence, it can produce stress on the entire family system.

It is obvious that there is a need for a safe and effective treatment to help the suffer cope with the disease and its consequences. Increasing exercise has been shown to increase flexibility and mobility but many form of exercise are difficult for the arthritis sufferer to engage in and many drop out. Recently, yoga practice has been adapted for the treatment of arthritis sufferers.

In today’s Research News article “Yoga in Sedentary Adults with Arthritis: Effects of a Randomized Controlled Pragmatic Trial”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1068583096498949/?type=1&theater

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4490021/

Moonaz and colleagues tested 8-weeks of yoga practice for the treatment of rheumatoid and osteoarthritis. They found that yoga improved physical activity and physical and psychological health, and the quality of life of the arthritis sufferers. Yoga increased walking capacity, flexibility, pain, general health, vitality and mental health including reduced depression and negative emotions. In addition the positive effects were still present 9 months later.

It appears that the positive effects of yoga on the psychological health of arthritis sufferers was due to the reduction in physical symptoms and their consequences. All of this, of course, increases perceived quality of life. In addition, participation rates for yoga were higher than those for other exercise programs. This suggests that yoga is not only safe and effective for the treatment of arthritis but it is also acceptable producing better adherence to the regimen.

In addition, yoga has been shown to help individual age healthily in other ways. It decreases cellular ageing

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1053553098001949/?type=1&theater

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/aging-healthily-yoga-and-cellular-aging/

and protects the brain from age related degeneration

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1050712994952626/?type=1&theater

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/age-healthily-protect-the-brain-with-yoga/

and decreases age related physical decline.

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1015482441809015/?type=1&theater

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/age-healthily-yoga/

So, practice yoga to deal with arthritis and age healthily.

CMCS

 

Improve Physical Health with Yoga

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Yoga is an ancient practice. Its longevity would suggest that it has observable benefits for its practitioners. Although for years anecdotal evidence supported this notion, it has only recently been demonstrated with modern controlled research studies that yoga indeed is beneficial for health and well-being.

In a previous post, yoga practice was shown to reduce the symptoms of the Metabolic Syndrome a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1045854842105108/?type=1&theater

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/heart-healthy-yoga/

In another previous post, it was demonstrated the yoga practice improves the immune system

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/healthy-balance-through-yoga/

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1011595585531034/?type=1&theater

and in yet another post, yoga was shown to delay the decline in strength and flexibility on ageing individuals.

http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/index.php/2015/07/17/age-healthily-yoga/

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1015482441809015/?type=1&theater

In today’s Research News article “Effects of a 12-Week Hatha Yoga Intervention on Cardiorespiratory Endurance, Muscular Strength and Endurance, and Flexibility in Hong Kong Chinese Adults: A Controlled Clinical Trial.”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1066686320021960/?type=1&theater

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4475706/

Lau and colleagues demonstrate that yoga improves cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility in both male and female adults.

One of the keys to any program for physical health is its acceptability. There are a large number of different varieties of fitness programs all of which can improve health if practiced. But many are disliked by participants who discontinue participation or only sporadically engage in the program. Lau and colleagues found that that people like yoga practice and so stick with it. Participants attended 94% of the available classes and only 11% dropped out. A practice is only as good a people’s willingness to engage in it and yoga practice appears to pass this test, making it a very good choice for physical health.

The fact that yoga is often practiced in groups may account, in part, for its enjoyability and the high participation rates. The presence of others provides support and camaraderie. The participant discussions that can precede and follow the practice can be helpful in learning about the progressions and difficulties encountered by others, making one’s own difficulties seem more normal and acceptable and setting more realistic expectations for future progress.

It would be expected that yoga would improve muscular strength and flexibility. After all that is what it’s designed to do. But the improvement in cardiovascular endurance is an important bonus. Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in the U.S. killing 800,000 people each year. The observed improvement in cardiorespiratory endurance along with the prior findings of effectiveness for metabolic syndrome, suggest that yoga could help prevent cardiovascular disease and increase longevity.

So, practice the enjoyable exercise of yoga and improve your health.

CMCS

 

Stop Emotional Eating with Yoga

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Eating can occur because of a physiological need, signaling hunger. That is healthy eating. But eating can also happen for emotional reasons which can produce mindless unhealthy eating or an eating disorder, such as binge eating disorder.

