Enlightening Evolution – New Support System Meditation

You’ve been sitting in traffic for what seems like an eternity. Your stomach is tied in knots — your mind is racing. You’re panicking about missing your morning meeting. It’s not even 8 am, and you’re already feeling like a nervous wreck! 

You may be stuck in a 21st century traffic jam, but you’re responding to stress just like your prehistoric ancestors did when they lived in caves or roamed the veldt — you’re in “fight or flight” mode. Your body is revved up for action despite the fact that you’re not moving.

“It’s not conscious — when we perceive a threat or feel stress, it activates the brain’s stress response,” explains Peg Baim, MS, NP, Clinical Director of the Center for Training at the .

A Survival Mechanism Gone Awry

The stress response is activated by the amygdala, an almond-shaped group of neurons, located deep inside the brain, that is involved in the processing of emotions. When we experience stress, the amygdala turns on a network of neurons that runs from the “bottom up” through the cerebral cortex, setting in motion a series of biochemical changes that are designed to help humans and mammals survive dangerous situations.

The Benson-Henry Institute was co-founded by Harvard physician Herbert Benson, world renowned for his 1975 bestseller The Relaxation Response. In his groundbreaking book, Dr. Benson provided scientific evidence of the stress relieving benefits offered by meditation, a deep state of concentration that can be brought about by deep breathing, focusing on an object, or continually repeating a word or mantra. At the time of its publication, the concept that stress could impact disease was considered “New Age,” or even radical. Today, it is mainstream science, in large part due to Dr. Benson’s seminal work, who is often referred to as the “father of mind-body medicine.”On its website, the Benson-Henry Institute describes its mission as one to “teach patients ways to counteract stress and build resiliency by eliciting the “Relaxation Response.” The mention of the word “resiliency” is a nod to the growing body of research conducted by Dr. Benson and others who suggest that meditation can domuch more than simply relieve stress. Studies have shown that within a relatively short period of time, meditation can transform our brains, improve our outlook on life, enhance our body’s ability to fight disease and turn on the genes that help keep us youthful.

“There are two discreet neural networks within the brain, which shifts blood flow in one direction or the other — either from the ‘top down’ or the ‘bottom up,’”  Baim notes. “Top down thinking is associated with thoughtful, problem solving, rational thought.  Bottom up thinking is associated with feeling threatened or under stress.”

So, which way the blood flows in your brain has a lot to do with how you feel and how you perceive the world. It doesn’t matter whether you’re fleeing from a predator, feeling threatened by a nasty comment from a colleague, or thrown into a  panic because you’re going to be late for an important meeting — to your brain, it’s all the same. The stress alarms go off, and you’re thrust into “bottom up ” thinking.  “Every threat, anxious feeling, negative emotion we’ve ever felt is stored in synapses of that bottom up neural network,” says Baim.

The stress response starts in the brain but rapidly spreads like a fast moving fire throughout the body. In a nanosecond, you’re pumping more adrenaline, your pupils dilate, your blood pressure spikes, your heart beats faster and blood rushes to your limbs so that you can run faster. When the stress response goes off, nature intended us to follow through with the appropriate burst of physical activity, which would then allow our bodies to quickly return to normal. In today’s world, however, we are typically not fleeing from danger but are more likely stuck in an stress-causing traffic jam.

Chronic stress has been linked to an increased risk for virtually every illness, including anxiety disorders, depression, obesity and cardiovascular disease. Moreover, chronic stress can lead to a more powerful and longer lasting stress response, which puts us at even greater peril. And that’s something to really worry about because, according to Baim, “We’re probably exposed to more chronic stress today than ever before, which means we have to up the ante on behaviors that are anti-stress.”

As Baim explains, meditation is a potent anti-stress activity that tackles the harmful impact of stress on many different levels:

Strengthens the “top down” neural network

Within about six to eight weeks of simple meditation practice, there is an increase in top down neural activity which helps you bounce back to normal more quickly after feeling stress, and enables you to respond more thoughtfully to situations. At the same time, there’s a decrease in the part of the brain that triggers the stress response and locks you into survival mode thinking.

Improves your outlook on life 

In meditation you can “align to positive expectation,” a way of thinking  that is known to boost production of dopamine, which is associated with the brain’s pleasure and reward circuits. When we focus on expecting what is useful and adaptive it not only offsets the unnecessary suffering of worry, but also engages the brain to motivate us towards it. When your brain is constantly hijacked in “bottom up” thinking, you’re always expecting the worst.

Boosts antioxidant production 

Chronic stress can increase levels of pro-oxidants and inflammatory substances in the body, which increase the risk of disease. Within six to eight weeks of engaging in meditation, there is greater activity in genes that increase production of protective antioxidants associated with robust health and lower risk of disease.

Anti-aging properties  

Telomeres are little caps on the end of our chromosomes that appear to help keep our genes from unraveling. Telomeres shorten with age, disease and when people are under chronic stress. Studies suggest that longer telomeres are associated with both longevity and better health. Meditation boosts the activity of telomerase, an enzyme that helps preserve telomeres.

Finally, Baim notes that meditation makes you a better, more caring person. “Bottom up thinking is all about ‘I have to survive.’ Top down thinking is about, ‘I want to make a contribution to the world, I want to be useful.'”

Want to ? The Benson Henry Institute also offers a series of meditation and relaxation CDs and videos, available .