HEART DISEASE AND MEDITATION...

Meditation is a mental discipline by which one attempts to transcend beyond the
conditioned, "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness. It is a
technique to rediscover the quietness within oneself. It is a spiritual journey that sublimates
our awareness from the physical body to the silence within ourselves. During the process,
we reach out to the space between any two thoughts which is nothing but pure silence.
Meditation allows us to rediscover who we are and what the purpose of our existence is. It
helps us achieve eternal happiness and bliss.
The word ‘meditation’ is derived from the Latin word “meditari” which means “to
think, to contemplate, to ponder”. The earliest references to meditation are found in the
ancient Hindu texts, the Vedas. Meditation has also been an unalienable part of the Yogic
tradition of India. Many years ago in ancient India, Sage Patanjali illustrated that the union
of the body, mind, soul, spirit and the environment was possible through meditation. He
further described that Yoga leads to a settling down of the mind, into a state of pure silence,
which is essentially our natural state. When we are involved in our daily and routine
activities, our pure state of mind is clouded by the active mind. We move away from our
true own self thus rendering our body and mind more susceptible to various external
influences and diseases. It is well known that there are six fundamental components of
health - physical, mental, social, emotional, environmental and spiritual. Meditation acting
as a mystical thread integrates all these components and thus is essential for good health.
Mental tension, emotional disturbances and stress in our day to day lives are the
most common and important risk factors that cause heart disease. It is colloquially said that
“Hurry, worry and curry have a negative impact on the cardiovascular system”. When the
mind is tense and overworked, it has a direct impact on the heart, which in turn has to work
more. This further leads to various heart diseases like hypertension and coronary artery
disease.
The heart is supplied by the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves. Sympathetic
nerves stimulate a ‘fight or flight’ response and are stronger in influence than the
parasympathetic nerves, which have a function to slow down the pace of the heart. As a
response to increased and sustained stress, the sympathetic nervous system is over
activated, leading to an sudden increase in heart rate and blood pressure. This further leads
to an increase in work load on the heart and damage to the arteries by an increase in
pressure. An increase in work load tends to increases the bulk of the heart muscle (known
as hypertrophy) and in turn, an increase in the weight of the heart. The coronary supply
does not increase commensurate to the hypertrophy of the heart muscle which thus
reduces blood supply to the heart muscle. High pressure in the arteries causes rapid
development of atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. Sometimes, due to high
pressure, blood vessels tend to rupture leading to leakage of blood known as hemorrhage.

Now that we know that stress has a bad impact on the heart, the question that now
stares us in the face is; what can be done to manage stress. Various methods have been
recommended by various experts in different disciplines and adopted by people to manage
stress. However, ideally, the most fundamental requirement is that one should have the
inner strength and agility to clearly comprehend the situation and the ability to engineer
changes in oneself so that the worst of situations are encountered without getting unduly
perturbed.
Within Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga, there are eight limbs leading to moksha. These are
ethical discipline (yamas), rules (niyamas), physical postures (asanas), breath control
(pranayama), withdrawal from the senses (pratyahara), one-pointedness of mind (dharana),
meditation (dhyana), and finally samadhi, which is often described as the union of the Self
(Atman) with the Omnipresent (Brahman). Thus, meditation is one of the eight limbs of
yoga.
It is advisable that one should meditate for at least 20 minutes twice a day. The ideal
time is said to be the Brahma Muhurta i.e. half an hour before sunrise and half an hour after
sunset. Meditation should not be done after meals or just before going to bed. There are
various techniques of meditation viz. Transcendental Meditation (Maharshi Mahesh Yogi),
Japa Meditation (mantra meditation), Rajyoga (Brahma Kumaris), Vipassana Meditation
(S.N. Goenka), Sahaj Samadhi (Art of Living), Sahaj Yoga (Mata Nirmala Devi) and the list
goes on and on. The methods may be different but the objectives of all such techniques
remain the same. All these practices are aimed at bringing us closer to ourselves.
On the medical plane, the regular practice of meditation leads to a reduction in
adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol levels in the blood. This further reduces harmful and
uncontrolled changes in heart rate, blood pressure and metabolism. Brain waves tend to
become more coherent. All these changes lead to a reduction in the unwarranted abuse of
the ‘fight and flight’ response. Patients already suffering from heart disease learn to stay
calm and are empowered to handle their diseased state.
Meditation has now come to be accepted as the only way to improve the inner
strength and robustness required to face external demands. Meditation is known to alter
our attitude towards life and events. Regular practice helps us gain spiritual insight into the
laws of human actions and interactions and as a result, our attitude towards various
situations in life tends to become more positive, tolerant and peaceful.

Meditation gives you an opportunity to come to know your invisible self. It
allows you to empty yourself of the endless hyperactivity of your mind, and to attain
calmness. It teaches you to be peaceful, to remove stress, to receive answers where
confusion previously reigned.
- Dr. Wayne Dyer