Presented by: P Kaushik

Chaired by: Dr. Rashmi Arasappa

Definition

Meditation Process

Classification

Types of Meditation

Research on effects of Meditation

Meditation- Adverse Effects

Obstacles for meditation

References

The word meditation is derived from the Latin word meditari, meaning "to think”, “contemplate”, “devise”, or “ponder".

Patanjali:

“deśabandhaḥ cittasya dhāraṇā” PYS 3.3

“tatra pratyayaikatānatā dhyānam”PYS 3.4

“tadevārthamātranirbhāsaṃ svarūpaśūnyamiva samādhiḥ”PYS 3.5

Dhyanam nama shastrokta devatadyalambanesu acalo

Bhinnajatiyairanantaritah pratyavasanah // S.Bhashya

! – That which makes us cognitive

5 planes of chitta

Multiple subject – Multiple thinking (Chancham hi manah)

a)kshipta b)mudha c)Vikshipta

Single Subject-Multiple Thoughts (Tatrekagram manah)

a)Ekagra b)Niruddha

Meditation can be defined as a form of mental training

that aims to improve an individual’s core psychological capacities, such as attention and emotional self-regulation. (Manna etal., )

1. Focussed Attention (FA)

2. Open Monitoring (OM)

Vyasa Bhashya

Ishwara Geeta

1. Vishoka va jyotishmati

2. Veetaraaga vishayam va

3. Swapna nidra jnanaalambanam va

4. Yatha abhimata dhyanat vaa

Upanishads:

Aham brahmasmi/Tat tvam asi

Apratikalambana:

Prajnanam brahma/Satyam jnanam anantam brahma

According to bhagavad geeta

1. Samaṁ kāyaśirogrīvaṁ …..||6.13||

2. Praśāntātmā vigatabhīrbrahmacārivrate sthitaḥ| Manaḥ saṁyamya maccitto yukta āsīta matparaḥ||6.14||

3. Shanaih shanaih uparamet……

Dhyanashlokas(Pratikalambana):

1. Dhyeyah sada savitru mandala……

2. Sanchintayee bhagavatah charanaravindam…..

3. Dhyayet harirmaninibham…..etc

Disease, fatigue, doubt, carelessness, laziness, materialistic, delusion, non achievement of stage, instability, these cause distraction of the mind and they are the obstacles

Technique:

- This is a kind of Mantra meditation where the meditator sits comfortably with eyes closed.

- Mantra is repeated in the mind. Awareness settles down and he experiences a unique state of restful alertness.

- Practised twice a day. Morning and evening for 15-20 minutes.

Technique:

1. Observe ones own breath and then sensations and feelings in various parts of body.

2. Focuses on subtle interconnection between mind and body. Disciplined body=Disciplined mind.

3. Disciplined mind = Dissolution of impurities of mind = Balanced mind

Technique:

Zazen- Zen meditation is a fundamental part of both the Soto and Rinzai Sects of Zen Buddhism.

There are three variations of the meditation.

1. The meditator concentrates on his breathing, counting the breaths or without counting.

2. The meditator has to solve koans or say non-logical riddles.

3. Meditator just sits and breathes in a prescribed manner without any aids or concentrating on his breath.

During this meditation, the meditator sits in a comfortable position with their eyes open, and with effortless gaze fixed on a jyoti (light –representing supreme consciousness).

At same time, they actively generate positive thoughts about the Universal force pervading all over, as light and peace

Gaudapaadas Karika on Mandukya Upanishad.

Combination of gentle yogic stretching performed with awareness and with very slow movements followed by relaxation.

This cycle repeats for three times and ends in deep relaxation and silence. The combination of stimulation and relaxation takes one to the deeper layers of relaxation.

The practitioner has to sit in meditative posture and chant Om mentally with awareness.

The chanting should be very slow and the silence between the two Om karas has to be experienced.

If there are any distractions, chanting should be made faster and after some time once again chanting should be done slowly.

Finally, this process leads to a state of Ajapa (no repetition) which is a state of bliss, deep silence and peace.

It sums up the perception of body, psychic centers, breath and observation of mind.

No thought is forcefully stopped. Instead, the art of merely observing the thought process without forming any reaction or attachment is developed. (Mindfulness)

By doing so, thoughts themselves cease to appear

Derived from tantric texts by Bihar School of Yoga.

It is a systematic method of inducing complete physical, mental and emotional relaxation, while maintaining awareness at deeper levels.

It consists of progressive relaxation and rotation of awareness all over body, resolve, and visualization of some random images of nature.

In the Theeravadin Buddhist tradition, this practice begins with the meditator cultivating loving-kindness towards themselves, then their loved ones, friends, teachers, strangers, enemies, and finally towards all sentient beings.

S.No. Title SS (n)

Conclusions

1. Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness (Lazar etal., 2005)

35 Brain regions associated with attention, interoception and sensory processing were thicker in experienced meditation participants than matched controls.

2. Long-term meditation is associated with increased gray matter density in the brain stem (Vestergaard-Poulsen et al., 2009)

20 Higher gray matter density in lower brain stem regions of experienced meditators compared with age-matched non-meditators. Structural differences in brainstem regions concerned with cardiorespiratory control. This could account for some of the cardiorespiratory parasympathetic effects and traits, as well as the cognitive, emotional, and immunoreactive impact.

