Effect of Heartfulness cleaning and meditation on heart rate variability.
Narendra Kumar Arya, Kamlesh Singh, Anushree Malik, Rahul Mehrotra
Indian heart journal December 1, 2018 DOI: 10.1016/j.ihj.2018.05.004 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Within-subjects repeated-measures design Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 30 |
| Population | Adults aged 19–70 years (21 males, 9 females) |
| Intervention | Heartfulness cleaning |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Heart rate variability Heartfulness Spiritual practice Well-being |
| Key points | Heartfulness cleaning and meditation significantly increased high-frequency heart rate variability and decreased the LF/HF ratio, indicating improved parasympathetic activity and sympathovagal balance. |
Abstract
Meditation has been a key component of eastern spiritual practices. Heartfulness meditation is a unique heart based system with key practices like cleaning and meditation aided by yogic transmission. To study the effects of Heartfulness cleaning and meditation (guided by Heartfulness trainer) on heart rate variability (HRV), blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR). A total of 30 participants (21 males, 9 females; age range 19-70 years, M = 45.1 years and SD = 12.7 years) participated in the study. HRV, BP and HR were studied before, during and after the three stages of rest, cleaning and meditation. There was significant effect of cleaning and meditation on normalized unit of power in low-frequency band (LFnu) for the three conditions [F (2, 87) = 9.98, p < 0.01] with mean values for baseline being 70.82 ± 14.55, cleaning being 55.62 ± 15.06 and meditation being 55.17 ± 16.63. There was also a significant effect of cleaning and meditation on normalized unit of power in high-frequency band (HFnu) [F (2, 87) = 7.31, p < 0.01] with mean values for baseline being 30.86 ± 16.51, cleaning being 44.37 ± 15.06 and meditation being 44.83 ± 16.63. Significant effect of cleaning and meditation was also seen for LF/HF [F (2, 87) = 4.98, p < 0.01] with mean values for baseline being 3.45 ± 3.40, cleaning being 1.63 ± 1.30 and meditation being 1.82 ± 2.19. Heartfulness cleaning and meditation had a positive effect on sympathovagal balance.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 27
- Heartfulness Meditation: A Yogic and Neuroscientific Perspective Frontiers in Psychology May 10, 2022
- Autonomic nervous system modulation during self-induced non-ordinary states of consciousness Scientific Reports September 22, 2023
- Effect of Heartfulness Meditation Among Long-Term, Short-Term and Non-meditators on Prefrontal Cortex Activity of Brain Using Machine Learning Classification: A Cross-Sectional Study Cureus February 14, 2023
- Effect of Heartfulness meditation based integrative therapy on infertility outcomes: A retrospective case series evaluation. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine 2023
- Acute and Long-Term Effects of App-Delivered Heartfulness Meditation on Psychological Outcomes and the Endocannabinoid Signaling System in Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome. Clinical and translational gastroenterology July 1, 2024
and 22 more in the library
Cites 11
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- Effect of heartfulness meditation on burnout, emotional wellness, and telomere length in health care professionals Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives 2017
- Individuals with tension and migraine headaches exhibit increased heart rate variability during post-stress mindfulness meditation practice but a decrease during a post-stress control condition - A randomized, controlled experiment. International Journal of Psychophysiology December 2016
- Loving-kindness meditation's effects on nitric oxide and perceived well-being: a pilot study in experienced and inexperienced meditators. Explore 2015
- Mindfulness meditation, well-being, and heart rate variability: a preliminary investigation into the impact of intensive Vipassana meditation. International Journal of Psychophysiology September 1, 2013
and 6 more in the library