meditation Smiling warmly

Transcription

1 Smiling warmly in th nwly opnd Shaolin Institut in Nw Orlans Gntilly nighborhood, kung fu grandmastr Shi Dru radiats th confidnt humility of th intrinsically powrful. H has bn practicing sinc growing up in China s Shaolin Tmpl, whr kung fu, Zn (Chan), and flow and blnd togthr: Kung fu is a way of Chan xprssion, a way of to rcovr your tru-slf. Having compltd both a mdical dgr in traditional Chins mdicin and an MA in xrcis physiology in th U.S., h is particularly abl to undrstand and xplain th wllnss bnfits of. Strss is ky, and Dru points out that Countlss studis hav shown th ffct of strss on th body, both mntally and physically, and [how] it can manifst itslf into diffrnt disass such as high blood prssur or hyprtnsion. x A Halthy Stat of

2 By Claudia S. Copland, PhD h ida that is a halthy activity has bn around, continuously and across th glob, sinc ancint tims. (Th word has th sam tymological roots as mdical th Latin mdri maning to hal.) Only rcntly, though, hav biomdical scintists bgun to undrstand th mchanisms undrlying s bnficial ffcts, and th broad powr of this simpl practic to nhanc halth. Th accptanc of s powr to promot halth is stadily growing among Wstrn mdical practitionrs. Morovr, spurrd by th burgoning problm of chronic conditions lik cardiovascular disas and diabts, vn halth insuranc companis hav bcom intrstd in xploring this ancint practic. Mditation is a singl trm for a varity of mthods, som rcntly dvlopd, som ancint, that involv quiting and focusing th mind in ordr to achiv mntal and physical bnfits. Two of th most popular and wll-known mthods ar concntrativ (a.k.a. focusd attntion ) and mindfulnss (a.k.a. opn monitoring ). Concntrativ, which includs transcndntal and guidd imagry/visualization, focuss th mind through concntration on a rpatd mantra, imag, or ida. Mindfulnss, which includs Zn, is basd on cultivating a sns of awarnss of on s thoughts, flings, brath, and/or nvironmnt. Encouraging nonjudgmntal awarnss or obsrvation of thoughts, motions, and/or prcptions, this mthod is akin to a typ of focusd listning. Qi gong, tai chi, yoga, and walking us movmnt as an additional point of focus to cultivat a mditativ stat. What ths diffrnt practics shar is th achivmnt of a stat of calm focus that both rlaxs and nrgizs th body. This is not a slpy or zond out tranc stat. On th contrary, a rcnt EEG study of Zn by Grman and Italian rsarchrs Hauswald t al., suggst that it is a highly activ stat of mind. In th words of Shi Dru, To mditat is to lt [th lif nrgy of th body] frly balanc and flow. On practitionr dscribd it as th stat you would want to b in if you wr a samurai warrior calm, focusd, and highly awar; that is, not frnzid or agitatd but not drowsy or lthargic, ithr. For thos of us who hold no ambitions to b samurai, kung fu tmpl dfndrs, or any othr kind of warrior, though, is it worth th ffort to cultivat this stat? Is this rally a practic for ordinary To mditat is to lt [th lif nrgy of th body] frly balanc and flow. Mastr Shi Dru 1900 Chst x-rays allow for arly diagnosis of tubrculosis 1896 Improving on Hal s manomtr, S. Riva Ricci invnts th sphygmomanomtr for masuring blood prssur. c Radiology bcoms a sub-spcialty

