Lovingkindness Practice: Cultivate goodwill and benevolence toward all beings, including yourself.
Published on February 17, 2012 by Toni Bernhard, J.D. in Turning Straw Into GoldToni is a Buddhist practitioner and person living with ME/CFS. She is the author of 'How To Be Sick'. Meditation and other Buddhist practices can assist us in being with whatever arises, instead of spending energy on trying to push undesirable states away. Remembering that all healing begins with acknowledging the truth, practices such as mindfulness meditation, scanning the body and metta/loving-kindness meditation can do a lot to help us on our healing journey.Read Toni's entire piece on how to practice loving-kindness towards yourself here:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/turning-straw-gold/201202/lovingkindness-practice
via ProHealth.com
by Joe Garma*
November 16, 2011
Joe Garma is 'An Average Joe' who assiduously researches and blogs about the physical and psychological aspects of health at GarmaOnHealth.com*
______________
Meditation delivers better health, emotional resiliency and brain power. All you have to do is… do it a bit each day. The science is clear - meditation builds a better you.
I’ve been meditating for years. Its value is obvious to me. And now with all the gadgets available to measure brain activity, scientists are learning just what’s going on.
My buddy, Steve, is a peripatetic searcher for knowledge, particularly self-knowledge. He has boundless energy, few preconceptions that he’s unwilling to challenge, punches through fears, and over the last few years has done what the cartoonist Stine made popular with his greeting cards - Steve is willing to “look in to find out.”
We’re talking live-in workshop retreats and various deep dive psychotherapies. And now, Steve has added meditation to the list. He recently learned Transcendental Meditation, and now sits daily and relaxes into the vibe.
“It’s making a difference,” Steve announced to me at our café hangout last weekend. I looked up from the section of Sunday’s New York Times that he gave me to give him an inquiring look.
I said nothing, but wondered how he could pinpoint the benefits of meditation given all the other modalities in which he’s immersed. He punctuated the pause with a smirk, and we both returned to our respective reads. It doesn’t matter that we didn’t dive into how meditation is affecting Steve, for we both know.
I’ve been an on and off meditator for 30 years. Its value is obvious to me. And now with all the gadgets available to measure brain activity, scientists are learning just what’s going on. Here are seven benefits of meditation…
Benefits of Meditation
1. A More Plastic Brain
This is a strange term, but it’s nearly literal because consistent meditation leads to what’s referred to as neuroplasticity.
Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to respond to certain inputs by changing itself structurally and functionally.
Now, there are even methods presented online that, studies show, can improve our brains, such as the games developed by Lumosity. [Lumos Labs (www.lumosity.com) is a developer of brain rehab & training exercises and games.]
That the brain is actually “plastic” - can change - is a big deal, as scientists formerly believed that the brain essentially stopped changing after adulthood.
2. A Thicker Brain
Get a thicker brain in just 40 minutes a day! A 2005 study of American men and women who meditated a mere 40 minutes a day showed that they had thicker cortical walls than non-meditators.
Thicker biceps, yes, but why would you want a thicker brain? Well, a thicker brain results in a brain that’s aging at a slower rate, better decision making, attention and memory.
Thick brains are better than thick biceps after all.
3. A More Alert Brain
In a 2006 study, college students were asked to either sleep, meditate or watch TV. They were then tested on their alertness by being asked to hit a button every time a light flashed on a screen. By a significant 10% ("a huge jump"), the meditators did better than the nappers and TV watchers.
4. A More Relaxed Brain
Do you have high blood pressure?
In 2008, Dr. Randy Zusman, a doctor at the Massachusetts General Hospital, asked patients suffering from high blood pressure, but not on medication, to try a meditation-based relaxation program for three months.
After meditating regularly for three months, 40 of the 60 patients showed significant drops in blood pressure levels. The reason? Relaxation results in the formation of nitric oxide which opens up your blood vessels.
5. A Longer-Lived Brain
Telomeres - the protective caps at the end of our chromosomes - are the new frontier of anti-aging science. (Watch Nobel prize winner Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn tell you about telomeres in “Three Months to Longer Life.”)
Having longer telomeres means that you’re likely to live longer.
Research done by the University of California, Davis-based Shamatha Project has shown that meditators have significantly higher telomerase activity that non-meditators.
Telomerase is the enzyme that helps build telomeres. When telomerase activity shifts into high gear, it can translate into stronger and longer telomeres .
6. A More Resilient Brain
Meaning, a better immune system.
