Meditation, Heart Disease and Depression

Imagine, if you would, a treatment that could reduce the incidence of heart attack and stroke by nearly 50%. Imagine also that this treatment had no documented side-effects and was, after some initial training and education, able to be implemented at no cost. Would you be interested? If you suffered, or had a family history of either of these conditions, the odds are you would be. What is this treatment? The answer is simple. The answer is meditation.

Traditionally associated with spiritual practice, meditation is found within Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sufism and has has been around for thousands of years. It is even postulated that the first meditators were cavemen staring into the fire.

Meditation has long been described as a means of self-realisation and achieving states of higher consciousness but what is exciting now is that science is starting to prove what Yogis have always known to be true. Meditation is not only good for the mind and spirit, it is good for the body too.

A study released in 2009 by researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin in association with the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention in Iowa has found that very result. A group of 20 participants, all who had been diagnosed with heart disease, were divided into 2 groups and followed over 9 years. One group practiced regular meditation and the other group were given classes educating on health and exercise. The group who meditated showed a significant reduction [47%] in incidence of heart attack, stroke and death.

Another study at the University of Oregon has shown a relationship between meditation and decreasing levels of anxiety, depression, anger and fatigue. What is particularly exciting about this study is that scans of the 45 students involved clearly demonstrated structural changes in the brains, after just 11 hours of learning and practicing a meditation technique.The connectivity between neurones, the nerve cells of the brain, in the parts of the brain that are concerned with emotions and dealing with conflict, was enhanced.

It is a sad fact that depression is a disabling condition prevalent in our society. The World Health Organisation describes depression as the world's "leading cause of disability" and predicts that depression will reach second place by 2020 in terms of contribution to the "global burden of disease'. In a National Australian survey 6% of people were found to have had a depressive disorder in the last 12 months and 10% to have had an anxiety disorder.

According to Professor Tony Jorm, Director for the Center For Mental health Research, Australian National University, "Depression costs $2.5 billion per year in absenteeism and $900 million per year in impairment at work. Treating all the depressed employees in a business is estimated to save, on average, $ 1500 - $3000 per employee."

These figures speak for themselves. Stress, depression and heart disease are not just an individual issue, they are also an economic issue. In the words of Professor Harvey Whiteford, "If you treat depression, it has an economic return for the employer, for the individual and for Australia." [The Bulletin, November 12, 2002.]

It's time we thought more expansively and preventatively. Meditation has been clinically substantiated in the management of heart disease and depression. Different practices and styles are available and once learned, it is free and completely portable.

By why wait? Take steps now to learn this simple but incredibly effective technique. You may just find it changes your life!