Get out of the Dumps with Yoga

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“One of the chapters in my life included a 10-year bout with deep depression. This depression became compounded when I was confronted with loss and grief. I took antidepressants of varying kinds for many years and attempted talk therapy. For me, none of these approaches worked. It was only when I began practicing yoga that I started to see and feel concrete, sustained shifts in my mental patterns, emotions, and internal state of being.” – Monique Minahan

 

Clinically diagnosed depression is the most common mental illness, affecting over 6% of the population. In general, it involves feelings of sadness, emptiness or hopelessness, irritability or frustration, loss of interest or pleasure in most or all normal activities, sleep disturbances, tiredness and lack of energy, anxiety, agitation, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, fixating on past failures or blaming yourself for things that aren’t your responsibility, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts or suicide. Needless to say individuals with depression are miserable.

 

Depression appears to be the result of a change in the nervous system that can generally only be reached with drugs that alter the affected neurochemical systems. But, depression can be difficult to treat. Of patients treated initially with drugs only about a third attained remission of the depression. After repeated and varied treatments including drugs, therapy, exercise etc. only about two thirds of patients attained remission. In, addition, drugs often have troubling side effects and can lose effectiveness over time. In addition, many patients who achieve remission have relapses and recurrences of the depression. So, it is important to investigate alternative treatments for depression.

 

There are some alternative activities that can be helpful for depression. Regular exercise can improve mood in people with mild to moderate depression. It also may play a supporting role in treating severe depression. Mindful meditation training including yoga practices have also been shown to be viable alternative treatments for depression. They have been shown to be an effective treatment for active depression and for the prevention of its recurrence. They can even be effective in cases where drugs fail. In addition, the combination of exercise with meditation has been shown to be effective for treating depression.

 

In today’s Research News article “Mindfulness-based yoga intervention for women with depression.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1278994708791119/?type=3&theater

or below, Schuver and Lewis investigate the relative effectiveness of yoga and walking exercise for the treatment of depression. They randomly assigned depressed women to either a 12-week mindfulness based yoga practice or walking exercise. Both treatments were practiced twice a week for 65 minutes for 12 weeks. Measurements of depression and rumination were taken before and after treatment and one-month after the completion of the 12-week practice period.

 

They found that both treatments produced significant decreases (34% and 38% respectively) in depression that were maintained at follow-up. Both groups also showed significant decreases in rumination but, the yoga group had a significantly greater decrease (30%) than the walking group (19%) at the end of treatment. But, by the one-month follow-up there were no significant differences between the groups. Hence, both treatments successfully improved depression and rumination in the depressed women.

 

So, it appears that exercise, regardless of whether it’s in the form of yoga or walking relieves depression. In practice, however, depressed people lack energy and it can be quite challenging for them to initiate or keep up an exercise practice. The current study employed a home yoga practice. It is possible that a yoga practice in a group would be more enjoyable and promote adherence to the exercise. More research is needed to investigate this conjecture.

 

Regardless it is clear that you can get out of the dumps with yoga.

 

“Yoga gives us an active role in healing. And by slowing down mental chatter through breath work, it helps facilitate self-acceptance. In other words, through practicing yoga, we become quieter and more grounded. Yoga can help perfectionists as well as those who tend to be self-critical or lack self-confidence.” – Janeen Locker.

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts

 

Study Summary

Schuver KJ, Lewis BA. Mindfulness-based yoga intervention for women with depression. Complement Ther Med. 2016 Jun;26:85-91. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2016.03.003. Epub 2016 Mar 14.

 

Highlights

  • Efficacy of a 12-week yoga intervention, in comparison to a walking group, on mood and rumination among depressed women.
  • Participants in both groups demonstrated similar decreases in depressive symptoms from baseline to post-intervention.
  • The yoga condition reported significantly lower levels of rumination than the walking group at post-intervention.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a 12-week mindfulness-based yoga intervention on depressive symptoms and rumination among depressed women.

DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, controlled 12 week intervention pilot study. Depressive symptoms were assessed at baseline, post-intervention (12 weeks), and one-month follow-up.

SETTING: Women with a history of diagnosed depression and currently depressed were randomized to a mindfulness-based yoga condition or a walking control.

INTERVENTIONS: The mindfulness-based yoga intervention consisted of a home-based yoga asana, pranayama and meditation practice with mindfulness education sessions delivered over the telephone. The walking control condition consisted of home-based walking sessions and health education sessions delivered over the phone.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS).

RESULTS: Both groups reported decreases in depressive symptoms from baseline to post-intervention, f(1,33)=34.83, p<0.001, and from baseline to one-month follow-up, f(1,33)=37.01, p<0.001. After controlling for baseline, there were no significant between group differences on depression scores at post-intervention and the one-month follow-up assessment. The mindfulness-based yoga condition reported significantly lower levels of rumination than the control condition at post-intervention, after controlling for baseline levels of rumination, f(1,31)=6.23, p<0.01.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that mindfulness-based yoga may provide tools to manage ruminative thoughts among women with elevated depressive symptoms. Future studies, with larger samples are needed to address the effect of yoga on depression and further explore the impact on rumination.

 

Awakening-like Experiences Occur with Epilepsy in the Insula

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mystical experiences epilepsy2 Gschwing

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“Dostoevsky described his seizures in a letter to a friend: “I feel entirely in harmony with myself and the whole world, and this feeling is so strong and so delightful that for a few seconds of such bliss one would gladly give up 10 years of one’s life, if not one’s whole life.”” – Anil Ananthaswamy

 

Millions of people worldwide perform practices, such as meditation, yoga, and prayer, to achieve a spiritual awakening. Others use drugs such as peyote, ayahuasca  and psilocybin to induce spiritual awakenings. If successful, these people report unique profound experiences that permanently alter their lives and the way they perceive the world. These experiences have many characteristics many of which are unique to the experiencer, their religious context, and their present situation. They include a state of ecstasy, bliss, love and joy, a sense of ultimate freedom and belonging, a transcendence of space and time, a sense of lacking control over the event, a greater sense of meaning and purpose of life, a sense of timelessness, a sense of having encountered ultimate reality, a sense of sacredness, a sense that one cannot adequately describe the richness of this experience. But, the common, central feature of all of these experiences is a sense on oneness, that all things are contained in a single thing, a sense of union with the universe and/or God and everything in existence.

