Blood Pressure and Meditation

June 25, 2007

Many of the blood pressure medications, the "alpha and beta-adrenergic inhibitors" work by interrupting the activity of adrenalin, which excites the body to "fight or flight," and can raise the blood pressure, in many people. Meditation works in much the same way. While one is meditating, one has a respite from those jumbled thoughts and anxieties experienced in normal, daily life that cause the body to produce adrenalin, and other excitatory physic-chemicals. The body has the respite to return to homeostasis, that is, to rebalance. If one meditates once or twice every day, the rebalancing effect is greatly enhanced.The mind is often and correctly called "a drunken monkey," because of the constant clamor of disorderly thought and internal dialogue. Meditation quiets the monkey, giving the body the ability to heal itself.Some decades ago, a Westerner, a physician, I think, wrote a book called "The Relaxation Response." He noted that people who meditated on the word "one" enjoyed lower blood pressure, among other physical and emotional benefits. This was treated as a significant medical discovery.. which was funny, since Easterners have employed this technique for many millennia.Of course, the primary benefit of yoga meditation is the elevation and expansion of consciousness, sometimes to a divine degree. It is often said that when one prays, one speaks to God, but when one meditates, one listens to God.

/articledt.php?art_id=137