Regular meditation has profound benefits on the minds and bodies of practitioners. The science of the interaction and connection between bind and body is called psychoneuroimmunology. Gabor Maté describes the unity of emotions and physiology as “the way the psyche – the mind and its content of emotions – profoundly interacts with the body’s nervous system and how both of them, in turn, form an essential link with our immune defences” (Maté, 2019, p.5-6). When the mind is calm and the body is relaxed, the health benefits are wide-ranging. Such emotional and physical balance is known as homeostasis.
How does meditation achieve this mental and physical balance? In a previous blog I discussed the fight or flight response. This is a natural response to situations perceived to be a threat. The problem for humans living in Western societies is we inevitably experience lives of busyness. The stresses associated with such high-pressure lifestyles mean that many of us experience extended, or ongoing stress responses. Such a state has been described as hypertension. Herbert Benson describes hypertension as an epidemic “all too prevalent in the United States and other industrial nations”. Benson notes that hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure (Benson & Klipper, 1980, p.13). Gabor Maté describes the fight or flight response as a natural mechanism whereby the
“hypothalamus will induce the pituitary to secrete an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) which, in turn, causes the cortex of the adrenal gland to secrete cortisol into the circulation.
Simultaneously with this hormonal cascade, the hypothalamus sends messages via the sympathetic nervous system – the fight or flight part of the nervous system – to another part of the adrenal, the medulla. The adrenal medulla manufactures and secretes the fight or flight hormone, adrenaline, which immediately stimulates the cardiovascular and nervous systems (Maté, 2019, p.89).
This exemplifies the scientific exploration of the body/mind connection. A discussion for a future blog is the connection between emotions and chemical reactions and how they effect our bodies on a cellular level. For this paper it is worth noting, as does Bruce Lipton, that: “When we change the way we respond to the world, we change the chemical composition of our blood, which in turn regulates our genetics and behaviour” (Lipton, 2014, p. 49). Lipton adds that
“the chemistry of stress stunts the growth and maintenance of cells because it diverts the body’s energy to support protection mechanisms. This is why stress is the primary cause of illness and is responsible for up to 90 percent of all doctor visits” (Lipton, 2014, p.50)
Stress has long been considered a major contributor to a myriad of human ailments. Modern medical technology and scientific pharmacology have rendered such thinking as superstitious and baseless. Science, technology and pharmacology are all, however, coming around to the notion, as Lipton contends, that stress more significantly related to human ailments than we could ever have imagined. Maté explains:
“The new discipline of psychoneuroimmunology has now matured to the point where there is compelling evidence… that an intimate relationship exists between the brain and the immune system… An individual’s emotional makeup, and the response to continued stress, may indeed be causative in the many diseases that medicine treats but whose (origin) is not yet known” (Maté, 2019, p.5).
Is all stress bad? No. The fight or flight response is a natural, life preserving phenomenon. Lipton explains that “eustress… literally means good stress” Mental or physical activities such as writing, performing, public speaking or playing sport, or falling in love might produce eustress. “Researchers have found that the stress hormone cortisol is released not just when we’re fleeing an avalanche but also when we’re blissfully in love” (Lipton, 2014, p.50).
Anna Ferguson notes that the fight or flight response can produce reactions such as trembling and shaking. She writes: “We can use this shaking to our advantage to invoke neurogenic tremors. This allows the body to release chronic tension held within our muscles and bodies” (Ferguson, 2023, p.176). At Sweet Tides Meditation our practice includes the butterfly breathing exercise followed by a shaking of the limbs.
When the fight or flight response is activated, the sympathetic nervous system, via the hypothalamus produces cortisol and adrenaline which help the body to supply more oxygen to the muscles and our lung capacity increases. This is all in preparation for mobilisation. When the mind and body realise that fight or flight is impossible, or befriending the perceived threat, the parasympathetic nervous system activates the freeze response. Unlike the fight or flight response, the freeze response causes the slowing down the entire system. “Its ultimate goal is to protect you and help you survive the ordeal…” (Ferguson, 2023, p.35-6). The freeze (dorsal vagal) system releases endorphins into the body “to increase your tolerance to pain and decrease the breathing and heart rate”. People who have endured such events are likely to develop, to some extent, PTSD.
In 1979 when Jon Kabat-Zinn formulated the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, he quickly noticed the benefits of meditation and set about documenting his findings in a scientific (evidence based) context. Kabat-Zinn’s work followed in the footsteps of Herbert Benson who studied the effects of meditation at Harvard Medical School. Benson notes that meditation elicits what he calls the relaxation response: “It (the relaxation response) can act as a built in method of counteracting the stresses of everyday living which bring forth the fight or flight response” (Benson & Klipper, 1980, p.111). Such counteraction can be viewed as bringing balance. Sweet Tides Meditation will also include some restorative yoga into the meditation and wellness classes. Restorative yoga is another excellent relaxation practice for cultivating homeostasis.
Benson, H., & Klipper, M. Z. (1980). The relaxation response. Fount Paperbacks.
Ferguson, A. (2023). The vagus nerve reset: Train your body to heal stress, trauma and anxiety. Penguin Life.
Lipton, B. H. (2014). The honeymoon effect: The science of creating heaven on earth (Third edition). Hay House, Inc., Hay House Inc.
Maté, G. (2019). When the body says no: The cost of hidden stress. Vermillion.