 

The fact that these experiences can be induced by drugs and that drugs have their effects by altering the chemistry of the nervous system, has led to the notion that perhaps these experiences are not actually spiritual but rather simply an altered state of the brain produced by drugs or intense spiritual practices. An important observation in this regard is that alterations of the brain can make it more likely that an individual will have a spiritual experience. Spiritual experiences can occur occasionally with epileptic seizures. This may provide clues as to what neural structures are involved in spiritual experiences.

 

In today’s Research News article “Ecstatic Epileptic Seizures: A Glimpse into the Multiple Roles of the Insula.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1278188525538404/?type=3&theater

or below or view the full text of the study at:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4756129/

Gschwind and Picard review published cases of individuals who report spiritual experiences with the onset of an epileptic seizure. Their review led them to hypothesize that the focal area for the production of spiritual experiences is the insular cortex. This is a large piece pf cerebral cortex that has been enfolded with growth of the cortex and does not appear on the surface. It has been covered and is buried deep inside at the juncture of the parietal, temporal, and frontal lobes. The insula is highly interconnected with a wide variety of other cortical and subcortical areas of the brain. It has been implicated in consciousness and appears to play a role in diverse functions usually linked to emotion or the regulation of the body’s homeostasis. These functions include perception, motor control, self-awareness, cognitive functioning, and interpersonal experience. So, the insula would appear to be well situated to produce and affect higher level experiences.

 

Gschwind and Picard review cases of spiritual (ecstatic) experiences that occur with epileptic seizures either located in or affecting the activity of the insula. In addition, they review cases where direct electrical stimulation of the insula produce reports of spiritual-like experiences in awake humans. This together with the widespread interconnectivity of the insula and its suspected role in higher conscious experience, makes a case that the insula is the area of the brain that is central to spiritual (ecstatic) experiences.

 

The reviewed information is highly complex and the conclusions are speculative. They are far from proving the case that the insula is responsible for spiritual (ecstatic) experiences. But, it provides sufficient enticing evidence that further scrutiny of this area and its association to these experiences should be undertaken. It should be mentioned that no area in the brain works alone. Rather complex behaviors and experiences are produced by the joint action of large numbers of areas throughout the brain. So, pointing to the insula only suggests that it may be central to the disparate neural system underlying spiritual (ecstatic) experiences.

 

That spiritual (ecstatic) experiences can be produced by epileptic seizures and by electrical stimulation of the brain, combined with the fact that drugs that alter brain chemistry can also produce these experiences, suggests that neural systems may underlie all spiritual experiences. This should not be surprising as the experiences are physical in nature, very unusual sensory experiences, but physical experiences nonetheless. So, it should be as no surprise that a physical entity, the brain, may underlie them. It has yet to be conclusively shown, however, the experiences produced by epilepsy, stimulation, or drugs is the same as that reported by mystics and spiritual seekers. This also leaves open the question as to what it is that’s registering and aware of. these experiences. It appears that regardless of what produces them, the underlying awareness registering them is unchanged.

 

“The anterior insula may be where all manner of feelings, including bodily pleasures and pains; sights, sounds and smells; emotions, expectations and intentions; and even the sense of one’s physical surroundings are integrated into a unified sense of a “self” moving through time.

If this hypothesis is true, then disturbances to the anterior insula would likely cause disturbances to the usual sense of self-awareness.” – Jim Schnabel

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are available at the Contemplative Studies Blog http://contemplative-studies.org/wp/

 

Study Summary

Gschwind, M., & Picard, F. (2016). Ecstatic Epileptic Seizures: A Glimpse into the Multiple Roles of the Insula. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 10, 21. http://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00021

 

Abstract

Ecstatic epileptic seizures are a rare but compelling epileptic entity. During the first seconds of these seizures, ecstatic auras provoke feelings of well-being, intense serenity, bliss, and “enhanced self-awareness.” They are associated with the impression of time dilation, and can be described as a mystic experience by some patients. The functional neuroanatomy of ecstatic seizures is still debated. During recent years several patients presenting with ecstatic auras have been reported by others and us (in total n = 52); a few of them in the setting of presurgical evaluation including electrical brain stimulation. According to the recently recognized functions of the insula, and the results of nuclear brain imaging and electrical stimulation, the ecstatic symptoms in these patients seem to localize to a functional network centered around the anterior insular cortex, where we thus propose to locate this rare ictal phenomenon. Here we summarize the role of the multiple sensory, autonomic, affective, and cognitive functions of the insular cortex, which are integrated into the creation of self-awareness, and we suggest how this system may become dysfunctional on several levels during ecstatic aura.

 

Improve Arthritis Depression, Pain, and Disability with Mindfulness

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“People in pain often react automatically to [what’s going on]. “You think I feel pain, and then the body tightens and you have a flurry of other thoughts like Pain is ruining my life. Mindfulness allows you to notice this distress as it happens and to intentionally step back, shifting awareness to the body and adjusting it in a way that can bring ease.” – Steven Rosenzweig

 

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. The physical disability produced by 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.

 

There are no cures for arthritis. Treatments are primarily symptomatic, including weight loss, exercise, braces, pain relievers, anti-inflammatory drugs, and corticosteroids. Recently, mindfulness practices have been found to be effective in coping with the symptoms of arthritis. In today’s Research News article “Chronic pain experience on depression and physical disability: The importance of acceptance and mindfulness-based processes in a sample with rheumatoid arthritis.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1277531588937431/?type=3&theater

or below, Costa and colleagues studied the relationship between mindfulness, acceptance, disability, and depression in adult rheumatoid arthritis sufferers. They measure them for mindfulness, pain, pain acceptance, health impact of arthritis, depression, anxiety, and stress.

