Meditation for Health and Happiness - Tool

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Background

Meditation can be one of the most important components of any health plan. Its unique ability to elicit physical ease and mental stability provides a foundation for healing, and directly influences one’s ability to meet the challenges resulting from illness and chronic disease.

Found in cultures, spiritual traditions, and disciplines throughout the world, meditation is a mind-body practice with many methods and variations—all of which are grounded in the silence and stillness of present moment awareness. According to Jon Kabat-Zinn, “Meditation is simplicity itself. It’s about stopping and being present. That is all.”¹ Father Thomas Keating adds that “Meditation is for everyone, not just for monks.”²

In meditation, one’s attention is directed toward a word, sound, image, prayer, or the breath, allowing the mind to settle into the present moment, thereby becoming still and receptive. An analogy can be made with a radio dial. The static represents the countless daily thoughts and sensations that preoccupy the mind. Meditation is the tool that fine-tunes the dial (the mind) so that one may become receptive and experience balance and harmony in the midst of the ever-changing conditions of the present moment.

Research

Evidence of the benefit from meditation has been widely documented. Several studies demonstrate that meditation training reduces anxiety and increases positive affect,^3-6 while others show mindfulness meditation prevents recurrence of depression.^7,8 In a 1985 study conducted by Kabat-Zinn, patients with chronic pain showed a statistically significant reduction in various measures of pain symptoms when trained in mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR).⁹ Meditation practices have also shown beneficial effects in the treatment of tension headaches,¹⁰ psoriasis,¹¹ blood pressure,^12-14 serum cholesterol,¹⁴ smoking cessation,¹⁵ carotid atherosclerosis,¹⁶ coronary artery disease,^17,18 longevity and cognitive function in the elderly,¹⁹ psychiatric disorders,^8,20 use of medical care,²¹ and medical costs in treating chronic pain.²² A 2004 meta-analysis found MBSR training useful for a broad range of chronic disorders such as depression, anxiety, fibromyalgia, mixed cancer diagnoses, coronary artery disease, chronic pain, obesity, and eating disorders.²³

Research conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggests a positive correlation between meditation practice and left-sided prefrontal cortex activity, which is associated with positive affective mental states. In this study, meditation was associated with increases in antibody titers to influenza vaccine suggesting correlation among meditation, positive emotional states, localized brain activity, and improved immune function.²⁴ Corroborating research demonstrates a direct link between immune function and mood, with positive affective states resulting in stronger immune function and decreased incidence of illness.^25-27 Further, Tibetan Buddhist monks show greatly increased left-sided prefrontal cortex gamma wave activity compared to novice meditator controls both at rest and during meditation, suggesting that attention and affective processes are flexible skills that can be learned.²⁸ One can infer from these studies that meditation training influences the neuroplasticity of learned happiness and concentration in a dose dependent manner.

Spiritual Connection

Meditation practice not only offers improvement and prevention of biological disease but primarily leads to deeper spiritual connection. While research aims to elucidate the tangible biological correlates of meditation and its significance to health, millions of people from all cultures and walks of life continue to explore the subtle inner dimensions of meditative experience everyday. To the persevering seeker and diligent practitioner of meditation these subjective and transcendent experiences are real, reproducible, healing, and useful for most situations and conditions.

Please see the accompanying patient handout for specific suggestions on how to meditate.

What we know about integrative health care has come to us thanks to the efforts, experiences, and collective wisdom of people from many cultures and backgrounds. We wish to acknowledge all the healers, researchers, patients, and peoples who have informed the content of this tool.

Author(s)

This tool was adapted for the Osher Center for Integrative Health at the University of Wisconsin - Madison from the original written by Luke Fortney, MD, and edited by Charlene Luchterhand. Content was adapted from: Fortney, L, Bonus, K. Recommending Meditation. In: Rakel, DP (Ed) Integrative Medicine, 2^nd Edition. Philadelphia, PA: WB Saunders; 2007.

