Meditation - What is Alternative Medicine?

In his book, Love, Medicine & Miracles , Dr. Bernie Siegel defines meditation as “an active process of focusing the mind into a state of relaxed awareness. There are many ways of doing this. Some teachers recommend focusing attention on a symbolic sound or word (a mantra) or on a single image, such as a candle flame or a mandala. Others teach people to focus on the sound and flowing of the breath. The result of all meditation methods is ultimately the same: to induce a restful trance which strengthens the mind by freeing it from its accustomed turmoil.”

In the last 25 years, a considerable body of research by Chopra, Siegel, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, Dr. Herbert Benson, and others has demonstrated how meditation benefits health. For example, blood chemistry reports have shown a lessening of lactate in the blood (lactate is related to high levels of anxiety). Also, electroencephalograms have shown an increase in alpha brain wave activity (alpha waves are present during states of deep relaxation and creativity). Meditation tends to lower or normalize blood pressure, pulse rate, and the levels of stress hormones in the blood. It also lowers abnormally high cholesterol levels and reduces mild hypertension. There is also evidence that with regular practice over a substantial period of time, meditation may increase concentration, memory, intelligence, and creativity.

In the October 1995 issue of Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology , Dr. S. Telles relates that one group of seven meditators who mentally chanted “OM” showed a statistically significant reduction in heart rate during meditation compared to a control group. Alternative Medicine: What Works reports a small clinical trial in which meditation helped decrease anxiety in 45 college students. Laughing meditation, according to an article by D. Sutorisu in the September issue of 1995 Patient Education and Counseling , has also been used as an effective adjutant in stress reduction therapy. J. Miller reports in the May 1995 issue of General Hospital Psychiatry that 22 medical patients with anxiety disorders and panic phobias significantly improved with 8-week outpatient physician-referred stress reduction intervention based on meditation.

Because meditation helps patients with a variety of disorders control their involuntary nervous system, it has been used successfully to reduce epileptic seizures. Dr. U. Panjwani conducted a study of 11 adults suffering from epilepsy who were taught meditation and yoga, while another nine adults acted as controls. All patients were on antiepileptic drugs and their serum drug levels were monitored regularly. Panjwani reports in the April 1995 issue of Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology that the meditation group showed a “significant reduction in seizure frequency and duration, an increase in dominant background EEG frequency.”

Other studies have confirmed that meditation can increase personal happiness and decrease negative thinking and anger. W. Smith reports a clinical trial in the March 1995 issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychology in which meditators scored significantly higher on Personal Happiness Enhancement Program (PHEP) inventory than a control group who did not meditate. In the 1992 Scandinavian Journal of Psychology , Dr. J. Dua reviews a clinical trial in which patients who were taught meditation significantly reduced negative thinking and anger scores across a wide variety of situations.