3 folks living in 21st Cntury Louisiana? Tulan associat profssor Nrida Parada, MD, is mphatic that it is. Th mdical dirctor of Balanc Intgrativ Halth, a multi-factd wllnss cntr in th Nw Orlans Gardn District, sh has also co-foundd th Mind Body Cntr of Louisiana- a non-profit that focuss on taching and raising awarnss of th bnfits of mind-body mdicin. Sh assrts that th common halth concrns of Louisianans, such as hart disas, obsity, diabts, allrgis, and asthma, ar largly du to poor wllnss practics in th aras of rlaxation, nutrition, and xrcis. Whil sh blivs that xrcis is th most important of ths thr in th Louisiana patint population, rlaxation, which can hlp to achiv, is also vital. Tulan associat profssor Nrida Parada, MD, mdical dirctor of Balanc Intgrativ Halth Many chronic disass commonly sn in our cultur and tim ar largly th products of an imbalanc btwn activation of th parasympathtic and sympathtic nrvous systms. Ths systms, ssntially physiological opposits, complmnt ach othr to rspond to diffrnt survival nds. Th parasympathtic systm is rsponsibl for functions lik digstion, rpair and haling, and sx somtims calld th rst and digst or fd and brd rspons. Ths pactim functions ar all ndd for optimal survival during tims of safty. During tims of dangr, though, th sympathtic systm kicks in, with th fight or flight, or strss, rspons incrasing hart rat and contraction forc, dilating th bronchiols in th lungs, and inhibiting thos rst and digst parasympathtic functions. Blood vssls in skltal muscl dilat whil thos in gastrointstinal organs, kidny, and skin constrict, divrting th body s rsourcs to maximiz dfns in th fac of a thratning forc. Whras our bodis volvd to mov into th sympathtic stat whil in dangr, and thn mov back to th parasympathtic stat, th prssurs and complxitis of modrn lif can lad to staying in th sympathtic stat for unnaturally long strtchs. Dr. Parada assrts that whil a stat of sympathtic ovrdriv might acclrat productivity and prformanc in th shorttrm, it is harmful in th long-trm. Whn in a constant stat of strss, th body is not allowd nough parasympathtic tim, and procsss lik rpair and haling suffr. It also lads to maladaptiv immun systm activation. Chronic strss lads to chronic inflammation, and strss is associatd with a broad rang of halth problms, as diffrnt as cardiovascular disas, asthma, and irritabl bowl syndrom. First dscribd by Dr. Hrbrt Bnson, th rlaxation rspons is ssntially th opposit of th fight-orflight/strss rspons. Th wllnss ida bhind is to countr th sympathtic ovrdriv of chronic strss by inducing this rlaxation rspons. Bnson s ida of th rlaxation rspons is strikingly paralll to th traditional Chins mdicin (TCM) ida of how works, as xplaind by Shi Dru. Th Chins modl is cntrd on th ida of Qi, which could b roughly concptualizd as lif nrgy flow. Translating this ida into th Wstrn physiology viw, Qi 1906 Dy or contrast is usd in x-rays to hlp visualiz blood vssls, gastro-intstinal systms, and othr intrnal systms for th first tim Th diagnosis of gastrointstinal disas is improvd by th us of barium sulfat. Wilhlm Einthovn invnts a dvic to masur and rcord th lctric signatur of th hart th first lctrocardiograph (ECG) MAY / JUN 2015 I Halthcar Journal of nw orlans

4 Th Chins charactr for Qi With rspct to, yin and yang Qi in th TCM systm ssntially corrspond to th parasympathtic and sympathtic nrvous systms of th autonomic nrvous systm. corrsponds to th sum of all of th hormons, nrv impulss, blood flow, tc., that work togthr to carry out a unifid physiological function; th unifid working of a biologically functional systm. Yin and yang ar opposit manifstations of Qi that must work togthr and balanc ach othr. With rspct to, yin and yang Qi in th TCM systm ssntially corrspond to th parasympathtic and sympathtic nrvous systms of th autonomic nrvous systm. In th TCM viw, if yin and yang Qi ar not in balanc, sicknss will rsult. Th corrsponding, mrging Wstrn biological hypothsis is that th fight-or-flight rspons must b in balanc with th rlaxation rspons, and that an imbalanc btwn th two is rsponsibl for many of th first world chronic disass commonly sn today. A growing body of clinical vidnc supports th usfulnss of for not only chronic disass, but also managmnt of conditions lik multipl sclrosis, cancr, pain, and psychological disordrs. Traditionally, it has also bn usd to nhanc and dirct th body s own haling, including wound haling. In a particularly dramatic xampl of this, Shi Dru sustaind xtnsiv injuris whn a crowd of ovr 100 villagrs, mistaknly associating him with govrnmnt officials who had takn thir land, attmptd to bat him to dath. (As a Buddhist, h rfusd to fight back with any tchniqus that could hav hurt any of th villagrs.) To rcuprat from th injuris h sustaind, h spnt at last 26 hours mditating and doing Qi Gong, a traditional Chins moving practic that sks to cultivat and balanc Qi. Your body can b th most ffctiv factory to produc th most ffctiv drug in th world, h xplains, On just nds th rcip found within th gns. Th information can b accssd at any tim, but only aftr having riddn onslf of both social and cultural intrfrnc through dp brathing and quit. His idas ar supportd by Univrsity of Wisconsin rsarchrs Davidson t al., who found that mindfulnss significantly incrasd antibody titrs aftr influnza vaccination, compard with non-mditating controls. As to th qustion of mchanisms undrlying s divrs ffcts, on study is particularly illuminating. A collaborativ tam, Bhasin t al., lookd at th transcriptoms of study subjcts to charactriz gn xprssion changs associatd with. Two groups of study participants wr includd: on group of longtrm practitionrs of and othr rlaxation rspons-inducing practics, such as yoga and Qi Gong, and on group of novics, who had nvr trid any such tchniqus. Th novics thn undrwnt an 8-wk training sssion in th tchniqus. During rlaxation rspons-inducing tst sssions, blood sampls wr collctd from th long-trm practitionrs, novic practitionrs bfor training, and novic practitionrs aftr training. Comparing both long trm practitionrs and traind novics to th novics bfor training, xprssion changs wr documntd in a wid array of gns, with som gns up- or downrgulatd only in longtrm practitionrs, but many also in th novics aftr just 8 wks of training. Gns with uprgulatd xprssion wr linkd to pathways rsponsibl for nrgy mtabolism, th lctron transport chain, biological oxidation, and insulin scrtion, implying that may work to nhanc th fficincy of oxidation rduction ractions in th cll, and thrby rduc oxidativ strss. Downrgulatd gns includd NF-kB and othr transcription factors involvd in inflammation. Dcrasd xprssion of ths gns would b xpctd to rduc oxidativ strss, insulin rsistanc, and apoptosis, which could rduc th liklihood of hyprtnsion, obsity, insulin rsistant diabts mllitus, and hyprlipidmia. Th longtrm practitionrs also showd incrasd xprssion of tlomras and othr gns important for slowing cllular aging and Halthcar Journal of nw orlans I MAY / JUN