 

They found, not surprisingly, that the greater the level of pain the greater the levels of disability and depression. Higher levels of both mindfulness, especially the non-reacting facet of mindfulness, and acceptance were found to be associated with lower levels of pain, disability and depression. Performing a mediational analysis, Costa and colleagues found that the effects of pain on depression were reduced by both acceptance and non-reacting while pain’s effects on disability was reduced by only acceptance.

 

The results show that being non-reactinge and accepting of experience were associated with lower levels of arthritis symptoms, with acceptance associated with lower levels of both depression and physical disability and mindful non-reacting to experience associated with lower levels of depression. Depression is amplified by rumination about past pain and worry about future pain. Mindfulness focuses the individual on the present moment and thereby reduces worry and rumination. This, to some extent explains, mindfulness’ association with lower depression. Accepting the situation is also important for pain management, as fighting against pain amplifies the pain. As a result, acceptance can reduce attempts to control the pain and thereby reduce the experience of pain and the resultant symptoms of depression and physical disability.

 

So, improve arthritis depression, pain, and disability with mindfulness and acceptance.

 

“mindfulness training, which teaches people to push away troublesome thoughts, helped improve well-being in people with rheumatoid arthritis and similar diseases. Patients . . . who received the training didn’t have less pain compared to those who didn’t, but they coped better, were less tired and showed less stress. “Yes, they still have pain, but they are able to manage their pain in more constructive ways,” – Randy Dotinga

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts

 

Study Summary

Joana Costa, José Pinto-Gouveia, and João Marôco. Chronic pain experience on depression and physical disability: The importance of acceptance and mindfulness-based processes in a sample with rheumatoid arthritis. J Health Psychol, 1359105316649785, first published on June 15, 2016

 

Abstract

The mediating effect of acceptance and mindfulness in the relationship between pain, depression, and physical disability was examined in 55 rheumatoid arthritis patients. Results showed that the relationship between pain and depression was mediated by both nonreact and acceptance. By contrast, the relationship between pain and physical disability was mediated by acceptance but not by nonreact. This study provides evidences that the influence of these processes is different on depression and on physical disability. These findings support models that take both general measures of mindfulness and content-specific measures of acceptance into account when conceptualizing rheumatoid arthritis. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

Change your Perception of Time with Mindfulness

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

 “taking time to be mindful and focusing fully on the present moment — in other words, actively noticing new things — can actually slow down our brain’s perception of time. And just as powerfully, mindless distraction can easily create the feeling that we’re losing whole hours, days and months.” – Carolyn Gregoir

 

There are times in life when time just seems to wiz by and others when it seems to creep. There are also times when it seems like a minute passing feels like 5 minutes and others when it feels like only a few seconds. In other words, our sense of the speed of time passing and the amount of time that has passed varies from occasion to occasion. One factor that effects the perception of time is the content of the interval and the frequency of events occurring. If the interval is relatively packed with events and stimuli, then the time period is overestimated, suggesting that time seemed to pass more slowly. If, on the other hand, there are few things occurring in the interval, then time is underestimated, suggesting that time seemed to pass more quickly.

 

Mindfulness training involves paying close attention to the contents of the present moment. This suggests that being mindful would enhance the perception of the amount of things occurring and would thus predict that the interval would appear longer than otherwise and that time would seem to pass more slowly. In today’s Research News article “Dispositional Mindfulness and Subjective Time in Healthy Individuals.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1276909505666306/?type=3&theater

or below or view the full text of the study at:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4878969/

Weiner and colleagues investigate these issues. They measured adult participants for mindfulness, impulsivity, mood and rumination and asked them to estimate the duration of an interval and the speed of time passage under different experimental conditions of actual duration (32 or 128 seconds) and contents of the interval (number presented every 4 seconds or 16 seconds). They were also asked in another similar task to stop the presentation of numbers when either 30 or 60 seconds had elapsed.

 

They found that in general participants tended to overestimate the duration of the interval regardless of its actual length and that the greater the contents of the interval the faster time seemed to pass. They also found that participants, when asked, tended to produce intervals longer than the 30 or 60 seconds that were called for and that the amount of error was larger with the 60 second duration and with less content. As has been seen in other research, participants who were more mindful, were less impulsive, ruminated less, and were less depressed. They also found that the higher the mindfulness facets of observing and acting with awareness, the longer the estimated duration.

 

These results are interesting and suggest that, in a laboratory setting people tend to overestimate the duration of a time interval. It would be interesting to know if this were also true in “real world” settings also. The results also suggest that being mindful tended to make the intervals seem even longer, but that time seemed to pass more quickly. This would seem to fit with the fact that meditators frequently report that they felt like they meditated longer than they actually did. Mindfulness may produce this elongation of time estimation by making the stimuli occurring during the interval more salient and interesting. The fill up of the interval in this way may make it seem that more has happened and thus more time has passed. It remains for future research to clarify this issue.

 

So, change your perception of time with mindfulness.

