July 2006 - 3HO

study using the functional magnetic resonance
imaging technique or fMRI. In that study, Dr.
Lazar reported that a Kundalini Yoga meditation
technique was capable of activating discrete
brain regions distinctly different from those
involved in a control task. She concluded that
“the practice of meditation activates neural
structures involved in attention and control of
the autonomic nervous system,” a conclusion
consistent with the pioneer work of Bagchi and
Wenger decades earlier. Similarly, Dr. Dharma
Singh Khalsa conducted a research study
using another brain imaging technique to
demonstrate that 11 experienced meditators
practicing a Kundalini Yoga meditation called
Kirtan Kriya 3 showed changes in specific
brain regions believed to be associated with
spiritual experience.
Mindfulness Meditation
A significant initiative in meditation research has
been on the study of mindfulness meditation
or Vipassana from the Buddhist tradition. This
technique has become very popular over the
recent past, and the Mindfulness Based Stress
Reduction program inspired by Jon Kabat-Zinn
is being widely used for a variety of medical
and psychological conditions. Research on
mindfulness meditation has been supported
vigorously by the Dalai Lama, who has organized
public and private meetings with scientists
inviting them to participate in meditation
research. He recently gave a major address to the
annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience
(attended by 14,000 out of the almost 35,000
meeting attendees) in Washington, D.C., which
generated significant media attention. Some
of their ongoing research has focused on brain
imaging studies of Buddhist monks and longterm
practitioners. Recently, Dr. Lazar published
a study that showed that long-term practitioners
of mindfulness meditation showed changes in
brain volume in regions known to be associated
with control of attention and that meditators
appeared to be spared the known reductions in
brain volume associated with aging.
An interesting proposal presented by the mindfulness researchers
has been to use the expert meditation skills of Buddhists as a scientific
instrument. Since lifelong practitioners of Buddhist meditation have
strived to acquire a deep understanding of the workings of the mind and
the subconscious, it is conceivable that this skill can be used in novel
and creative experimental designs to gain insight into how meditation
works and how aberrant psychology might develop.
Research Turns Full Circle
Interestingly, this idea brings us full circle from the beginnings of
research in yoga and meditation, when Western scientific technology
was applied to unravel the meditation experience, to the present
day where Eastern meditation technology is itself being proposed as
an experimental tool.
The burgeoning public interest in yoga and meditation and its
use for alleviating clinical conditions has undoubtedly contributed
to the recent increase in yoga and meditation research. This interest,
In between these two
extremes of yoga
interventions is the use of
specific sets or routines
targeted at a specific
physiological effect or for a
specific clinical condition.
together with the use of modern technological approaches that can
directly observe the effects of these practices on brain function,
suggest that there is much more to come in the field of research in
yoga and meditation. +
Sat Bir Singh is Assitant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical
School. He has been practicing the Kundalini Yoga lifestyle for over 30
years and is a certified Kundalini Yoga instructor.
* See Glossary, p. 45.
1 A foundation based in Espanola, New Mexico, whose mission is to
provide health education and instruction in yoga and meditation
to persons with chronic or life-threatening illness, to train health
professionals to use these techniques in their practice, and to conduct
research into the medical effects of Kundalini Yoga.
Visit www.grdcenter.com.
2 Shabad Kriya can be found in the Kundalini Meditation Manual,
available from www.a-healing.com.
3 Kirtan Kriya can be found at www.a-healing.com
and www.spiritvoyage.com.
Dr. Herbert Benson,
director of the
Mind/Body Medical
Institute (left), the
author, and Dr. H.R.
Nagendra, director of
the Vivekananda Yoga
Research Foundation,
at a meeting in
Boston in April, 2006.
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