Daily Times

Think of meditation and the mind pictures a crossed-legged monk, clad in saffron in the midst of isolated Himalayan valleys, in a state of nirvana. There is a common notion that meditation is not for city dwellers, who confront fleeting attention and are overburdened with mundane chores. The closest an urbanite can get to nirvana is in a spa with scented candles and crisp clean towels.

Meditation practices date as far back as 5000 years and are practised in Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and other world religions. With time, it has become a secular practice, except in Islam and Sufism, where it is still of spiritual nature.

In the late 1960s, meditation was studied in depth by researchers in the US and Britain. The researchers subsequently published the findings on the physiological correlates of the meditative state. Zen mediators were wired up and studied in Japan. Undoubtedly, due to the mind’s ability to analyse, discriminate, navigate and communicate, humans have achieved and accomplished great discoveries and inventions. The mind is never at rest or asleep and the constant bombardment of thoughts can become a problem. It is estimated that we have approximately 30 to 40 thoughts in one minute. Yogis believed in one thought per inhalation and another per exhalation. Zen masters refer to it as mind’s chattering, the “monkey mind.”

Most of us don’t know how to switch off the constant surge of never-ending and irrelevant thoughts. Thoughts related to past events create feelings of anger, guilt and resentment while uncertain future spring fears and frustration. If we calculate the number of thoughts and the ones that materialise, 90 per cent of the thoughts is simply irrelevant to our goals. However, states of anger, frustration and fear arouse “fight or flight” response and overtax the body organs, which leads to the breakdown of health.

Deep meditation is a unique state as the body’s response shifts to being protective and restorative. At the physiological level, research shows that 10-minute meditation can sharply decrease blood lactate, a substance that gets into the blood as a result of the metabolism of skeletal muscles and causes anxiety attacks. Additionally, heart rate lowers, digestive acids are stimulated and breathing becomes calmer. At the mental level, the recordings of the brain activity during sleep or hypnotic state are different from a deep meditation. People experience slow electrical brain activity called alpha waves which helps to switch off psychological stressors.

A laboratory study of meditation practitioner by Harvard Medical School, in 1960, revealed interesting results on skin receptors. The experiment involved measuring of mediators skin resistance to an electrical current. Meditation, although a mental activity, can significantly decrease muscle activity level, which also translates to increasing skin resistance to anxiety.

Correct posture and breathing are essential for good meditation practice. Ancient scriptures refer to ease and steadiness in the body while meditating to relax the fatigued muscles. A study was conducted using the method of picking up the minute quantity of electrical activity that is generated from each of the muscle fibres in two different postures. The first group adopted reclining at an angle of 115 degrees (mimicking a couch potato watching TV) and the second group was made to sit in an erect Burmese posture. Multiple stressors were induced in both groups. The findings were startling, as a measurement in Burmese posture significantly reduced the electrical activity in the muscles.

Deep meditation is a unique state as the body’s response shifts to being protective and restorative

Once we have found our comfortable posture, concentration and breathing are the next steps. Rumi, a great Sufi, spoke highly of the practice of deep conscious breathing. According to practices in the Himalayas, the best-known and easiest meditation is counting the breaths. Each inhalation and exhalation are counted as “one” and followed by next inhalation and exhalation as “two” and so on. The counting stops at “five” and restarts again from “one”. Every time mind wanders off, resume counting. The idea is to keep the attention on one object to boost concentration and focus.

Meditation can be practised anywhere and anytime. Most people find it difficult to dedicate a quiet space for a long time. It can be the moment you reach your office desk first thing in the morning or after lunch or when you park the car. Take a few seconds to become aware and mindful of your thoughts, behaviours, emotions, reactions, and sensations. Defining mindful meditation in words of Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, a molecular biologist, meditation teacher, and professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS), “The real meditation practise is how we live our lives from moment to moment to moment”.

The author is a wellness and yoga expert. She can be reached at aliya@aliyaagha.com