 

“Mindfulness allows people to appreciate their surroundings and can lead to the feeling that time is passing more slowly.” – Steven Meyers

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts

 

Study Summary

Weiner, L., Wittmann, M., Bertschy, G., & Giersch, A. (2016). Dispositional Mindfulness and Subjective Time in Healthy Individuals. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 786. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00786

 

Abstract

How a human observer perceives duration depends on the amount of events taking place during the timed interval, but also on psychological dimensions, such as emotional-wellbeing, mindfulness, impulsivity, and rumination. Here we aimed at exploring these influences on duration estimation and passage of time judgments. One hundred and seventeen healthy individuals filled out mindfulness (FFMQ), impulsivity (BIS-11), rumination (RRS), and depression (BDI-sf) questionnaires. Participants also conducted verbal estimation and production tasks in the multiple seconds range. During these timing tasks, subjects were asked to read digits aloud that were presented on a computer screen. Each condition of the timing tasks differed in terms of the interval between the presentation of the digits, i.e., either short (4-s) or long (16-s). Our findings suggest that long empty intervals (16-s) are associated with a relative underestimation of duration, and to a feeling that the time passes slowly, a seemingly paradoxical result. Also, regarding more mindful individuals, such a dissociation between duration estimation and passage of time judgments was found, but only when empty intervals were short (4-s). Relatively speaking, more mindful subjects showed an increased overestimation of durations, but felt that time passed more quickly. These results provide further evidence for the dissociation between duration estimation and the feeling of the passage of time. We discuss these results in terms of an alerting effect when empty intervals are short and events are more numerous, which could mediate the effect of dispositional mindfulness.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4885856/

 

Mindfulness Interacts with the Genes in Producing Personality Change

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“It had been traditionally assumed that personality traits are relatively stable entities, but more recent research demonstrates that personality, including disposition towards mindfulness, can change over time as a result of life experiences or through mindfulness practice.” – Yi‑Yuan Tang

 

The genes dictate all of the chemical processes in our bodies including brain development and plasticity. One gene, in particular, encodes the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). It is a protein found in the brain and spinal cord that promotes the survival of nerve cells by playing a role in the growth, maturation, and maintenance of these cells. In the brain, the BDNF protein is active at the connections between nerve cells (synapses), where cell-to-cell communication occurs. The synapses can change and adapt over time in response to experience, a characteristic called neuroplasticity. The BDNF protein helps regulate neuroplasticity, which is important for learning and memory.

 

Since BDNF is involved in the development of the nervous system, and the nervous system, in part, determines our personality characteristics, it would seem reasonable to suspect that the genes underlying BDNF production would be associated with personality. In addition, since BDNF is involved in the plasticity of the nervous system, its ability to change and adapt to the environment and experience, it would seem reasonable to suspect that the genes underlying BDNF production would be associated with variations in brain neuroplasticity. The genes underlying BDNF production have a major variant that is present in approximately 25% of the population. It is possible that this variant may be responsible, in part, for differences between people in personality and neuroplasticity.

 

This reasoning taken together with the facts that mindfulness practices, including meditation, yoga, tai chi, qigong, are known to change the nervous system through neuroplasticity and are known to change some aspects of personality, it would seem reasonable to suspect that different variants of the genes underlying BDNF production would be associated with differences in the ability of mind body practices to change the brain and personality. This complex logic leads to the idea that differences in BDNF gene variants may produce different personality changes in response to mind-body practices.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effects of Mind-Body Training on Personality and Behavioral Activation and Inhibition System According to BDNF Val66Met Polymorphism.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1276252265732030/?type=3&theater

or below or view the full text of the study at:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4878969/

Jung and colleagues examine this hypothesis. They recruited a group of participants who regularly practiced Brain Wave Vibration, a practice that is a movement based meditation resembling yoga, martial arts, and meditation. They also recruited a group who did not engage in mind-body practices. Both groups were separated into subgroups based upon whether they carried the normal or the variant of the BDNF gene. All participants were measured for personality and behavioral activation/inhibition.

 

They found that the BDNF gene variant affected personality with control participants who had the variant higher in neuroticism and lower in extroversion. Neuroticism is known to be associated with personality problems and mental illness. So, these results suggest that the BDNF gene variant produces personality problems. On the other hand, those participants who engaged in mind-body practices and had the BDNF gene variant were higher in extroversion and openness to experience than the control participants who also had the BDNF gene variant. These results are complex but indicate firstly that the genes are involved in the determination of personality characteristics and secondly that they modify the ability of mind-body practices to change personality. They also show that engagement in mind-body practices can, to some extent, help to correct personality problems resulting from the individual’s inheritance.

 

So, practice mindfulness and improve personality characteristics regardless of your genetic inheritance.

 

“All the benefits of meditation arise from experiencing our mind as more workable. We can focus and guide it better and we can also let it go. More dance, less straitjacket.” – Barry Boyce

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts

 

Study Summary

Jung, Y.-H., Lee, U. S., Jang, J. H., & Kang, D.-H. (2016). Effects of Mind-Body Training on Personality and Behavioral Activation and Inhibition System According to BDNF Val66Met Polymorphism. Psychiatry Investigation, 13(3), 333–340. http://doi.org/10.4306/pi.2016.13.3.333

 

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: It has been known that mind-body training (MBT) can affect personality and behavior system as well as emotional well-being, but different effects of MBT on them has not been reported according to BDNF genetic polymorphism.

METHODS: Healthy subjects consisted of 64 subjects and the MBT group who practiced meditation regularly consisted of 72 practitioners. Participants completed neuroticism-extraversion-openness (NEO) Five-Factor Inventory and Behavioral Activation System/Behavioral Inhibition System (BAS/BIS) scales. All subjects were genotyped for the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism.

RESULTS: In the same genotypes of the BDNF Val/Val+Val/Met group, MBT group showed the increased Extraversion (p=0.033) and the increased Openness to Experience (p=0.004) compared to the control group. Also, in the same Met/Met carriers, MBT group exhibited the increase of Extraversion (p=0.008), the reduction of Neuroticism (p=0.002), and the increase of Openness to Experience (p=0.008) compared to the control group. In the same genotypes of the BDNF Val/Val+Val/Met group, MBT group showed the decreased BAS-Reward Responsiveness (p=0.016) and the decrease of BIS (p=0.004) compared to the control group. In the BDNF Met/Met group, MBT group increased BAS-Fun Seeking (p=0.045) and decreased BIS (p=0.013) compared to the control group.

