Meditation helps keep heart healthy: Study

Hyderabad: A study conducted by the National Resource Centre for Value Education in Engineering (NRCVEE) at IIT Delhi, and the Department of Non-Invasive Cardiology, Max Super Specialty Hospital, showed that yogic meditative practices have a positive effect on heart rate variability, blood pressure and heart rate. The findings of the study have been published in the Indian Heart Journal, the official journal of the Cardiological Society of India. Heartfulness is a system of Raja Yoga established at the turn of the 20th century. 

A 30-minute session of heartfulness meditation and cleaning produces significant modulation of the autonomic nervous system towards parasympathetic dominance, so as to favourably moderate basic vital parameters. The study involved 30 volunteers (21 males and 9 females) who have been practicing heartfulness methods regularly. The volunteers were in the age range of 19-70 years. All participants were subjected to a standard set of procedures while data were recorded on a computer. The entire procedure was performed in three stages of 30 minutes each: Baseline stage, Cleaning stage, and Meditation stage. 

The study was authored by Narendra Kumar Arya, Kamlesh Singh and Anushree Malik, from the NRCVEE, and Rahul Mehrotra, Head, Department of Non-Invasive Cardiology, Max Super Specialty Hospital, Saket, New Delhi. The first stage was the Baseline stage where each participant was seated quietly with eyes open. In stage II, participants performed Heartfulness Cleaning, and in stage III the participants performed Heartfulness Meditation aided by Yogic Transmission under the guidance of a Heartfulness trainer.

Heart rate and BP were recorded before and at the end of each stage. A holter monitor, attached with the help of electrodes to the subjects’ chests, continuously recorded the ECG and heart rate variability during the stages. Finally, the trained non-invasive cardiology technician removed the electrodes and the participants filled a feedback questionnaire. The data were downloaded into a computer and analyzed.

Certain psychological parameters were also included in the study to assess overall well-being. Cantril’s Ladder scale, the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE) and the Flourishing Scale were used to assess the overall happiness and well-being of participants. 
A feedback questionnaire was used to assess peace, happiness, enjoyment and effort felt by the participants during the Cleaning and Meditation processes, to support the results as assessed by HRV. 

The feedback questionnaire consisted of five questions relating to the experience during stage II and III (Cleaning and Meditation). The questions asked were how enjoyable and how demanding the experience was, and how peaceful and how happy they felt after stages II and III respectively. Participants were asked to rate on a scale of 0 to 10 (where 0 denoted ‘not at all’ and 10 denoted ‘very much’) for the first four questions, while the fifth question required a descriptive answer.

The researchers found a significant shift in autonomic tone as indicated by the heart rate variability data recorded. It was also noted that there was a statistically significant Systolic (S) BP reduction with Cleaning (from 119 to 110 mmHg) and Meditation (from 110 to 106 mmHg). The same effect was seen for Diastolic (D) BP: from 78 to 75 mm Hg with Cleaning and from 75 to 72 mm Hg with Meditation (Table 2). The results were analysed using standard statistical tools.