MEDITATION

Meditation is a method of extending our ordinary consciousness and thereby discovering more
about ourselves. When we gain this insight we can change our habits and our deeper, inner
personality has a better chance to show through. Our whole life changes for the better. We
remove problems from the past which are fermenting in the mind, changing shape, colour and
intensity, but still lying there waiting to be resolved. These are the root problems that cause
hypertension.
THE MANY FACETS OF MEDITATION
Meditation is a technique of turning down the brilliance of the day so that the subtle sources
of energy can be perceived within. Generally, because of the ‘glare’ of fast, tense modern
living, we lose a lot of useful information coming in through the senses; this is kind of mental
‘squinting’. Meditation is a deliberate attempt to isolate ourselves from the flow of external
‘reality’ so that we remove the glare and have a chance to rest deeply and fully.
When we find a ‘place’ within where we can refresh ourselves, it becomes to handle
external problems. We gain a new perspective on life so that these difficulties are seen as
forces outside ourselves. Meditation allows us to objectify problems and to remove the
subjective elements so that so that we can extricate ourselves from the web of emotional and
mental tension that is holding us fixed and rigid in our present predicament. Even
hypertension becomes clearly visible as a situation that can be remedied.
Meditation is proving to be useful in all walks of life. It is especially helpful in alleviating
illnesses such as hypertension. However, this is only first step. Meditation has the power to
unfold the latent potential in every human being, and modern research has proved
conclusively that the benefits of meditation are of value to all people. Its success can be
gauged by the increasing number of people absorbing meditation into their life pattern. Even
the US Army, government institutions and high-ranking business executives are meditating.
Today we are seeing the emergence of meditation as a vital aspect of modern life. A
vacuum which has existed in many of our lives has led to feelings of hopelessness,
unhappiness and frustration. This vacuum is today , being filled by a new sense of meaning
gained from the ancient yogic techniques of meditation. As this vacuum is filled, the imbalance
between man’s inner and outer worlds is being redressed. Instead of constantly looking
outside of himself for happiness, satisfaction and fulfillment, the meditator is discovering that

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inner world is the source of sublime happiness and security. This realization can be used to
cultivate a better outer world so that stress and tension can no longer impinge on inner life
and create unhappiness, suffering and hypertension. This rebalance occurs in the body as
equilibrium of the ida/pingala nadis; the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
EFFECTS ON OUR DAILY LIVES
Research has shown that meditation has the following effects on our mind daily and daily life:
 Rebalances and stabilizes the nervous system. It encourages a natural and automatic
response within the nervous system that counteracts and corrects the imbalances that
occur through the day.
 Induces a deep state of rest which encourages the repair of those tissues damaged by
hypertension and improves the health of tissues not damaged.
 Increases the ability to learn, understand, memorize and retain knowledge.
 Speed up reflexes. That is, it improves the function of brain.
 Improves psychological health.
 Increases the ability to recover from stress in a shorter time than usual.
 Improves the function of senses and perception in general.
 Allows the individual to enjoy his/her work more and thus derive more satisfaction from
work, which increases economic productivity and the quality of life.
 Has a definite role in the treatment of a whole range of illness, including hypertension.
 More and more people are reporting the subjective benefits of meditation. Researchers
who have been investigating the objective facts find that they are too attracted to
meditation by its amazingly large number of positive attributes.
MEDITATION AND THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
The practice of meditation exerts its main influence on the nervous system in the body and
is , therefore, so useful in hypertension as it calms the overexcited sympathetic nervous
system, reduces the peripheral resistance and drops the blood pressure.
The central nervous system, composed of the brain and spinal cord, sends messages to the
peripheral nervous system which is arbitrarily divided into the so-called ‘voluntary’ sensory-
motor system and the ‘involuntary’ autonomic system. The sensory-motor system
regulates sensation and willed regulation of muscle, for example, in gross movements such
as walking, and in skilled, coordinated, finer movements such as writing. Yoga allows us to
become more aware of this system and therefore, to gain greater control, finer precision
and enjoyment out of each movement.