CONCLUSION: MBT would differently contribute to NEO personality and BAS/BIS according to BDNF genetic polymorphism, compensating for different vulnerable traits based on each genotype.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4878969/

 

Improve Type II Diabetes with Walking Meditation

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“While meditating as we walk, we can experience how our bodies feel much more intensely than we can either while doing a sitting meditation or simply walking with our normally scattered mental energy. Instead of thinking of the past or of the future — which our minds are into essentially all the time before we learn to meditate — we can feel all the pleasant sensations as well as the pain that parts of our body is telling us as we move along. This experience can be intense, and that intensity can in turn give us intense pleasure and even joy.” – David Mendosa

 

Type 2 diabetes is a common and increasingly prevalent illness that is largely preventable. Although this has been called 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. Type 2 Diabetes results from a resistance of tissues, especially fat tissues, to the ability of insulin to promote the uptake of glucose from the blood. As a result, blood sugar levels rise producing hyperglycemia.

 

A leading cause of this tissue resistance to insulin is overweight and obesity and a sedentary life style. Hence, treatment and prevention of Type 2 Diabetes focuses on diet, exercise, and weight control. Recently, mindfulness practices have been shown to be helpful in managing diabetes.

A mindfulness practice that combines mindfulness with exercise is yoga and it has been shown to be helpful in the treatment of Type II Diabetes. Mindfulness can also be combined with other exercises. Walking has been frequently combined with meditation. This suggests that a walking meditation practice might be helpful in the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes.

 

In today’s Research News article “Effects of Buddhist walking meditation on glycemic control and vascular function in patients with type 2 diabetes.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1275528305804426/?type=3&theater

or below, Gainey and colleagues recruited adults with Type 2 Diabetes and had them walk for 40 minutes on a treadmill at a moderate intensity (50% to 70% of maximum heart rate). They randomly assigned them to either a continue the walking exercise or to practice mindfulness (focusing attention on each foot striking the floor) while performing the walking exercise for a 12-week period. Measurements were taken before and after the 12-week walking exercise of Body mass index (BMI), maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), muscle strength, artery dilatation and stiffness, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, insulin, HbA1c, lipid profile and plasma cortisol concentrations.

 

They found that both groups showed improvements in maximal oxygen consumption, arterial dilatation, fasting blood glucose, suggesting that walking exercise regardless of the inclusion of meditation improves blood glucose levels and cardiovascular fitness in patients with type 2 diabetes. Only walking meditation, however, reduced HbA1c, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, arterial stiffness and plasma cortisol concentration suggesting that the inclusion of meditation practice with the walking was effective in improving glycemic control, vascular function, and cardiopulmonary fitness, as well as reducing stress levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. The reduced HbA1c levels are particularly significant as HbA1c levels are a measure of long-term glycemic control the “gold standard” marker of diabetes control.

 

These results are quite remarkable. The exact same exercise has significantly greater benefit for patients with type 2 diabetes when it employs mindfulness while engaging in the exercise. This effect might have occurred in part because mindfulness training produces a reduction in sympathetic nervous system activity and increases parasympathetic activity, thereby reducing activation during exercise. This improved physiological relaxation may increase the impact of the exercise. Mindfulness training has been shown to reduce the physiological and psychological responses to stress. This may make the exercise less stressful and more enjoyable, maximizing its impact.

 

Regardless of the explanation the results clearly suggest that you can improve type II diabetes with walking meditation. They further suggest that combining mindfulness with virtually any exercise may make it more beneficial for patients with type 2 diabetes and possibly for any disease which can be helped with exercise. This should be a rich area for future research.

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

“Meditation is a way of relaxing the mind through techniques such as focusing and controlled breathing. People meditate to reduce stress and relieve a variety of physical ailments. Recent research showed meditation can also help people with diabetes control their blood sugar levels.” – ADW Diabetes

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts

 

Study Summary

Gainey A, Himathongkam T, Tanaka H, Suksom D. Effects of Buddhist walking meditation on glycemic control and vascular function in patients with type 2 diabetes. Complement Ther Med. 2016 Jun;26:92-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2016.03.009. Epub 2016 Mar 10.

 

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate and compare the effects of Buddhist walking meditation and traditional walking on glycemic control and vascular function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

METHODS: Twenty three patients with type 2 diabetes (50-75 years) were randomly allocated into traditional walking exercise (WE; n=11) or Buddhism-based walking meditation exercise (WM; n=12). Both groups performed a 12-week exercise program that consisted of walking on the treadmill at exercise intensity of 50-70% maximum heart rate for 30min/session, 3 times/week. In the WM training program, the participants performed walking on the treadmill while concentrated on foot stepping by voiced “Budd” and “Dha” with each foot step that contacted the floor to practice mindfulness while walking.

RESULTS: After 12 weeks, maximal oxygen consumption increased and fasting blood glucose level decreased significantly in both groups (p<0.05). Significant decrease in HbA1c and both systolic and diastolic blood pressure were observed only in the WM group. Flow-mediated dilatation increased significantly (p<0.05) in both exercise groups but arterial stiffness was improved only in the WM group. Blood cortisol level was reduced (p<0.05) only in the WM group.

CONCLUSION: Buddhist walking meditation exercise produced a multitude of favorable effects, often superior to traditional walking program, in patients with type 2 diabetes.

 

ACT for Chronic Pain

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“meditation practice is the best ongoing foundation for working with pain: Mindfulness practice is a wonderful opportunity to do just that. It helps to shift the locus of control from the outside (“this is happening to me and there is nothing I can do about it”) to the inside (“this is happening to me but I can choose how I relate to it”).” – Christiane Wolf

 

We all have to deal with pain. It’s inevitable, but hopefully mild and short lived. But, for a wide swath of humanity pain is a constant in their lives. At least 100 million adult Americans have chronic pain conditions. Chronic pain accompanies a number of conditions. The most common form of chronic pain is low back pain affecting between 6% to 15% of the population. Osteoarthritis is a chronic degenerative joint disease that is the most common form of arthritis. It produces pain, swelling, and stiffness of the joints. In the U.S., osteoarthritis affects 14% of adults over 25 years of age and 34% of those over 65. Fibromyalgia is a mysterious disorder whose causes are unknown. It is characterized by widespread pain, abnormal pain processing, sleep disturbance, and fatigue that lead to psychological distress. It is very common affecting over 5 million people in the U.S., about 2% of the population.

