Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
April 1, 2018
Paul J Mills, Christine Tara Peterson, Meredith A Pung et al.
23 citations
A 6-day Ayurveda-based mind-body program significantly increased nondual awareness, a shift in self-perception that was sustained one month later. The study compared 69 healthy adults (average age 53.9) who participated in the intensive program against a control group. The program addressed physical, emotional, and spiritual domains. Participants showed a significant increase in scores on the Nondual Embodiment Thematic Inventory after the program and at a one-month follow-up. The findings suggest that holistic mind-body instruction can produce lasting changes in awareness that may benefit well-being.
Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
June 29, 2021
H. Bringmann, Jill Vennemann, Julianne Gross et al.
Depressive patients who participated in Meditation-Based Lifestyle Modification (MBLM), a mind-body intervention rooted in classical yoga that integrates ethical living, physical yoga, and meditation, reported three main benefits: reappraising past and present life patterns, experiencing serenity through calm and acceptance, and living more mindfully with increased self-awareness and conscious interactions. The ethical component was key to empowerment and appreciating personal strengths. These outcomes were sustained after six months.
Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
May 25, 2021
Laura Lozano Montes, Vandana Balakrishnan, S. Gopalakrishnan
A week of Integrated Amrita Meditation (IAM) practice significantly reduced anxiety and depression in healthy people new to meditation, compared to non-meditating controls. However, no changes were observed in heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, or plasma dopamine and GABA levels over that short period. Long-term IAM practitioners (more than four years of regular practice) had higher GABA plasma levels than matched controls, suggesting that sustained meditation may influence GABAergic modulation. The findings indicate that short-term IAM can improve mood states, while long-term practice may produce underlying physiological changes.
Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
April 20, 2020
Paul Lavadera, Emma M. Millon, T. Shors
Medical students who completed a combined mental and physical (MAP) training program—weekly sessions of instruction, silent meditation, and aerobic exercise plus one self-led session—reported significantly fewer ruminations (−17%), including depressive (−16%) and brooding ruminations (−24%), after 8 weeks compared to non-participants. They also reported greater quality of life and less perceived stress. The majority (84%) indicated they would recommend such practices to future patients.
Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
December 1, 2019
Dipti Magan, R. Yadav, C. Bal et al.
Long-term meditation activates specific regions of the right hemisphere, including the right homolog of Broca's area and the right lentiform nucleus, as measured by changes in regional cerebral glucose metabolism. Using a novel approach with 18FDG PET/CT scans, 12 healthy, male, right-handed long-term meditators (practicing Preksha meditation for over 5 years) showed significantly activated fronto-parieto-temporal regions in the right versus left hemisphere during meditation. These findings suggest that long-term meditation may enhance explicit functions of the right hemisphere through neuroplastic changes.
Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
March 1, 2019
Andrew S. Mcclintock, Shannon M. McCarrick, E. Garland et al.
A systematic review of 20 studies found that brief mindfulness-based interventions (BMBIs, total contact time under 1.5 hours) have limited and inconclusive evidence for managing acute or chronic pain. BMBIs delivered by a provider and lasting more than 5 minutes showed some promise for acute pain, but the authors conclude that more rigorous large-scale studies with pain populations are needed before recommending BMBIs as a first-line treatment.