Scientific Evidence of Health Benefits by Practicing Mantra Meditation: Narrative Review.
International Journal of Yoga 2022 DOI: 10.4103/ijoy.ijoy_53_22 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Mantra meditation |
| Topics | Anxiety Meditation |
| Keywords | Health benefit Hypertension Immunity Mantra meditation Stress |
| Key findings | Mantra meditation provides various degrees of beneficial effects on stress, anxiety, hypertension, and immunity. |
Abstract
Mantra meditation (MM) is one of the simplest and most effective meditative practices suitable for both novice and skillful meditators. It has attracted a significant number of practitioners for various health benefits or for spiritual inspiration. The scope of this review article focuses on the examination of the health benefits of practicing MM without considering the motivation by spiritual rewarding or cultivation. Through the examination, we attempt to confirm and to add scientific evidence on the benefits of mental and physical health to the practitioners. We review a large number of the recent studies of MM for understanding the mechanism in yielding medical benefits and for analyzing the quantitative evidence of the trial outcomes. The review covers four important areas: stress, anxiety, hypertension, and immunity, with the hope to evoke more studies to refine the current evidence and to encourage more studies in other promising areas. Furthermore, the review gives more attention or discussion on more recent, original, and stronger studies. The discussion can include the strong or weak points of the reviewed studies. The review discovers evidence that MM can provide various degrees of beneficial effects on the four areas considered. Studies with larger participants, superior quality, and a few others are recommended to draw firm conclusions. Several promising research areas and directions are also suggested.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical populations | 2003 | Review | |
| Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects | 2007 | Review | |
| Mindfulness Interventions | 2016 | Review | |
| Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation | 2017 | Review | |
| Mindfulness and acceptance: expanding the cognitive-behavioral tradition | 2005 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 17
- Meditation and Its Mental and Physical Health Benefits in 2023. Cureus June 1, 2023
- Meditation in Qualitative Research for Bracketing and Beyond International Journal of Qualitative Methods January 15, 2025
- Meditation: A Promising Approach for Alleviating Chronic Pain. Cureus November 22, 2023
- Effectiveness of Meditation-based Interventions on Health Problems Caused by COVID-19 Pandemic: Narrative Review. International Journal of Yoga 2023
- A Longitudinal Single Case Study on Short-Duration Mind-Body Relaxation and Rejuvenation Technique Inspired from Ancient Mālā Japa Multidisciplinary Research Journal January 21, 2025
and 12 more in the library
Cites 23
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- Meditation as an intervention in stress reactivity. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 1976
- Stress Reduction and Preventing Hypertension: Preliminary Support for a Psychoneuroendocrine Mechanism The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine June 1, 1995
- Effects of the Transcendental Meditation Technique on Trait Anxiety: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine October 9, 2013
and 18 more in the library