 

Pain involves both physical and psychological issues. The stress, fear, and anxiety produced by pain tends to elicit responses that actually amplify the pain. So, reducing the emotional reactions to pain may be helpful in pain management. Mindfulness practices have been shown to reduce stress responses and anxiety, and to improve emotion regulation producing more adaptive and less maladaptive responses to emotions. So, it would seem reasonable to project that mindfulness practices would be helpful in pain management. Indeed, these practices have been shown to be safe and beneficial in pain management.

 

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has been shown to be effective in treating a number of physical and psychological disorders. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a mindfulness based psychotherapy technique that focuses on the individual’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior and how they interact to impact their psychological and physical well-being. ACT employs mindfulness practices to increase awareness and develop an attitude of acceptance and compassion in the presence of painful thoughts and feelings. Additionally, it teaches individuals to “just notice”, accept and embrace private experiences and focus on behavioral responses that produce more desirable outcomes.

 

In today’s Research News article “Acceptance as a Mediator for Change in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Persons with Chronic Pain?” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1274906459199944/?type=3&theater

or below or view the full text of the study at:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4748004/

Cederberg and colleagues investigate the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in the treatment of chronic pain and to identify potential intermediaries; factors that are altered by ACT that are responsible for improved pain tolerance. They randomly assigned chronic pain patients to either receive ACT or relaxation therapy targeted to pain. The patients were measured before after treatment and again 6 and 12 months later for acceptance of chronic pain, pain intensity, satisfaction with life, physical functioning, anxiety, and depression.

 

They found that the patients receiving ACT had significant improvements in of acceptance of chronic pain, pain intensity, satisfaction with life, and physical functioning, while the relaxation group did not. Both groups showed reductions in anxiety, and depression. These effects were for the most part still present 12 months after the completion of treatment. They performed a sophisticated statistical analysis to identify whether the effects of ACT on acceptance, anxiety, or depression were responsible for the effects on physical functioning and satisfaction with life. They found that acceptance of pain was responsible for ACT’s effects on physical functioning, but not satisfaction with life.

 

These results are exciting and important demonstrating a mindfulness based treatment, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), is effective in improving the ability of chronic pain patients to function and their satisfaction with life, and reducing their pain, anxiety, and depression. They further demonstrate that acceptance of pain is the important variable underlying the improvement in physical functioning. This underlines the importance of acceptance which is a predominant component of ACT. These results strongly suggest that ACT is an excellent, long-lasting, and safe treatment for people suffering with chronic pain.

 

So, ACT for chronic pain

 

“This perspective provides a new way to relate to distressing thoughts and emotions so they can be accepted as natural rather than avoided.  In a similar way, patients are encouraged to re-engage in previously avoided valued activities10.  Importantly, a therapeutic focus on strategies that reduce avoidance through increased acceptance have proved useful for people with chronic pain.” – Michael Hogan

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts

 

Study Summary

Cederberg, J. T., Cernvall, M., Dahl, J., von Essen, L., & Ljungman, G. (2016). Acceptance as a Mediator for Change in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Persons with Chronic Pain? International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 23, 21–29. http://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-015-9494-y

 

Abstract

Background: Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is considered effective for chronic pain, but little is known about active treatment components. Although acceptance correlates with better health outcomes in chronic pain patients, no study has examined its mediating effect in an experimental design.

Purpose: The aim of the present study is to investigate acceptance as a mediator in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), a third wave CBT intervention, for chronic pain.

Method: A bootstrapped cross product of coefficients approach was used on data from a previously published RCT evaluating ACT for chronic pain. To address the specificity of acceptance as a mediator, anxiety and depression were also tested as mediators. Outcome variables were satisfaction with life and physical functioning. Two change scores, pre-assessment to 6-month follow-up (n = 53) and pre-assessment to 12-month follow-up (n = 32), were used.

Results: Acceptance was found to mediate the effect of treatment on change in physical functioning from pre-assessment to follow-up at 6 months. Further, a trend was shown from pre-assessment to follow-up at 12 months. No indirect effect of treatment via acceptance was found for change in satisfaction with life.

Conclusion: This study adds to a small but growing body of research using mediation analysis to investigate mediating factors in the treatment of chronic pain. In summary, the results suggest that acceptance may have a mediating effect on change in physical functioning in ACT for persons with chronic pain. However, given the small sample size of the study, these findings need to be replicated.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4748004/

 

Improve Psychological Well Being with Commitment to Yoga Practice

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“A common factor in the healing effect of yoga for all of these issues is its ability to develop increased awareness of the body and its inner sensations- called “interoception”–which is central to emotion awareness and emotion regulation and to self-regulation in general.” – Frank Schwoeri

 

Therapists have known for years that in order for therapy to be effective, the client must be committed to the therapy. In fact, many argue that fees are necessary in order to insure that the individual is fully committed to the therapeutic process. Yoga practice has been shown to be beneficial for the physical, psychological, spiritual, and medical health of the individual and has been suggested to be a therapy for deficiencies in these realms. It would seem reasonable, then, to hypothesize that the effectiveness of yoga practice would be related to the degree of commitment that the individual has to the practice.

 

In today’s Research News article “The relationship between yoga involvement, mindfulness and psychological well-being.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1274178485939408/?type=3&theater

or below, Gaiswinkler and Unterrainer performed an on-line recruitment of yoga practitioners and a comparison group of practitioners of a variety of gym based exercises including aerobics, pilates, etc. They measured mindfulness, psychiatric symptoms, and spiritual well-beingThey also measured yoga immersion with a 10-question scale containing questions like “The wisdom of yoga affects my way of seeing things in everyday life” or “By practicing yoga I can concentrate better.”