Originally Created: 2007

References

1. Kabat-Zinn J. Meditation. In: Holland JC, ed. Textbook on Psycho-oncology. Oxford University Press; 1998:767-779.
2. Conversation with Father Keating. 12/11/07.
3. Benson H, Kotch JB, Crassweller KD. The relaxation response: a bridge between psychiatry and medicine. Medical Clinics of North America. Jul 1977;61(4):929-38.
4. Kabat-Zinn J, Massion AO, Kristeller J, et al. Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders. The American journal of psychiatry. Jul 1992;149(7):936-43. doi:10.1176/ajp.149.7.936
5. Miller JJ, Fletcher K, Kabat-Zinn J. Three-year follow-up and clinical implications of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction intervention in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. May 1995;17(3):192-200. doi:10.1016/0163-8343(95)00025-m
6. Beauchamp-Turner DL, Levinson DM. Effects of meditation on stress, health, and affect. Medical Psychotherapy: An International Journal. 1992;5:123-131.
7. Teasdale JD, Segal ZV, Williams JM, Ridgeway VA, Soulsby JM, Lau MA. Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology. Aug 2000;68(4):615-23.
8. Ma SH, Teasdale JD. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression: replication and exploration of differential relapse prevention effects. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology. Feb 2004;72(1):31-40. doi:10.1037/0022-006x.72.1.31
9. Kabat-Zinn J, Lipworth L, Burney R. The clinical use of mindfulness meditation for the self-regulation of chronic pain. Journal of behavioral medicine. 1985;8(2):163-90.
10. Blanchard EB, Nicholson NL, Taylor AE, Steffek BD, Radnitz CL, Appelbaum KA. The role of regular home practice in the relaxation treatment of tension headache. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology. Jun 1991;59(3):467-70. doi:10.1037//0022-006x.59.3.467
11. Kabat-Zinn J, Wheeler E, Light T, et al. Influence of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction intervention on rates of skin clearing in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis undergoing phototherapy (UVB) and photochemotherapy (PUVA). Psychosom Med. Sep-Oct 1998;60(5):625-32. doi:10.1097/00006842-199809000-00020
12. Alexander CN, Schneider RH, Staggers F, et al. Trial of stress reduction for hypertension in older African Americans. II. Sex and risk subgroup analysis. Hypertension. Aug 1996;28(2):228-37. doi:10.1161/01.hyp.28.2.228
13. Parati G, Steptoe A. Stress reduction and blood pressure control in hypertension: a role for transcendental meditation? Journal of hypertension. Nov 2004;22(11):2057-60. doi:10.1097/00004872-200411000-00004
14. Cooper M, Aygen M. [Effect of meditation on blood cholesterol and blood pressure]. Harefuah. Jul 2 1978;95(1):1-2.
15. Royer A. The role of the Transcendental Meditation technique in promoting smoking cessation: A longitudinal study. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly. 1994;11(1-2):221-239.
16. Fields JZ, Walton KG, Schneider RH, et al. Effect of a multimodality natural medicine program on carotid atherosclerosis in older subjects: a pilot trial of Maharishi Vedic Medicine. The American journal of cardiology. Apr 15 2002;89(8):952-8. doi:10.1016/s0002-9149(02)02245-2
17. Zamarra JW, Schneider RH, Besseghini I, Robinson DK, Salerno JW. Usefulness of the transcendental meditation program in the treatment of patients with coronary artery disease. The American journal of cardiology. Apr 15 1996;77(10):867-70. doi:10.1016/s0002-9149(97)89184-9
18. Ornish D, Brown SE, Scherwitz LW, et al. Can lifestyle changes reverse coronary heart disease? The Lifestyle Heart Trial. Lancet. Jul 21 1990;336(8708):129-33. doi:10.1016/0140-6736(90)91656-u
19. Alexander CN, Langer EJ, Newman RI, Chandler HM, Davies JL. Transcendental meditation, mindfulness, and longevity: an experimental study with the elderly. J Pers Soc Psychol. Dec 1989;57(6):950-64. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.57.6.950
20. Shannahoff-Khalsa DS. An introduction to Kundalini yoga meditation techniques that are specific for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, NY). Feb 2004;10(1):91-101. doi:10.1089/107555304322849011
21. Orme-Johnson D. Medical care utilization and the transcendental meditation program. Psychosom Med. Sep-Oct 1987;49(5):493-507. doi:10.1097/00006842-198709000-00006
22. Caudill M, Schnable R, Zuttermeister P, Benson H, Friedman R. Decreased clinic use by chronic pain patients: response to behavioral medicine intervention. Clin J Pain. Dec 1991;7(4):305-10. doi:10.1097/00002508-199112000-00009
23. Grossman P, Niemann L, Schmidt S, Walach H. Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits. a meta-analysis. Journal of psychosomatic research. Jul 2004;57(1):35-43. doi:10.1016/s0022-3999(03)00573-7
24. Davidson RJ, Kabat-Zinn J, Schumacher J, et al. Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Psychosom Med. Jul-Aug 2003;65(4):564-70. doi:10.1097/01.psy.0000077505.67574.e3
25. Hayney MS, Love GD, Buck JM, Ryff CD, Singer B, Muller D. The association between psychosocial factors and vaccine-induced cytokine production. Vaccine. Jun 2 2003;21(19-20):2428-32. doi:10.1016/s0264-410x(03)00057-4
26. Rosenkranz MA, Jackson DC, Dalton KM, et al. Affective style and in vivo immune response: neurobehavioral mechanisms. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Sep 16 2003;100(19):11148-52. doi:10.1073/pnas.1534743100
27. Cohen S, Herbert TB. Health psychology: psychological factors and physical disease from the perspective of human psychoneuroimmunology. Annu Rev Psychol. 1996;47:113-42. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.47.1.113
28. Lutz A, Greischar LL, Rawlings NB, Ricard M, Davidson RJ. Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Nov 16 2004;101(46):16369-73. doi:10.1073/pnas.0407401101