Many people respond to stress, anxiety, or fear with coping strategies, one of which is eating. This is emotional eating. It results from distress and the individual’s attempts to deal with it. The eating behavior is used to reduce the distress. But, this is an unhealthy strategy. It’s not only directly detrimental to health by producing overeating but the emotional eating itself can become a source of stress and anxiety creating a vicious cycle. There is thus a need to find ways to teach the individual to respond to the distress with more adaptive strategies or to increase the individuals’ tolerance for the stress so they do not employ coping strategies like eating.

In today’s Research News article “The Effects of a Hatha Yoga Intervention on Facets of Distress Tolerance”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1060065660684026/?type=1&theater

http://www.researchgate.net/publication/276064952_The_Effects_of_a_Hatha_Yoga_Intervention_on_Facets_of_Distress_Tolerance

Medina and colleagues investigated whether Hatha Yoga could be successfully employed to reduce emotional eating. They found that and 8-week, twice weekly, yoga practice reduced emotional eating at a clinically significant level.

Medina and colleagues went further looking at the individuals’ tolerance for distress and found that the yoga practice also markedly improved the levels of distress tolerance. In addition, they found that the yoga practice appeared to have its effect on emotional eating by increasing distress tolerance. With the individual better able to deal effectively with the distress the need for the coping strategy, eating, was removed. Hence, yoga practice appeared to attack the root of the problem.

Looking more carefully, it was discovered that it was the cognitive components of distress tolerance that were improved by yoga. These included a facilitation of the thought processes needed to deal with distress and a decrease in the interference with attentional processes produced by the distress. Interestingly, the yoga did not affect the emotional and behavioral components in dealing with distress. So, it appears that yoga produces clearer thinking and thereby better, healthier, responses to the distress.

This makes sense as yoga practice trains the individual to pay attention in the present moment to exactly what they’re doing and how their feeling. It puts their behavior under conscious thoughtful control. The improved attentional and behavioral control produced by yoga could be responsible for clearer thinking about the distress and more appropriate responses to it.

This is an exciting and potentially important finding. There are other coping strategies other than emotional eating that other individuals display in response to distress. It would be important to look at these other strategies in future research to see if they too are improved with yoga.

So, practice yoga and get control of emotional eating

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

Get your Calm on!

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Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is one of the first secular based mindfulness training programs in the west. In fact, it could be argued that the development of MBSR was what launched the mindfulness movement in the west. The movement took off probably because MBSR was shown to be so very effective in the treatment of a wide range of physical, psychological, and emotional issues that plague western culture.

Stress is rampant in competitive western culture producing physical and psychological damage. MBSR’s effectiveness at calming the reactions to stress and reducing anxiety has made it a very popular.

MBSR is not a single practice. Rather it is a combination of practices including meditation, yoga, and body scan meditation. Whether all of these components are necessary for effectiveness or if some components are more effective for some conditions while others are superior for others has yet to be established with empirical evidence. This is an important issue for the understanding of the exact mechanisms by which MBSR has its effects.

It is also not known how much MBSR or how much of each component is needed to have a maximum impact. In more scientific words, a dose response study is needed. This is important to produce optimum effectiveness.

In today’s Research News Article “Effectiveness of Brief Mindfulness Techniques in Reducing Symptoms of Anxiety and Stress’

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David Call and colleagues tested whether very brief, three weekly 45-min sessions of hatha yoga or body scan would be effective in reducing stress and anxiety in undergraduate students. Both practices reduced both anxiety and stress levels.

Interestingly, neither group showed a significant increase in mindfulness, possibly due to the lack of meditation practice and perhaps suggesting that yoga and body scan practices might act directly on stress and anxiety rather than by raising mindfulness that then reduced the symptoms. This contradicts the notion that mindfulness based increases in present moment awareness are the cause of the reduction in anxiety which is future oriented. It remains possible that the physiological effects of yoga and body scan on reducing the hormonal and neural responses to stress may be responsible.

The magnitude of the effects on stress and anxiety were quite large and clinically significant. It is amazing that such a brief treatment of 3 sessions of 45 minutes could have this large of an impact. It remains to be seen if the impact is lasting. Regardless, the fact that a brief simple intervention can markedly reduce stress and anxiety is exciting as it is highly scalable; rolling it out to large numbers of individuals.