A 2008 study on HIV positive patients found that, after an eight-week meditation course, patients who’d meditated showed no decline in lymphocyte content – by contrast with non-meditators, who showed significant reduction in lymphocytes.
Lymphocytes, or white blood cells, are the “brain” of the body’s immune system, and are particularly important for HIV positive people. The study also found that lymphocyte levels actually went up with each meditation session.
7. A Pain-Free Brain
Well, the brain itself doesn’t actually feel pain, but it does command how you feel it. Earlier this year, a study conducted by Wake Forest Baptist University found that meditation could reduce pain intensity by 40% and pain unpleasantness by 57%.
Pretty impressive given that morphine and other pain-relieving drugs typically show a pain reduction of only 25%.
* * * *
There’s some more information for each of these seven at the original article that inspired this summary, so if interested, go take a read here.
You Might Also Like
• “Four Ways to Build a Better Brain”
• "The 40 Best Age-Erasing Superfoods"
• “Three Months to Longer Life” (It’s All About Telomeres)
• “The Mind-Heart Connection: The Stress Response, and Techniques for Creating a Relaxation Response.”
• “Mindfulness Meditation Alleviates Depressive Symptoms in women with Fibromyalgia: Results of a randomized clinical trial” (“Depressive symptoms improved significantly.”
• “Meditation Can Indeed Reduce Pain Sensitivity – Actually ‘Beefs Up’ Parts of the Brain.”
____
* Joe Garma is 'An Average Joe' who assiduously researches and blogs about the physical and psychological aspects of health at GarmaOnHealth.com. His blog is the culmination of more than 20 years of insights gained in his own quest for ways to live a long and strong life. This article is reproduced here with his kind permission - © Joe Garma 2010-2011.
Note: This information has not been evaluated by the FDA. It is generic and is not meant to prevent, diagnose, treat or cure any disease.
via ProHealth.com
by Blake Graham, Clinical Nutritionist*
June 8, 2011
The efficiency of mitochondrial energy production is highly dependent on adequate cellular oxygen concentration – a key issue for those with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. In this recently updated article, fatigue consultant Blake Graham describes simple breathing exercises to help break the dysfunctional cycle that’s involved.
_______
I have heard about the supposed importance of breathing in chronic fatigue syndrome (and fibromyalgia) for many years, and never took it very seriously.
Then I read an article in Alternative and Complementary Therapies journal titled “Clinical Roundup: How Do You Treat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Your Practice?” In the article, eight integrative/alternative medicine experts described how they treat ME/CFS.
While they come from a variety of different backgrounds, four of the eight mentioned the importance of breathing. This inspired me to look into the role of breathing in more detail. After studying this topic, I have become completely convinced that this is a very important issue.
The issues discussed here are all heavily interrelated. These relate to:
- The rate and depth of breathing,
- Dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), and
- Stress/tension.
These issues collectively constitute a very important [cycle] which contributes to, and perpetuates, ME/CFS. And the treatment I’ll discuss is designed to break the cycle of these three issues. Some people have a bias against 'low tech', mind-body or free treatments, assuming they are not as potent as other treatments, so please keep an open mind as you read through this.
One of the sources I read was the book Bursting With Energy, by Dr. Frank Shallenberger. In it, he describes “Breathing Right” as one of the “Eight Secrets for Improving Energy.” A brief summary of this chapter, explaining the difference between chest and diaphragmatic breathing, is found online HERE.
Improper Breathing Retards Metabolic Energy Production
While people with ME/CFS have normal blood oxygen, cellular oxygen levels are often inadequate. Optimal breathing improves cellular oxygen concentration, including to the brain. Mitochondrial function, a key issue for those with ME/CFS/FM, is highly dependent on oxygen levels for energy production. Shallenberger cites a case study in his book in which a person increased his metabolic energy production 20% after just half an hour of breathing instruction.
Drs. Sarah Myhill and Charles Lapp are two CFS & Fibromyalgia experts who discuss the importance of breathing.
Dr. Myhill, a co-author of “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Mitochondrial Dysfunction,” discusses the topic in “Hyperventilation – Makes you feel as if you can’t get your breath.” She writes:
"Hyperventilation – the idea here is that for whatever reason, the patient over-breathes. One cannot increase the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood this way, so oxygen levels are not increased, but carbon dioxide is washed out. This changes the acidity of the blood in such a way that oxygen sticks more avidly to hemoglobin.