 

They found, not surprisingly, that yoga immersion was highly related to the duration and frequency of yoga practice. In addition, the higher the yoga immersion the higher the scores on mindfulness, and spiritual well-being and the lower the scores on psychiatric symptoms. Comparing the yoga practitioners at different levels of immersion to the control exercise group revealed that the highly immersed yoga practitioners were significantly higher in mindfulness and spiritual well-being, including forgiveness, hope, meaning, and connectedness. They were also significantly lower in psychiatric symptoms including depression, anxiety, and somatization (bodily symptoms).

 

These results suggest that commitment to yoga is important for the psychological and spiritual well-being of the practitioner. It should be kept in mind, however, that the study was correlational which does not allow for a causal conclusion. It is possible that the types of people who become committed to yoga practice are also the people who have high levels of psychological and spiritual well-being, or that being psychologically and spiritually healthy allows the individual to deeply immerse themselves in yoga practice. In addition, since immersion in yoga was highly correlated with the amount of practice, the significant variable might have been the amount of practice and not the commitment. After all, it would be expected that the more the individual practiced the greater the effectiveness of the practice. It should also be noted that the control, exercise, group were not similarly measured for commitment to their exercise. So, it was not possible to determine if commitment per se was important or that it was specific to yoga practice. Hence, the results are promising, but further research is necessary to elucidate the nature of the connection of immersion in yoga to its benefits.

 

“Yoga is thought of by many as a way of life. It is practiced not only for stress management but also for good physical and mental health and to live in a more meaningful way. Yoga is a system of healing and self-transformation based in wholeness and unity. The word yoga itself means to “yoke” — to bring together. It aims to integrate the diverse processes with which we understand the world and ourselves. It touches the physical, psychological, spiritual, and mental realms that we inhabit. Yoga recognizes that without integration of these, spiritual freedom and awareness, or what the yogis call “liberation,” cannot occur.” – Mahjabeen Hassan

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts

 

Study Summary

Gaiswinkler L, Unterrainer HF. The relationship between yoga involvement, mindfulness and psychological well-being. Complement Ther Med. 2016 Jun;26:123-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2016.03.011. Epub 2016 Mar 17.

 

Highlights

  • Newly developed Yoga Immersion scale reliably measures the amount of yoga involvement.
  • Individuals highly involved in yoga practice exhibit reduced mood pathology.
  • Enhanced yoga involvement is linked with increased mindfulness and spirituality.

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine how different levels of yoga involvement are related to different parameters of mental health and illness.

Design and setting: A total sample of 455 participants (410 females) were investigated by means of an internet survey. 362 yoga practitioners (327 females) rated their degree of yoga involvement on the Yoga Immersion Scale. A control group was comprised of 93 gymnastics practitioners (83 females).

Main outcome measures: All participants completed the Multidimensional Inventory for Religious/Spiritual Well-Being, the Freiburger Mindfulness Inventory and the Brief Symptom Inventory for psychiatric symptoms.

Results: Highly involved yoga practitioners exhibited a significantly increased amount of mindfulness and religious/spiritual well-being (both p < 0.01) and lower psychiatric symptoms such as depression (p < 0.01) compared to those who were only marginally/moderately yoga-involved or who were in the gymnastics control group.

Conclusions: In accordance with the literature, yoga practice might have its biggest impact on mental health when it is part of a practitioner’s worldview. Further research focusing on the impact of yoga involvement in clinical groups is encouraged.

 

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Beaches

 

By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“It’s hard for me to put into words why I like the beach so much. Everything about it is renewing for me, almost like therapy…Beach Therapy.” – Amy Dykens

 

“At the beach, life is different. Time doesn’t move hour to hour but mood to moment. We live by the currents, plan by the tides, and follow the sun.” – Anonymous
What is the great attraction of going to the beach. On the surface it appears to be actually an uncomfortable activity as reflected by Erma Bombeck “On vacations: We hit the sunny beaches where we occupy ourselves keeping the sun off our skin, the saltwater off our bodies, and the sand out of our belongings.” But, nevertheless it’s still amazingly popular with 23% of Americans going to the beach each year and 33% indicating that they would select the beach if they had only one place to go on vacation.

Why are beaches such a hugely popular destination? Obviously, the opportunity for recreation such as swimming, snorkeling, sailing, surfing, etc. adds to its popularity. But, let’s take a look from a different perspective. In analyzing the nature of beaches we can see that they are an interface of between the three states of matter; solid, liquid, and gaseous, with rocks and sand, water, and air meeting. At the beach all of these states of matter interact and are interdependent. The wind blowing over the water creates the waves while the structure of the solids creates surfaces to initiate and absorb the waves breaking. All of this is driven by the sun’s energy and the moon’s gravitational pull. So at a beach we are immersed with the interconnected interplay of matter and energy. The wind and water pulse at levels that are dependent on the intensity of the forces at work. In addition, we can become part of that interaction and play in the surf where the power of these vast forces is on display but at manageable levels.

 

But why is there such an attraction to the beach? Perhaps it has to do with the fact that human beings also display the three states of matter in interdependence and interaction. The liquid surges with the heartbeat, the air pumps in and out in rhythm, both driven by the solids of heart and lung which are in turn powered by the suns energy in the form of food, combining solids, liquids, and gases. So, the human physically is to some extent a replica of a beach. Hence, we feel a kinship and attraction to the beach. We sense that the beach is alive like ourselves and we are attracted to that aliveness, to that pulsating replica of our physical nature.

 

The human, however, is more than just solid, liquid, and gas. The human also has an awareness, an experiencing entity, a watcher, that registers components of the internal and external environments. But, even though only the ever changing sensations of the present moment are being registered the mind attempts to hold onto everything. It does so by labelling and classifying, placing it into memory and comparing to prior experiences. It creates a sense of permanence that defies reality. Our perceptual systems in the brain are designed to produce an experience of constancy even though the actual sensory information is changing. Hence, our experience of that world as presented in the mind appears relatively permanent and unchanging.

