MEDITATION AS MEDICATION- WHERE ARE WE?

The leaves had started to wither off. Obviously, it was the ‘Fall Season’. She had made up her mind–‘As the ‘last leaf’ falls off from the tree, so will my life’. She was suffering from a chronic disease, which at that time was considered incurable. The doctors had given up their efforts and so had she. But not the ‘Artist’. He was a man of optimism! and he knew that his wife would live!

 She would stare at the window waiting for the leaf to ‘detach’. But it wouldn’t. One day, it had turned green, spreading the message of ‘hope’! There was an ignition of positivity in her! - ‘It is getting greener!’. ‘It is growing’, ‘It is living, so will I’. Her thoughts aligned with the leaf. Indeed, she was ‘meditating’! The nature got her back. It was ‘spring’ already! New leaves sprang up from the tree, smiling at her! She meditated more! Streams of positive thoughts started to flow in her mind. She could get up and walk without support, go out and hug the tree, she laughed more, loved more and lived more! What helped her was her own thoughts that aligned with the growth of the tree. The ‘artist’ had indeed helped her by painting the ‘last leaf’!

‘Meditation’, according to Patanjali Yoga sutra is the ‘continuous flow of thoughts or attention on the same point or region’. It is an ancient practice that is presently practiced and researched for its ‘Therapeutic effects’ on the mind and body.  The attention during meditation can be either directed towards breathing, the third eye, one’s own thoughts or any objects that ensures unobstructed flow of attention. ‘Meditation’ (Dhyana) is the seventh limb in Patanjali’s eight limbs of yoga. The major objective of Yoga is to cease the fluctuations in the mind.

Meditation- A Panacea for the mind full of agitation.

Meditation bestows ‘clarity in mind’ by decluttering the chaos. It improves positive emotions which in turn boosts creativity and positive imagination. Meditation works on the Mind- body connection and can help in ‘psychosomatic ailment’ like hypertension, psoriasis, Rheumatism or cancer. Meditation brings in the Clarity in thoughts that helps take better decisions in life not just personally, but professionally. It can improve one’s willpower, self-confidence and self-esteem that are the pillars to steer successful life. It can help direct one’s thoughts from ‘problem-oriented focus’ towards ‘solution-oriented focus’. With all these scriptural and anecdotal evidence, Current era is witnessing ‘Empirical Evidences’ to expand its scientific basis.

Science behind the ‘Art of meditation’.

Meditation majorly has shown to regulate the ‘Hypothalamic-Pituitary Adrenal Axis’ (HPA axis), which in turn helps in optimal emotional, immune responses. The balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system achieved with the practice of Yoga bring in health and wellbeing of an Individual. Research studies have shown decrease in ‘cortisol hormones’ that is responsible for inflammatory reactions leading to chronic diseases. It also has shown to improve mood and affect states’, decrease ‘perceived stress’ and improve ‘quality of life’ by promoting ‘dopaminergic activity’ in the brain. These have positive impact on Anxiety, depressive disorders, among others.

Mindfulness or transcendental meditations have also shown to promote neuroplasticity and antioxidative effect which can prevent neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s and improve memory and quality of life and also come out of the loop of pessimistic thoughts.

The effect of meditation on ‘Psychosomatic illnesses’ like diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, symptomatic severity and psychological symptoms in cancers among others are being researched upon. The parasympathetic dominance can improve metabolic activities, anti-atherogenic effect, anti-tumorigenic activities. So, inclusion of meditation, Pranayama (Breathing exercises), Asanas (Body postures) are very beneficial.

Meditation have shown to increase grey matter, stimulate activities in prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and amygdala improving attention span, memory, decision making, and other cognitive abilities making it a very good choice for students for better academic performance and deal with the stressful life of competition.

Meditation has its effect as a ‘preventive’ and ‘promotive’ therapy and not just as a ‘curative practice’. ‘Everything is in the mind!’ is not just a ‘cliché’, but a science. It not just has its effect on the individual but also the family, the community, nation and the world as whole. Realizing this, the UN General Assembly declared ‘21^st December’ as ‘World meditation Day’, reiterating its steps in line with ‘World yoga day’ on June 21^st. This proves the commitment of world in adopting healthy lifestyle in combating the ‘stressors in life’. Yet, has this positive attitude turned into behavior?

What is stopping from Adopting?

The ‘No time’ belief is a new plague. The world of competition, the race for being ahead has created the perception of paucity in time for meditation.

‘Lack of Awareness and ignorance’ are another obstruction in adoption. Especially in India, where physical health is mostly given prominence ignoring the effect of psychological health, majorly face this issue. Especially in the population of lower strata, ‘mental health’ is a luxury. This is due to the stark reality of ‘Hand to mouth’ situation.

‘Speculation and disbelief’ are yet another issue. Adoption of integrated approach along with conventional medicine is seen as an unnecessary effort. But the reality is the opposite. ‘Treating a person as a whole’ is more important rather than treating to suppress the symptoms.  The need of the hour is the ‘integrated approach’ towards health.

The path towards holistic way of health.

One of the good steps in promoting holistic health is the establishment of ‘Integrative medicine’ departments in hospitals like AIIMS, New Delhi. It helps in conducting more research and adopting Yogic interventions with conventional treatments.

The policies and schemes by government of India and some states like ‘Ayushman Bharat health and wellness centers’ to give prominence on Nutrition, mindfulness, hygiene; AYUSH departments in PHCs and CHCs; Schemes giving prominence to psychological health like ‘Tele Manas’, ‘Manochaitanya’ among others in collaboration with institutes like ‘NIMHANS’ are good steps. These have to be further boosted to expand its reach to rural and hinterland population.

‘Eclectic approach’ of using various treatment options like Meditation and Cognitive behavioral therapy for Mental health, diet and nutrition along with conventional treatments for prevention and cure must be given importance.

Further, Global collaboration to expand research and implementation of ‘integrated approach of treatments’ all over the world needs to be done.

At last, it is good to keep in mind as told by many Doctors and Yoga experts, that ‘Meditation’ is not just a thirty/forty minutes practice, it is a conscious, cheerful, creative, and confident state of mind throughout the day. It is also the way of positively perceiving and processing the information from the external and internal world for ‘Humanity’ and ‘wellbeing’. It is much more than a practice or a therapy(medication), it is a ‘way of living’!

 

Yours, Contemplating on Meditation................

 Dr. Nidhishree J S, 

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