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The autonomic nervous system has been called involuntary ever since its discovery. We are
just beginning to prove through the medium of science – in the form of biofeedback,
hypnosis and so on – that the claims of yoga are true. This system is involuntary only to
those who do not know how to voluntarily control it, who are ignorant of its existence,
function and ultimate purpose. This is understandable in our modern society, as we have
not been taught the methods to control it. Yoga teaches us that by going inward we can
rediscover the links between consciousness and the unconscious and dormant aspects of
our brain and nervous system.
Studies of the brain have shown that a lack of integration between the different parts of
the brain leads to instability of body function. That is, when different parts of the brain do
not work in cooperation with each other they in fact work against each other resulting in
chaos, tension and disease. Such a conflict often occurs between the lower aspects of the
brain concerned with emotional control and the higher cerebral aspects associated with
reasoning. In this split between our thoughts and emotions we lose the ‘feeling’ capacity
and live wholly in a world of intellect and thought.
The split between thinking and feeling is the precursor of hypertension and all
psychosomatic and mental illness. If we think but cannot feel then we do things which we
think are good for ourselves but which in reality do our bodies more harm than good. We
have lost our sensitivity to our bodies so it becomes hard to know exactly what is healthy
and what is destructive. It is only when we relearn through meditation to feel, that our
intuition and sensitivity become prominent and take their rightful place. These aspects
guide us to do what is right in terms of our own needs; our own evolution. They help us to
know ourselves.
If we disregarded our feelings then our lives take on destructive patterns. We eat too
much, too quickly, or smoke excessively, pollute the atmosphere and in general make life
miserable for ourselves. We suffer and do not know why. The reason is that the various
parts of the brain are not wired for optimum health and this limits our understanding,
reasoning and intuitive powers. We do not know why we become prone to hypertension or
how. The fact is that we are responsible for our hypertension and we each have to discover
the reasons for ourselves through meditation.

THE BRAIN

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THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM
The autonomic nervous system is linked to hypothalamus in the brain, which in turn
controlled by the limbic system in the mid brain, the centre concerned with emotions and
feelings. The hypothalamus feeds its information into the endocrine glands and the
autonomic nervous system, and is the focus point for the union of these two systems.
Meditation directly affects the mid/brain complex, calms the hypothalamus and calms the
emotions, thereby shutting off excess sympathetic stimulation and hypertension.
The autonomic nervous system can adjust the internal environment according to external
and internal needs. It is equipped with two complementary systems. One is the
sympathetic nervous system and the other is parasympathetic. The two subdivisions govern
events in the vegetative, or automatic, which are normally below the level of
consciousness. These branches, the sympathetic and parasympathetic are mutually
antagonist so that when one is working the other is not. Seen from a different perspective,
when one system is active the other is passive. For example, the parasympathetic system
causes emptying of the larger bowel and the sympathetic cause’s retention of the faeces. It
is through manipulation of the sympathetic system that one can consciously control the
blood pressure. It is thought that that parasympathetic system does not play such a large
part in regulation of blood pressure, which is raised by activating the sympathetic nervous
system and lowered by turning it off.

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The following is a list of the functions of autonomic nervous system.
Parasympathetic component: This system is concerned with relaxation of the body.
 Constricts the pupils
 Secrets tears and saliva
 Constricts the coronary (heart) blood vessels and bronchi (tubes in lungs)
 Activates gastric glands in the process of digestion.
 Empties the gallbladder, urinary bladder, stomach, small intestine and large
intestine.
Sympathetic component: This system is designed to help the body cope with
emergencies and stressful situations.
 Dilates the pupils, allows more light to come in.

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  Secrets sweat (anxiety, heat, and stressful situations).
 Contracts hair follicles (as in fright)
 Constricts blood vessels to the skin and to the digestive tract directing blood to
the more important parts of the body.
 Vasodilates heart and skeletal muscle vessels (preparing the body to fight or
flight)
 Increases heart rate pumping more blood and oxygen to the tissues which
require more energy.
 Relaxes the bronchial tissue and muscles and dilates bronchi, allowing more
oxygen to enter the blood.
 Relaxes the stomach wall, small intestine and colon so that food and faeces
can be stored.
 Stores urine in the bladder.
 Mobilizes glucose (sugar) from the liver for extra energy.
 Secrets adrenaline from the adrenal glands.
 Stress raises the blood pressure by constricting the majority of the body’s
arterioles so that more oxygenated blood can be shunted to the heart, brain
and skeletal muscles to react in the best possible way to the environment.
It is as though a switch in the brain has been automatically turned in the direction of
the sympathetic system, without our control. Yoga enables us to gain control of these
brain switches. This is a learned skill which, within the process of evolution, will
eventually become second nature to future generations.
Through meditation the mind becomes calmer and clarity of perception increases. Many
mental switches come into the field of awareness and we learn to manipulate these.
After some time we can lower our blood pressure , aid in digestion, control sweating,
heart rate, body temperature, sphincters, hormonal secretions, and many other
functions.
Meditation relaxes the mind so that when stressful situations arise you can maintain
balance of autonomic nervous system. This gives you the best view of stress and allows
you to cope in the most relaxed possible way. The first step in governing nervous system
is to control the autonomic nervous system, and the means to achieve this is through
the practice of meditation.
MEDITATION
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Experiments have shown that the practice of meditation has the following effects:
Metabolic or cell activity is reduced. Meditation decreases oxygen and carbon dioxide
utilization in the body, as well as the need for oxygen. A level that is 50 to 75 percent
below the scientifically determined minimum for body oxygen requirement can be
reached. This was thought to be impossible without endangering life until masters of
yoga showed the opposite to be true.
Wallace and Benson found that in sleep the level of oxygen decreases by approximately
10 percent of the day time level; while during meditation it decreases by 20 percent,
indicating that meditation gives the body greater rest. At the same time carbon dioxide
levels decreased by the same amount, indicating that the drop in oxygen did not starve
the cells of the body. This shows that meditation is more efficient than sleep in
conserving energy.
The brain waves of meditators have been shown through a multitude of experiments to
indicate deep relaxation. Increased levels of high amplitude alpha waves, even with the
eyes open, have been observed. The average person usually has beta waves
predominating, and cannot switch these waves off and on at will. His mind is ‘stuck’ in
an extrovert, tense state. Meditation loosens the mind.
J.P Banquet found four stages in japa (mantra repetition) meditation. These were:
Stage 1: increased amplitude of alpha waves which moved from the back oh head in
front, indicating relaxation of the worry mechanism in frontal part of the brain.
Stage 2: theta frequencies different from those of sleep replaced alpha and moved from
frontal part of the brain (intellectual) to the back (occipital or visual) part of the brain.
This indicates that the meditator was alert even though he was inside the subconscious
mind, responsible for dreams and so on. Theta frequencies occurring in the back of the
brain may indicate the time when visions and other psychic phenomena occur in
meditation.
Stage 3: rhythmic, synchronous beta waves were present over the whole brain. This
seems to indicate that even though the meditator was introvert he was alert and
concentrated. The synchronization of brain waves may indicate that all the components
of the brain are unifying and reintegrating, removing chaotic, disordered conditioning
and making conscious our unconscious potential. There is a subjective sensation of
spontaneous creativity and joy that leaves no room for hypertension.

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Stage 4: is the emergence into normal walking consciousness through the levels of theta
and alpha waves.
The lungs take in less volume of oxygen and the breathing rate is decreased from a
normal of 12 to 16 breathes per minute during meditation. Other researchers reported
that during meditation breathing can drop to as low as one breathe per minute or less.
At the same time the resistance to air-entry is reduced by 20 percent which means that
air can enter the lungs more easily. This will be of benefit to asthmatics that have much
greater air-entry resistance. It is unique to meditation and does not occur in rest.
The heart pumps out less blood as the metabolism is decreased and the body tissues
need less oxygen. The tissues have a chance to rest and rebalance, and tissue
metabolism can be concentrated on healing. Thomas Routt has reported that the heart
rate slows down by about 10 beats per minute.
The galvanic skin resistance (GSR) measures the electrical resistance in the skin and the
greater the degree of relaxation the greater is the GSR reading. Wallace and Benson
found that in mediation GSR increases by about 500 percent, while in sleep it usually
increases by 250 percent.
Lactate, a stress-related chemical, is reduced by meditation. More stress requires more
oxygen utilization. Tissue requirement increases until eventually there is not enough
oxygen to meet needs. This means that the tissues switch to another energy supply and
function less efficiently. They tire faster. Part of this stress mechanism is related to the
constriction of the arterioles by the sympathetic nervous system, which prevents the
required amount of blood from picking up waste lactate and bringing enough oxygen.
The rate of formation of blood lactate was shown to decrease in the Wallace and
Benson study. Its removal from the body during meditation if four times greater than
when lying down and resting, and three times faster than its removal in sleep.
Relaxation of arterioles washes out the wastes and has beneficial effects on high blood
pressure.
Meditation appears to be a unique state which allows greater rest and recuperation
from the effects of the stress than normal rest or sleep. Wallace and Benson comment:
“There is reason to believe that changing environment’s incessant stimulations to the
sympathetic nervous system are largely responsible for the high incidence of
hypertension and similar serious diseases that are prevalent in our society.
In these circumstances the hypometabolic state, representing quiescence rather than
hyperactivation of the sympathetic nervous system, may indicate a guide post to better

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health. It should be well worthwhile to investigate the possibilities for clinical
application of this state of wakeful rest and relaxation.”
Meditators report increased health and well being on both the physical and mental
levels of existence, especially decreased numbers of colds, allergies and headaches.
Many people are reporting that their blood pressure is no longer a problem since they
started meditate and practice yoga.
Kiely and Gellhorn have found that increased sympathetic stimulation leads to
hypertension through increased lability of the autonomic nervous system. K.K. Datey, et
al. have shown that through the use of relaxation techniques such as shavasana (closely
allied to meditative techniques), high blood pressure was efficiently managed and the
drug requirements of successful individuals brought down to as much as 25 percent of
the original dose. The blood pressure was brought down by 20 percent to a normal
level.
Benson and Wallace have shown in their research that meditators tend to have lower
blood pressures. The average of 106/52 mm Hg they found correlates well with the data
obtained at the International Yoga Fellowship Movement Research Coordinating Centre,
Munger. The usual average in society is 120/180 mm Hg. They then used meditation on
their hypertensive patients and found that prior to meditation their pressures were 150
(plus or minus 17)/94 (plus or minus 9) mm Hg. After starting meditation their pressure
fell to 141(plus or minus 11)/88 (plus or minus 7) mm Hg, a healthy level, independent
of whether subjects were taking their medication or not. This is statistically significant in
that the post meditation diastolic level is below the level arbitrarily designated as
hypertensive, 90 mm Hg.
An experiment by one of the associates of the IYFM Research Coordinating Centre in
Munger, Dr Shreenivas MD, Director of the Yoga Research Institute, Patna, India (
affiliated with Bihar School of Yoga) has also shown that the yogic use of mind is a better
way than drugs to reduce blood pressure.
In 150 cases, all males, age group fifteen to forty years, selected at random, he found
that the blood pressures were normal, ranging between 100-150/50-80 mm Hg. The
average was 120-130/60-70 mm Hg.
The subjects were asked to lie down and rest. The blood pressures were again recorded
at intervals of ten to thirty minutes until they became established, and this level was
taken as the resting blood pressure.

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The subjects were then given a tranquilizer 5mg (sedative-hypnotic Diazepam) and after
waiting for thirty minutes the pressures were recorded. After this, all men went home to
their normal activities and diet. They reported forty-eight hours later of for recheck of
their blood pressure.
This time the subjects performed the yogic posture shavasana and did yoga nidra,
following the technique of Swami Satyananda Saraswati of the Bihar School of Yoga.
These results were obtained:
1. Diazepam had very little effect on blood pressure.
2. Yoga nidra brought the blood pressure down by 10-20/0-10 mm Hg lower than
resting blood pressure.
Dr. Shreenivas concluded that yoga nidra is a safe, sound and effective meditation
technique for lowering blood pressure.
More experimental evidence is required to differentiate the genuine effects of yoga
and meditation from spontaneous cures through drugs and placebo effects of new
techniques. It should be emphasized that meditation is not a panacea for all disease,
it is not a miracle cure, nor is it a substitute for medication in all psychosomatic
illness. Rather, it is a way to help speed up nature’s processes that lead us back to
good health and balance. It is an effective technique that can be utilized to great
advantage by all healing communities for speedier and more effective control of
hypertension.

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