 

But, this is not what is really going on. Our minds have produced an illusion. The truth is that everything is impermanent and constantly changing, arising, and falling away. Buddhism teaches that denying impermanence and attempting to hold onto things inevitably leads to suffering. To relieve that suffering we must accept the impermanence of everything, we must let all experiences be as they are, we must not grasp or attempt to hold onto them. As a result our grasping at permanence produces a deep feeling of unsatisfactoriness. We walk through life with this queasy feeling that something is just not right.

 

What we experience on the beach does not match up well to the relative permanence of things that our mind is producing. On the beach, impermanence is on display with ever changing movement and interplay. On the beach the wind, the waves, and even the sand itself is in perpetual motion, rising up and falling away. So, the beach is a far better match to what is true and what our awareness experiences and not the minds created illusions. We love the beach because of its synchrony with actual aware experience, unveiling the true nature of existence.

 

We can feel the beach’s authenticity and synchrony with our true nature. We are one with existence at the beach. As a result unsatisfactoriness and suffering melt away as we immerse in an honest replica of the reality of our existence. It is no wonder that a visit to the beach is so desired and so satisfying. This all happens unconsciously, of course, for most. We don’t actually see or understand this. Rather we intuitively feel it, and it feels very, very good.

 

So, visit the beach and experience the truth of existence.

 

“When anxious, uneasy and bad thoughts come, I go to the sea, and the sea drowns them out with its great wide sounds, cleanses me with its noise, and imposes a rhythm upon everything in me that is bewildered and confused.” – Rainer Maria
CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

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Relax with Slower Breathing with Meditation

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By John M. de Castro, Ph.D.

 

“We often assume breathing is just a natural skill; everyone knows how to inhale and exhale. But breathing is a miracle. Being aware of our breath not only helps us manage the difficulties in everyday life, it also helps develop our wisdom and compassion. We can sit and breathe, but it is just as important to practice mindful breathing while we are moving. Life is a path, but life is not about getting to a certain place.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

 

Breathing is essential for life and generally occurs automatically. It’s easy to take for granted as it’s been there our entire lives. Nevertheless, we become more aware of it when it varies with circumstances, such as when we exercise and also in emotional states, especially fear and anxiety. But we rarely notice it during everyday ongoing life. Yet, its characteristics are associated with our state of well-being. Slow deep breathing is characteristic of a healthy relaxed state.

 

Meditators have been trained to pay attention to and even focus on breathing. Meditation produces a relaxed state and during meditation, respiration slows and deepens. Meditation also, promotes health and well-being. All this would predict that meditation practice would result in slower deeper breathing in the individual even when they are not meditating. In today’s Research News article “Long-term mindfulness training is associated with reliable differences in resting respiration rate.” See:

https://www.facebook.com/ContemplativeStudiesCenter/photos/a.628903887133541.1073741828.627681673922429/1272710419419548/?type=3&theater

or below or view the full text of the study at:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4895172/

Wielgosz and colleagues examine this question. They compared the resting respiration rates of long-term meditators to a matched group of non-meditators and found that the meditators had significantly lower respiration rates (11%) than the controls. They further explored the lower respiration rates in meditators and found that it was significantly related to the total number of hours that these practitioners had spent on meditation retreats and not to the hours spent in daily practice.

 

These are interesting results that suggest that long-term meditation practice that includes meditation retreats is associated with lower respiration rates. These lower rates, in turn, suggest that there was an improvement in the overall well-being of the practitioners. Meditation retreats allow for extended periods of calm and quiet that are unavailable during everyday life with all its demands and stressors. It is possible that these extended periods are necessary to have an overall sustained reduction in respiration rates and the suggested improvement in overall well-being. This clearly suggests that including retreats in a meditation practice is very important.

 

It needs to be kept in mind that causation cannot be determined in this study. It is possible that people who engage in long-term meditation and attend meditation retreats are characteristically calmer people who had lower respiration rates even before initiating meditation practice. It will require a study where baselines are established before a meditation practice is commenced and then randomly assigning volunteers to either meditation practice with or without retreats or to a no-meditation condition.

 

Regardless, relax with slower breathing with meditation.

 

“Our breathing is a stable solid ground that we can take refuge in. Regardless of our internal weather- our thoughts, emotions and perceptions- our breathing is always with us like a faithful friend. Whenever we feel carried away, or sunken in a deep emotion, or scattered in worries and projects, we return to our breathing to collect and anchor our mind.” – Plum Village

 

CMCS – Center for Mindfulness and Contemplative Studies

 

This and other Contemplative Studies posts are also available on Google+ https://plus.google.com/106784388191201299496/posts

 

Study Summary

Wielgosz, J., Schuyler, B. S., Lutz, A., & Davidson, R. J. (2016). Long-term mindfulness training is associated with reliable differences in resting respiration rate. Scientific Reports, 6, 27533. http://doi.org/10.1038/srep27533

 

Abstract

Respiration rate is known to correlate with aspects of psychological well-being, and attention to respiration is a central component of mindfulness meditation training. Both traditional contemplative systems and recent empirical evidence support an association between formal mindfulness practice and decreased respiration rate. However, the question of whether long-term mindfulness training is associated with stable, generalized changes in respiration has yet to be directly investigated. We analyzed respiration patterns across multiple time points, separated by two months or more, in a group of long-term mindfulness meditation practitioners (LTMs, n = 31) and a matched group of non-meditators (Controls, n = 38). On average, LTMs showed slower baseline respiration rate (RR) than Controls. Among LTMs, greater practice experience was associated with slower RR, independently of age and gender. Furthermore, this association was specific to intensive retreat practice, and was not seen for routine daily practice. Full days of meditation practice did not produce detectable changes in baseline RR, suggesting distal rather than immediate effects. All effects were independent of physiological characteristics including height, weight, body-mass index and waist-hip ratio. We discuss implications for continued study of the long-term effects of mindfulness training on health and well-being.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4895172/