“So oxygen is not released to the mitochondria where it is required, and so mitochondria go slow - so cells go slow, and this results in fatigue."
And Dr. Lapp in his "Stepwise" treatment approach notes that in both CFS and fibromyalgia, most patients breathe shallowly, using the muscles in the upper part of the chest. He recommends deep breathing, through the lower part of the diaphragm, because "This type of breathing tends to relieve things like chest tightness, shortness of breath, as well as spasms in the postural muscles."
Stress and Breathing
The link between stress and breathing goes both directions.
• Higher stress levels cause faster/deeper breathing,
• And faster breathing causes higher stress levels.
Read "Breathing Matters - Stress" by ear/nose/throat specialist Dr. Jim Bartley for an excellent article on the relationship between stress and breathing.
The Autonomic Nervous System and Breathing to Restore Balance
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is the part of the nervous system which controls involuntary functions. It is composed of two sections, the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS).
• The SNS activates our stress response (the ‘fight or flight' response) and is associated with higher energy utilization,
• While the PNS counteracts the stress response and is associated with relaxation, energy conservation, digestion, etc.
In many chronic illnesses, including anxiety disorders, this autonomic balance is impaired, with an over-active SNS response and under-active PNS response. Research on those with ME/CFS suggests that both the PNS relaxation response and the SNS SNS 'fight or flight' response are under-active, associated with exhaustion of the autonomic nervous system. As the autonomic nervous system is one of the major regulatory systems in the body, this is a huge problem.
What does this have to do with breathing?
Well, it turns out that our breathing rate is a key modulator of the balance between SNS and PNS activation, and certain breathing practices can be used therapeutically to restore balance in the autonomic nervous system.
• Even if you feel mentally calm, if your breathing rate is overly fast, as it is for many people, this causes SNS activation.
• Slow breathing (also called 'paced respiration') tones and normalizes activity of both the SNS and PNS.
Read the fascinating article “The Science of Coherent Breathing” by Stephen Elliott, author of The New Science of Breath, for an in depth discussion of the link between breathing and autonomic nervous system balance.
Breathing more deeply and expanding the diaphragm also stimulates the peripheral nervous system and influences autonomic status. It's also interesting to note that energy medicine practices such as qigong (which literally means ‘breathing exercise’) believe that slow abdominal breathing is critical for the balance and flow of energy in our system.
For more information on the profound influence the diaphragm has on our body, see "Diaphragm Mediates Action of Autonomic and Enteric Nervous Systems," Jan 8, 2010, Psychophysiology, by Stephen Elliot.
Using Coherent or Resonant Breathing - Daily Breath Training
While breathing experts don’t agree on everything, they all agree that we generally breathe too fast and too shallow - and that predominantly breathing through our nose is ideal.
While a typical person might have 15 to 20 breath cycles per minute, an ideal number is 5 to10 cycles per minute at rest. For example, five breath cycles per minute = one breath cycle per 12 seconds, or inhaling for 6 seconds and exhaling for 6 seconds.
While we can’t quickly take up these new habits permanently, what we can do is daily breath training. A person can listen to an audio track which has a sound cue every six seconds. You simply inhale or exhale at each interval using the track like a metronome. Breathing at this rate is referred to as coherent or resonant breathing.
What are the benefits of doing this?
• On an immediate basis, this is deeply relaxing for most people.
• Cumulative over several weeks, daily breath training has numerous benefits. It improves the function and balance of the autonomic nervous system, which carries with it a host of benefits. Our natural breathing rhythm gradually shifts in the direction of that during the training so we don’t just benefit during the breathing exercises.
Coherent breath training is one of the best ways to reduce levels of stress. You can order a ‘breathing pacemaker’ CD called 'Respire I' or download the audio tracks as MP3s (free audio samples are available). I enjoy track 2, which has Tibetan bells as the breath cue.
I recommend that people with ME/CFS/FM do this breath exercise, combined with the practices described below, for 25 minutes twice daily.
Commit to two months of daily practice and then evaluate your response.
1. Breathe through your nose and you should be able to feel your abdominal region expand with each inhalation. Breaths should be gentle and relaxed, not forceful or high volume. This exercise is also preferably done with eyes close, as having one's eyes open favors sympathetic nervous system activation.
2. While performing the breathing exercise, mentally scan your body and release any obvious areas of tension, e.g., in your jaw, shoulders and chest.
Throughout the day, periodically observe your breathing, slow your breathing rate and make sure you are breathing through your nose and abdominally. Also use this breathing technique, combined with Ujjayi (pronounced "oo-jai") breathing described below, in times of acute stress.
