Re-blogged from Spirit Voyage Blog
12 Scientifically Proven Ways Yoga & Meditation Help Nourish The Body, Brain and Spirit
An easy, low cost, natural practice can help boost brain power and make us healthier and more spiritually attuned as we age. It can also bring happiness, improve our quality of life and reduce some of the staggering health costs of our time.
1. Increased telomerase: Telomerase is the enzyme that controls the length of your telomeres, the cap of your DNA. Longer telomeres equal better health. Shorter telomeres equal Alzheimer's disease, accelerated aging and a shortened life. An increase of 44 percent in telomerase was shown in a study on highly stressed caregivers doing Kirtan Kriya for 12 minutes a day for eight weeks. To my knowledge, this is the largest increase in telomerase ever seen.
2. Decrease in bad genes: 39 stressed caregivers utilizing Kirtan Kriya for 12 weeks had what is known as down regulation of inflammatory genes, which signifies a reduction in the activity of the genes that cause inflammation. This is important because inflammation is a hallmark of many illnesses, including Alzheimer's.
4. Improved Sleep: Sleep is critically important for optimal brain and body health. Disrupted sleep is a risk factor for Alzheimer's and Kirtan Kriya can help improve sleep.
5. Enhanced Blood Flow to the Brain (called cerebral blood flow or CBF): Patients with cognitive decline and stressed caregivers had increased CBF in critically important areas of their brain, including those well known to influence attention, concentration, focus, memory (hippocampus), depression, trauma and resiliency.
6. Increased Healthy Brain Size: Compared to beginners, long-term meditators have a larger and healthier looking brain
6. Increased Healthy Brain Size: Compared to beginners, long-term meditators have a larger and healthier looking brain
7. Improved Brain Chemistry: It is well known that people who have a decrease in brain energy and function have a reduction in certain brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. Hence, the development of drugs that tried to increase these transmitters. Unfortunately, they are not very effective. Kirtan Kriya, however, seems to help increase neurotransmitters in a natural way and improve communication between brain cells, thus enhancing brain and memory function.
8. Improved Memory: In a study of stressed caregivers, the practitioners had a better memory after Kirtan Kriya meditation training.
9. Reduced Stress: Studies show cognitive decline caused by both acute and chronic stress secondary to the hormone cortisol's brain cell-killing effect in the memory center of your brain. Meditation reduces stress and lowers cortisol levels.
10. Less depression: 65 percent of subjects showed improvement on Depression Scales, which may be a risk factor for cognitive decline.
11. Clarity of Purpose: Meditators discover clarity of purpose and other aspects of psychological well-being such as acceptance, personal growth, and positive relationships. This has been shown to improve overall health and lower Alzheimer's risk.
12. Spiritual Well-Being: Practicing Kirtan Kriya creates peace of mind and spiritual well-being, which is something we all can use more of in today's incredibly hectic world.
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