The impact of meditation on reduction of daily hassles or chronic stressors Jacqueline Suarez November 19, 2013

Health Behavior Domain A meditation practice to increase both psychological and physiological wellbeing – Yoga on occasion has been a beneficial way to reduce daily stress in my life, though the meditative aspects are something that I have not readily delved into as much as I would like

What is meditation? “Meditation is an invitation to notice when we reach out limit and to not get carried away by hope and fear. Through meditation, we’re able to see clearly what’s going on with our thoughts and emotions, and we can also let them go.” (Chodron, pp. 16) Types of meditation can be broadly separated into two categories: – Still meditation (mindfulness, loving-kindness, transcendental, tonglen, journey) – Movement meditation ( active yoga or walking meditations, often incorporating mindfulness and pranyama breath work)

Beneficial findings of meditation LKM has been shown to increase social connectedness, positive emotions, self-compassion, and mindfulness, while decreasing stress (Bond, pp. 160) – Linked to relative telomere length in women (Bond, pp. 161) Mindfulness meditation has been shown to increase focus, reduce stress, and center the mind on the present – Incorporation into MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) Therapy to give individuals a way to become more aware of their symptoms, evaluate them with more emotional stability and acceptance, and ultimately play a role in regulating their response to those symptoms (Zernicke, pp. 2)

Beneficial findings of meditation (continued) Transcendental Meditation (TM) – utilizing mantras in practice – used on college students resulted in reduced experiences of stress, anxiety, depression, and perfectionist thoughts (Burns, pp ) Pranyama - a technique of regulating breath and meditation – can aid in preventing many age-related respiratory disorders and promoting health, especially in combination with a regular yoga practice – Pranyama causes a slowing and deepening of inhalation and exhalation, lowering rate of breath by modifying basic nervous system activity (Ankad, pp )

Specific goal A still meditation practice 2x daily (5 minutes on waking and 5 minutes before bed) – Based on a mindfulness meditation (vipashyana), which is meant to focus on the simple practice of opening the mind and relaxing, and also pranyama (breath work) – Utilizing Buddhist practitioner Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s “six points of good posture” in order to settle myself into the practice (Chodron, pp. 28)

How that goal changed over time Through challenges in prioritizing time to perform the five minutes of passive meditation on waking and before bed, I started being cognizant about other ways in which I was meditating throughout the day that I had not previously been aware of. At the time of the 30-day behavior modification, I was also beginning a job at a yoga studio, which caused me to increase my yoga practice from one hour per week to almost nine hours I found that the pranyama breath work and active meditation I was practicing in the yoga studio was much more rewarding for me than my initial behavior modification goal

Intervention: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for the Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Research shows that IBS is caused by a combination of intestinal, motor, sensory, and central nervous system activity – also known as the “brain-gut axis” Role of stress Study at the University of Calgary to assess the extent to which mindfulness-based stress reduction (MSBR) can reduce severity of IBS symptoms MSBR included meditation techniques, body-awareness skills, and fundamental yoga practice over a period of 8 weeks Statistically significant results showed a 30.7% reduction in symptom severity that was sustained over 6 month, as well as reduction in stress

Outcomes from my behavior modification An increase in yoga practice from 1 hour per week to roughly 5 hours, and a daily attempt at passive meditation upon waking and before bed resulted in… – Ability to channel stressors in a productive way through breath techniques – Increase in sound sleep/Decrease in intrusions – Decrease in prevalence of migraines – Greater social stability and empathy – Greater self-compassion and self-esteem

End points, continuing on… Desire to continue working at a successful passive meditation practice to supplement active meditative yoga Peace of mind from other practitioners concerning meditation’s challenging nature has given me patience Recognition of the psychological and also physiological benefits that can carry into future wellbeing – Increased focus – Potential for halting telomere shortening, associated with aging

References Ankad, R. B., Herur, A., Patil, S., G.V., S., & Chinagudi, S. (2011). Effect of Short-Term Pranayama and Meditation on Cardiovascular Functions in Healthy Individuals. Heart Views, 12(2), doi: / X Bond, A. R., Mason, H. F., Lemaster, C. M., Shaw, S. E., Mullin, C. S., Holick, E. A., & Saper, R. B. (2013). Embodied health: the effects of a mind-body course for medical students. Medical Education Online, doi: /meo.v18i Hoge, E. A., Chen, M. M., Orr, E., Metcalf, C. A., Fischer, L. E., Pollack, M. H., &... Simon, N. M. (2013). Loving-Kindness Meditation practice associated with longer telomeres in women.Brain, Behavior & Immunity, doi: /j.bbi Zernicke, K., Campbell, T., Blustein, P., Fung, T., Johnson, J., Bacon, S., & Carlson, L. (2013). Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for the Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome Symptoms: A Randomized Wait-list Controlled Trial. International Journal Of Behavioral Medicine, 20(3), doi: /s Chodron, P. (2005). When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times. Shambhala Publications.