So, practice yoga and/or body scan and get your calm on.

CMCS

Aging Healthily – Yoga and Cellular Aging

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Aging is inevitable. We can’t stop it or reverse the aging process. But, it is becoming more apparent that life-style changes can slow down the process and allow us to live longer and healthier lives.

The genes govern cellular processes in our bodies. One of the most fundamental of these processes is cell replication. Our bodies are constantly turning over cells. Dying cells or damaged are replaced by new cells. The cells turn over at different rates but most cells in the body are lost and replaced between every few days to every few months. Needless to say were constantly renewing ourselves.

As we age the tail of the DNA molecule called the telomere shortens. When it gets very short cells have a more and more difficult time reproducing and become more likely to produce defective cells. On a cellular basis this is what produces aging. There is an enzyme in the body called telomerase that helps to prevent shortening of the telomere. So, processes that increase telomerase activity tend to slow the aging process.

Previous research has shown that an intensive meditation practice can increase telomerase activity and slow telomere shortening. These results suggested that meditation could slow aging and increase life span. It’s been anecdotally reported for years that people who practice yoga  tend to live long lives. There has, however, not been any systematic empirical evidence obtained to confirm or deny these anecdotes.

In today’s Research News article “Telomerase activity and cellular aging might be positively modified by a yoga-based lifestyle intervention.”

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Kumar and colleagues produce evidence from a single case study that yoga practice increases telomerase activity. In addition they show that markers of oxidative stress, another indicator of aging, are reduced with yoga practice.

These are very exciting findings that must be interpreted cautiously since they are from a single case. But, should they be seen in controlled future investigation could suggest that yoga practice, like meditation, can slow cellular aging and perhaps increase longevity. It should be emphasized that the yoga practice used by Kumar and colleagues included meditation. It remains to future research to identify if the observed effects are due to the postures, or to breath control in yoga or to the meditation component or all three.

So, practice yoga and age slowly and healthily.

CMCS

Age Healthily – Protect the Brain with Yoga

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The aging process involves a progressive deterioration of the body including the brain. It actually begins in the late 20s and continues throughout the lifespan. It cannot be stopped or reversed. But, the deterioration can be slowed and to some extent counteracted. This is true for both physical and mental deterioration including degeneration and shrinkage of the nervous system.

Aging healthily to a large extent involves strategies to slow down the deterioration. Meditation has been shown to slow down the deterioration of the nervous system with aging. It acts by increasing the amount of grey matter in the brain through a process referred to as neuroplasticity. Brain areas that are heavily used tend to grow larger while those that are underutilized tend to grow smaller.

In a previous post we described how yoga slowed or reversed age related decline in muscle strength and flexibility (See below). In today’s Research News article “Neuroprotective effects of yoga practice: age-, experience-, and frequency-dependent plasticity”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1050712994952626/?type=1&theater

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4428135/

Villemure and colleagues demonstrate for the first time that yoga practice also protects the nervous system from deterioration. They showed that with age there was a decline on brain grey matter volume in healthy physically active people, but there was no decline in experienced yoga practitioners.

Interestingly, the more yoga practice the better the protection, the higher the grey matter volume. Yoga consists of postures, breath practice and meditation. It appears that the combination of postures and meditation are the most significant aspects of yoga practice for neuroprotection. It was already known that meditation helped to protect against age related brain deterioration. These results suggest that yoga adds another neuroprotective element in practicing postures.

Yoga practitioners had larger sensory cortex areas than non-practitioners. This is probably because of yoga’s emphasis on paying attention to sensations and visualization techniques used during practice. Also, the largest effects of yoga were seen in the left hemisphere. There is strong evidence that the left hemisphere is responsible for positive emotions. This then suggests that yoga promotes happiness by increasing the size of the left hemisphere. In addition, enlargement was seen in areas responsible for stress management. This provides a potential mechanism for yoga’s ability to relieve stress.

These are exciting findings. The results could provide credence for the long rumored ability of yoga to increase lifespan. They also suggest that the meditative aspects of yoga are very important and that using yoga simply for exercise may be ignoring  very important aspect of yoga for the protection of the brain.

So, practice yoga and age healthily.