3. Short-term meditation induces white matter changes in the anterior cingulate. (Tang etal., 2010) IBMT – Integrative body mind training

45 11 hours of IBMT increases fractional anisotropy (FA), an index indicating the integrity and efficiency of white matter in the corona radiata, an important white-matter tract connecting the ACC to other structures. Thus IBMT could provide a means for improving self-regulation and perhaps reducing or preventing various mental disorders.

S.No Title SS (n)

Conclusion

4. Increased Grey Matter Associated with LongTerm Sahaja Yoga Meditation: A Voxel-Based Morphometry Study (Hernández, Suero, Barros, González-Mora, & Rubia, 2016)

46 Regional enlargement in several right hemispheric cortical and subcortical brain regions that are associated with sustained attention, self-control, compassion and interoceptive perception. The increased grey matter volume in these attention and self-control mediating regions suggests use-dependent enlargement with regular practice of meditation.

5. Forever Young(er): Potential age-deying effects of long-term meditation on gray matter atrophy

(Lauche, 2015)

100 1. Correlating global and local gray matter with age: Negative correlations within both controls and meditators, suggesting a decline over time. However, the slopes of the regression lines were steeper and the correlation coefficients were stronger in controls than in meditators.

2. Age-affected brain regions were much more extended in controls than in meditators.

6. Immediate Effect of Two Yoga-Based Relaxation Techniques on Performance in a Letter-Cancellation Task (Sarang etal., 2007)

69 Cyclic Meditation brings about a greater improvement in performance in this task, which requires selective attention, concentration, visual scanning abilities, and a repetitive motor response.

7. Yogic meditation reverses NF-κB and IRF-related transcriptome dynamics in leukocytes of familydementia caregivers in a randomized controlled trial. (8 Weeks) (Black et al., 2013)

N=45 Reduced NF-κB signaling and increased activity of IRF1

S.No Practice with mindfulness Time Result

1 Diaphram Breathing 1-2 minutes Anxiety , mood regulation

2 Mindfulness meditation 3-5 minutes Anxiety and mood regulation, attention, trauma

3 Brief lovingkindness meditation 3–5 min Mood regulation, depression, trauma

Meditation can also be a helpful tool for promoting the healing of individuals who are mentally ill/weak.

The enhanced openness was associated with improved strategies for coping with stress.

Adv Exp Med Biol. 2018;1023:85-91.

Meditation promote the diminishment of psychiatric illness, character change, and the resolution of neurosis when used adjunctively with psychodynamically oriented and cognitive behavioral psychotherapy.

Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2008; 5(1): 28–41

Positive impact of meditation in reducing stress and enhancing general wellbeing.

J Behav Med. 2008; 31(1):23-33; J Anxiety Disord. 2008; 22(4):716-21;

Meditation can be helpful for the treatment of anxiety, addiction, aggression,

suicidality, and depression.

J Trauma Stress. 2007; 20(3):239-49; Behav Modif. 2007; 31(3):313-28;

J Clin Psychol. 2006; 62(2):201-10;

A 24 year male developed a relapsing acute psychosis with polymorphic symptomatology, precipitated by intense and unguided meditation(Hindustan-type meditation).

No fasting, sleep deprivation or neurospychiatric family history.

Classified under ICD-10

Currently under antipsychotics.

19 such cases have been reported. (Kuijpers, Van Der Heijden, Tuinier, & Verhoeven,

2007)

1. Manna A, Raffone A, Perrucci MG, Nardo D, Ferretti A, Tartaro A, et al. Neural correlates of focused attention and cognitive monitoring in meditation. Brain Res Bull [Internet]. 2010;82(1–2):46–56. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brainresbull.2010.03.001

2. Tang YY, Hölzel BK, Posner MI. The neuroscience of mindfulness meditation. Nat Rev Neurosci [Internet]. 2015;16(4):213–25. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nrn3916

3. Lazar SW, Kerr CE, Wasserman RH, et al. Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness. Neuroreport.

2005;16:1893-1897.

4. Vestergaard-Poulsen, P., Van Beek, M., Skewes, J., Bjarkam, C. R., Stubberup, M., Bertelsen, J., & Roepstorff, A. (2009). Long-term meditation is associated with increased gray matter density in the brain stem. NeuroReport, 20(2), 170–174. https://doi.org/10.1097/WNR.0b013e328320012a

5. Black, D. S., Cole, S. W., Irwin, M. R., Breen, E., St. Cyr, N. M., Nazarian, N., … Lavretsky, H. (2013). Yogic meditation reverses NF-κB and IRF-related transcriptome dynamics in leukocytes of family dementia caregivers in a randomized controlled trial. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 38(3), 348–355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.06.011

6. Mathis, E. T., Dente, E., & Biel, M. G. (2019). Applying Mindfulness-Based Practices in Child Psychiatry. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 28(2), 209–220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2018.11.004

7. Kuijpers, H. J. H., Van Der Heijden, F. M. M. A., Tuinier, S., & Verhoeven, W. M. A. (2007). Meditation-induced psychosis. Psychopathology, 40(6), 461–464. https://doi.org/10.1159/000108125

8.Hernández, S. E., Suero, J., Barros, A., González-Mora, J. L., & Rubia, K. (2016). Increased grey matter associated with long-Term Sahaja yoga meditation: A voxel-based morphometry study. PLoS ONE, 11(3), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0150757

9. Lauche, R. (2015). Forever Young(er): Potential age-defying effects of long-term meditation on gray matter atrophy. Deutsche Zeitschrift Fur Akupunktur, 58(4), 30–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0415-6412(15)30070-9

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