5 Shi Dru (Shawn Xiangyang Liu, lft) with fllow Shaolin Tmpl grandmastr Shi DYang (Shi WanFng), both dcdnt discipls of th lat Grat Grand Mastr of th Shaolin Tmpl Shi SuXi. Shaolin Tmpl, Zhngzhou, China. maintaining gnomic stability. In addition to th Bhasin t al. transcriptom study, svral othr rports hav found a rduction in oxidativ strss in rspons to. On such study lookd at Kouksundo, a traditional Koran mind body practic that is similar to yoga but mphasizs dp-brathing. Aftr practicing Kouksundo for an avrag of about 3 yars, participants had significantly lowr ractiv oxygn spcis, as wll as significantly lowr nitric oxid and malondialdhyd lvls, all markrs of oxidativ strss, and rducd lvls of th strss hormons cortisol and norpinphrin. Anothr body of rsarch has xamind nural changs associatd with. Structural changs sn in long-trm mditators includ incrasd cortical thicknss in a numbr of aras, incrasd gray mattr dnsity, incrasd hippocampal volum, and rducd ag-rlatd loss of gray mattr. Changs in whit mattr can alrady b dtctd aftr just short-trm training. In trms of outcoms, mind-body tchniqus lik hav bn shown to b ffctiv against a rang of mntal halth disordrs, from dprssion to PTSD, whil significantly rducing prcivd strss. Th us of in th hospital is also growing. Howvr, w tnd to do this vry lat in disas, stats Dr. Parada. Cardiac rhabilitation, pulmonary rhabilitation...w tnd to do it vry lat in th spctrum of th disas, but w rally should start ths things as young as possibl. According to Dr. Parada, most popl don t raliz how much strss thy ar undr and what a profound ffct it can hav. You hav to motivat popl vry kindly to bcom awar that thy do hav strss in thir livs, sh says, adding that strss can tak many diffrnt forms, and that thr ar good strssors and bad strssors. Thr can b family tnsions, work tnsions, rlationship tnsions, and financial strss, which can b a vry big on, but vn good changs in lif, lik a nw job or a nw child, can hav an ffct on th body physiologically. Mditation, as wll as othr tools lik biofdback, can hlp fostr this kind of awarnss and hlp induc th rlaxation rspons ndd to balanc th strss. Whil th scintific study of is in its infancy, th blif in its powr for wllbing is far from nw. Half an hour s ach day is ssntial, xcpt whn you ar busy. Thn a full hour is ndd. This prscription, mad way back in th Rnaissanc by Catholic prist Saint Francis d Sals, concurs with th blifs of contmporary Buddhist ladrs lik Thich Nhat Hanh and th Dalai Lama. Sufi and mystic Jwish traditions hav also mbracd th valu of, as hav Hindu practics prdating th Buddha by ovr 1,000 yars. Now, it s scinc s turn, and an xpanding body of data is supporting s potntial as a tool for haling, prvntativ mdicin, and wll-bing. n 1945 First visualization of th coronary artris Th x-ray imag intnsifir allows dynamic x-ray imaging that can b shown on tlvision scrns Dvlopmnt of th film casstt changr by Gorg Schonandr allows for a sris of casstts to b xposd at a rapid rat. 32 MAY / JUN 2015 I Halthcar Journal of nw orlans