CMCS

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Age Healthily – Yoga

The aging process involves a progressive deterioration of the body. This cannot be stopped or reversed. But, the deterioration can be slowed and to some extent counteracted. This is true for both physical and mental deterioration. But, today’s article, “Age related differences of selected Hatha yoga practices on anthropometric characteristics, muscular strength and flexibility of healthy individuals.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4278134/?report=printable

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1015482441809015/?type=1&theater

is focused on the physical deterioration in aging.

As we age we increase body fat and loose muscles mass and strength. The bones become less dense and weaker and thereby more prone to breaking. Cartilage that lines the joints tend to thin leading to arthritis and the ligaments that hold the muscles and joints together tend to harden making us less flexible and prone to injury. Inactivity in aging can exacerbate all of these musculoskeletal changes.

Yoga practice appears to help to slow or reverse these changes. Today’s article demonstrates that the increase in fat mass with aging and the consequent increase in body weight are slowed by daily Hatha yoga practice. The decreased muscle strength as well as the decreased flexibility is also slowed in yoga practitioners. Hence, yoga is an excellent practice for maintaining the individual’s strength, flexibility, and body composition all of which are important for healthy aging.

In addition to the direct benefits there are also a plethora of indirect benefits. The individual looks and feels better. This can lead to improved self-image and even higher levels of activity. These in turn can lead to more frequent and better social interactions. This in addition to the social interactions inherent in group yoga practice. The loss of these social interactions are a major contributor to loneliness and depression in aging. Hence, indirectly, yoga practice can lead to improved social and psychological health.

So, age healthily by practicing yoga!

CMCS

Yoga for Trauma in Children

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“Yoga’s ability to touch us on every level of our being—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual—makes it a powerful and effective means for trauma victims to reinhabit their bodies safely, calm their minds, experience emotions directly, and begin to feel a sense of strength and control.” – van der Kolk

Trauma comes in many forms, from abuse to warfare, from children to the elderly, from natural and man-made causes, and from the rich to the poor. But, regardless of the cause or the characteristics of the individuals, it leaves in its wake a syndrome of posttraumatic symptoms which can haunt the victims for the rest of their lives. These include persistent recurrent re-experiencing of the traumatic event, including flashbacks and nightmares, loss of interest in life, detachment from other people, increased anxiety and emotional arousal, including outbursts of anger, difficulty concentration, and jumpiness, startling easily.

There have been many treatments employed each with varying but limited success. Mostly these treatments have been used with adults. But, children who are victims of trauma have been the focus of very few studies of therapeutic interventions. The lack of focus is surprising as it’s been estimated that of adolescents, 8% had been exposed to sexual assault, 17% physical assault, and 39% had witnessed violence. It is estimated that 15% of children show symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Mindfulness training and yoga practice have been found to be effective for trauma in adults, particularly from the middle and upper classes. It has yet to be shown if they can be employed effectively with children and with individuals from low socioeconomic categories. In today’s Research News article “Yoga to Reduce Trauma-Related Distress and Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties Among Children Living in Orphanages in Haiti: A Pilot Study”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1049082531782339/?type=1&theater

Culver and colleagues begin to address this issue by employing yoga training to treat traumatized orphans in Haiti. They found that yoga reduced the symptoms of trauma in these children and showed a trend toward a reduction in behavioral difficulties.

These findings are very encouraging. Trauma affects both the mind and the body. Yoga works with both, but is particularly targeted to the body. The relaxation produced by yoga practice is a soothing antidote to the hyperaroused state that is so characteristic of trauma victims. Yoga appears to reduce activity in the sympathetic nervous system, the fight or flight system. Hence, yoga appears to produce both muscular and physiological relaxation, directly addressing a symptom of trauma.

The practice of focusing attention that is so central to yoga training addresses the difficulties with concentration that are characteristic of trauma victims. The focus of attention in yoga is on the sensations from the body. This can directly address the numbing of sensation that is frequently reported by trauma victim. In addition, getting in touch with bodily sensations helps trauma victims get more in touch with their emotions allowing them to better work with them.

So, yoga appears to be an excellent treatment for trauma alone but preferably in combination with other treatment modalities.

CMCS

Heart Healthy Yoga

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Metabolic Syndrome is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. It generally results from overweight and abdominal obesity and includes high blood pressure, insulin resistance and elevation of plasma cholesterol and triglycerides. It is an important risk factor as it increases the risk of developing type-2 diabetes five-fold and heart attack or stroke three-fold.