Ten minutes of Ujjayi breathing at five breaths per minute is an excellent stress buster! When done in bed the combination of coherent breathing, Ujjayi breathing and progressive muscle relaxation described below is very beneficial for many people with insomnia.
Ujjayi ("oo-jai") Breathing for Calming Anxiety
In the excellent book How to Use Herbs, Nutrients, and Yoga in Mental Health Care, written by three psychiatrists affiliated with universities in New York, the authors recommend 'Respire I' from www.coherence.com, cited above. They also recommend combining this with a simple breathing technique called Ujjayi breathing (literally, 'loud breathing'), a yogic breathing technique. They write:
"Those who are able to learn Ujjayi breathing can be instructed to use the Respire I CD with Ujjayi for even greater effects. Ujjayi breathing creates a sound using contraction of laryngeal muscles with partial closure of the glottis, permitting fine regulation of the respiratory rate while increasing airway resistance, intrathoracic pressure, baroreceptor stimulation, HRV, RSA (Calabrese, Perrault, Dinh, Eberhard, & Benchetrit, 2000), and stimulation of somatosensory afferents in the pharynx, lungs, chest wall, and diaphragm. When done at a slow rate (2 to 6 breaths per minute) ... Ujjayi is physically and mentally calming.
"In clinical practice, the authors find that basic Ujjayi breathing is the single most rapidly effective breath intervention for anxiety symptoms in patients diagnosed with anxiety disorders... The patient who is taught Ujjayi breathing will usually experience a profound sense of physical and mental calmness within five to 10 minutes of doing this technique."
Type in “Ujjayi breath” at http://www.youtube.com to watch videos on this breathing technique. Incorporate Ujjayi breathing along with the coherent breathing for the duration that suits your body and complete the duration of the breathing time by simply breathing along to the sound cues.
You may need to start with just 5 minutes of Ujjayi breathing and build up over time as is comfortable. Make sure you keep your neck, throat, shoulders and chest relaxed as you breathe. It shouldn't feel strained or forceful, just relaxed and slow with a partial contraction of your throat muscles.
Complementary Practices – More Options for Banishing Stress
Start with the combination of coherent/resonant and Ujjayi breathing until it feels natural and easy. At this point, you can add aspects of other mind-body practices such as meditation or qigong for further benefit. A few options are as follows:
• Progressive muscle relaxation. Created by Stephen Elliot of www.coherence.com and Stephen Hawley, the Six Bridges is a form of progressive muscle relaxation, focused on autonomic balance, which complements the basic Coherent balance exercises. ("Muscles throughout the body gradually relax, including those of the spine and the vascular system. Blood flow throughout the body increases, knots in the muscles gradually disappear...") Also see the June 2009 Coherence Newsletter for more information. The Six Bridges audio is available as an MP3 download or as a CD.
• Mantra based or breathing meditation. For example, focus attention on the flow of your breath.
• Qigong meditation. Qigong traditions believe the abdominal region between your navel and pelvic bone, called the lower dantian, is a key energy reservoir. Qigong practices often involve focusing attention, or meditating, on this area.
Happy Breathing!
- Blake Graham, BSc (Honours), AACNEM
____
* Clinical Nutritionist Blake Graham, practicing in Perth, Western Australia, specializes in nutritional and environmental medicine therapies for those with chronic medical conditions, such as ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and environmental illness. His website – www.nutritional-healing.com.au . This article, last updated Jan 4, 2011, is reproduced with kind permission from Blake Graham’s Nutritional Healing e-newsletter. To sign up for the free newsletter, click here.
Note: This information has not been evaluated by the FDA. It is not intended to prevent, diagnose, treat or cure any condition, illness, or disease and is not a substitute for personal medical care. It is very important that you make no change in your healthcare plan or health support regimen without researching and discussing it in collaboration with your professional healthcare team.
'The Work' of Byron Katie is a way of identifying and questioning the thoughts that cause all the fear, violence, depression, frustration, and suffering in the world. Experience the happiness of undoing those thoughts through The Work, and allow your mind to return to its true, awakened, peaceful, creative nature.
This is not 'a cure' for ME/CFS but a method of enquiry and working with yourself to assist in giving you the highest quality of life possible. ME/CFS often beckons us to places previously unexplored, and Katie's method is one avenue that can lead us to deeper understanding of how we relate with ourselves, others and the world around us.
|
RSS Feed