According to the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, 90% of all adult illness is due to the degenerative processes of aging. Anti-aging medicine, aiming for longevity and optimal health, is most certainly the 'specialty' of the future and is based on the early detection, prevention and reversal of age-related disease. While science continues to search for answers, research has already revealed that meditation is a potent anti-aging practice that can take years off your physiological age.
STRESS = AGING
Aging is most certainly a complex issue with many factors coming into play, but one thing that researchers do agree on is that stress (mental, emotional, and physical) causes us to age.
Eva Selhub, MD, Medical Director of the Mind/Body Medical Institute says, "If we can affect the stress response, we can affect the aging process." She says "There`s a reason why experienced meditators live so long and look so young." (The Anti-Aging Effects of Meditation; http://www.more.com/2025/2674-the-a...)
In a recent interview with CNN, Dan Buettner, author of "The Blue Zones" and researcher into longevity hotspots around the world, suggests small lifestyle changes can add up to 10 years to most people`s lives. He says aging is 10% genetic and 90% lifestyle. Buettner stated that having mechanisms to shed stress, like prayer and meditation, was of high importance in the longevity hotspots he studied and a major factor in long-term health and aging.
Dr. Robert Keith Wallace was one of the first scientists to study the effects of meditation on aging and he published his findings in the International Journal of Neuroscience (16: 53 58, 1982). His research was based on the practice of Transcendental Meditation.
Dr. Wallace found that subjects with an average chronological age of 50 years, who had been practicing Transcendental Meditation for over 5 years, had a biological age 12 years younger than their chronological age. That means a 55-year-old meditator had the physiology of a 43-year-old.
Several of the subjects in the study were found to have a biological age 27 years younger than their chronological age. This study has since been replicated several times. Other studies have also shown the beneficial effects of Transcendental Meditation on the aging process. (The Transcendental Meditation Program; http://www.tmprogram.com.au/book/ch... )
History reveals many examples of seemingly `ageless` saints, dedicated to the practice of meditation, whose lives have demonstrated the enormous capacity of the human body to live much longer than today`s average life span.
Yes, these `ageless` saints and yogis practically dedicated their whole lives to meditation but even we, as average householders, can potentially live much longer, healthier lives. Meditation has revealed itself to be one of the most beneficial practices to relieve some of the stress related to aging.
Bernard Siegel, M.D., Professor, Yale University School of Medicine, wrote in Love, Medicine and Miracles (New York: Harper and Row, 1986): "Other doctors` scientific research and my own day-to-day clinical experience have convinced me that the state of the mind changes the state of the body by working through the central nervous system, the endocrine system, and the immune system. Peace of mind sends the body a `live` message, while depression, fear and unresolved conflict give it a `die` message."
"The physical benefits of meditation have recently been well documented by Western medical researchers," says Dr. Siegel. "Meditation also raises the pain threshold and reduces one`s biological age... In short, it reduces wear and tear on both body and mind, helping people live longer and better." (Paramahansa Yogananda. 1995. The Bhagavad Gita, p 379-380)
Paramanhansa Yogananda. 1995. The Bhagavad Gita, p. 379-380. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship