Meditation Can Also Make Your Heart Happy

by: Ng Peng Hock

Meditation is good for your heart. This is the message recently (in the year of 2006) conveyed by the Archives of Internal Medicine. The study reported that transcendental meditation (TM), a relaxation technique, reduced the risk factors of coronary heart disease in a 4-month clinical trial. Significantly reduced insulin resistance and lower blood pressure were found for patients who meditated. These patients also had more stable functioning of the autonomic nervous system that controls heart and other involuntary muscles.

There is closed relationship between stress, meditation, and heart health. It is evident that severe emotional and physical stress raises adrenalin levels or sympathetic drive, which in turn can lead to higher blood pressure or in worst case, may even transiently impair the ability of the heart to contract well. Stress can also cause the body to become less responsive to insulin, which is a hormone that controls the amount of sugar in the body. If you are already pre-diabetic or have metabolic syndrome, risk factors for heart disease, this condition will worsen. Meditation or any activity that can reduce stress levels is useful to improve blood pressure or metabolic syndrome.

What affect your brain is connected to what your heart functions. Emotional distress affects part of the brain function, which affects the sympathetic drive and so, the heart. The happier your brain is, the better your heart functions.

What is meditation? This is simply the practice of closing your eyes and focusing on your breathing as you go into a state of deep rest. It is a technique that can benefit not only your mind but also your body. It can actually reduce your risk of collapsing from heart problems by modulating your body's response to stress. In short, meditation is a practice that involves calming your mind and body.

TM is an effortless technique practiced for about 15 to 20 minutes twice daily. It allows a person to attain deep rest for the body and mind. A suitable time to meditate is when the person is not feeling tired, hungry, or irritated. He or she should feel comfortable and be in a positive frame of mind.

Drugs cannot effectively reduce stress levels and should not be considered as the primary approach. A happy, spiritual or emotional heart is basically good medicine. This is an advice from a friend of mine who is also a consultant cardiologist. So, perhaps you may wish to consider meditation as one of the alternatives to help you reduce your stress level.

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Ng Peng Hock

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