Metabolic Syndrome incidence has been rising rapidly approaching epidemic proportions. It is estimated that it currently affects 34% of US adults. Needless to say this is a major health problem. The good news is that timely treatment can prevent or reverse the risk. The simplest treatment is simply exercise and weight loss.

Yoga has been used to promote health and well-being for thousands of years. In today’s Research News article “Effects of 1-year yoga on cardiovascular risk factors in middle-aged and older adults with metabolic syndrome: a randomized trial”

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1045854842105108/?type=1&theater

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4440276/

Siu and colleagues examine whether yoga is an effective treatment for metabolic syndrome. They found that a 1-year yoga program reduced waist circumference, blood pressure, and resting heart rate and increased activity levels. This suggests that yoga is effective in reducing the symptoms of the Metabolic Syndrome.

Probably the most important finding was a 3.5% reduction in waist circumference. Most of the Symptoms of the Metabolic Syndrome result from a high level of abdominal fat. This produces the insulin resistance which in turn increases diabetes risk and raises cholesterol and triglycerides which increases cardiovascular risk. Hence, a key to treatment is to reduce this belly fat and yoga appears to be effective at doing just that.

Yoga is in part an exercise and this by itself could be responsible for the improvement. Indeed yoga practice increased activity levels which promotes the conversion of fat to muscle. So, even if there is no change in weight there is a reduction in abdominal fat, the primary culprit in Metabolic Syndrome.

Yoga, however, produces other beneficial effects that could be responsible for the improvement in Metabolic Syndrome. Yoga practice reduces the physiological symptoms of stress. It reduces the levels of stress hormones and it relaxes the sympathetic nervous system, the fight or flight system. Stress exacerbates the symptoms of Metabolic Syndrome. By reducing the physiological mechanisms by which stress affects Metabolic Syndrome, yoga can markedly improve the symptoms. In addition, by reducing stress, yoga can improve immune system response, increasing the individual’s ability to fight off diseases.

So practice yoga and reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease or diabetes.

CMCS

Effectiveness of Meditation, Yoga and Prayer

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People engage in contemplative practices for a variety of reasons, including increased mindfulness or spiritual development. But, regardless of the goal, it is not known what contemplative practice works the best to achieve the goal. In addition, it is not known what pattern of practice works the best with each type of practice.

These questions are investigated in today’s Research News article “Meditation has stronger relationships with mindfulness, kundalini, and mystical experiences than yoga or prayer.”

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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277020080_Meditation_has_stronger_relationships_with_mindfulness_kundalini_and_mystical_experiences_than_yoga_or_prayer

Regardless of whether meditation, yoga, or prayer is practiced, higher levels of mindfulness occur. But, the highest levels of mindfulness are produced by meditation. This was also true for kundalini and mystical experiences.

Kundalini experiences are changes in the physical energetics of the body, including extreme levels of energy, physical symptoms, involuntary movements etc. Kundalini effects will be the subject of an upcoming CMCS essay (stay tuned). These experiences were first documented in the ancient yogic traditions. So, it is surprising that meditation has a larger impact than yoga practice.

Mystical experiences have always been associated with meditation but also strongly with prayer. The effectiveness of prayer in producing mystical experiences is well exemplified by the Christian or Sufi mystics. So, it is surprising that prayer is not particularly effective.

One explanation for the relative ineffectiveness of yoga and prayer is the reasons and the way they are practiced in modern cultures. Yoga is often treated as a fitness practice rather than a contemplative practice and prayer is often used mechanically or for petition to a deity rather than for contemplation. So, it should not be surprising that overall these practices are not as potent in producing mindfulness, kundalini, and mystical experiences as meditation.

It was clear, however, that no matter what practice is used the amount of practice is the most important factor in its effectiveness. It’s the amount of time spent each week practicing and it’s the number of years of practice that best predict heightened states. How frequently one practices, how long each session lasts, or whether practice occurs in groups or alone doesn’t seem to matter. It’s simply the total amount of practice that is associated with effectiveness.

So, engage in contemplative practices, but do so in a contemplative manner, do so regularly, and invest time and patience in the practice and you will begin to reap the rewards.

CMCS