State of the Art paper accesses the research of all available
research. It does not look good for TM's cardiac claims (see chart p.
144) and the chart on p. 145 nicely summarizes. I'll have a closer
look, but it looks like much of their claim is very exaggerated with
minimal benefit (TM is even worse than "regular" mantra meditation,
ouch!). One might think that TM 2.0 (SSRS) with it's breathing
technique would be worth looking into, but I haven't looked that
deeply to see if it's mentioned. Will review. If you wanna help your
heart somewhat, try Chi Kung, Yoga, Zen or Mindfullness.
"Overall, the low-quality studies suggested that Qi Gong and Zen
Buddhist meditation helped lower blood pressure, while Yoga reduced
stress."
They also hinted that both Yoga and Mindfulness meditation worked
equally well at cutting anxiety in patients with cardiovascular
diseases."
Meditation Practices for Health: State of the Research (472 pp.)
http://www.box.net/shared/static/ux89mbb5nc.pdf
Therapeutic value of meditation unproven, says study
“There is an enormous amount of interest in using meditation as a
form of therapy to cope with a variety of modern-day health problems,
especially hypertension, stress and chronic pain, but the majority of
evidence that seems to support this notion is anecdotal, or it comes
from poor quality studies,” say Maria Ospina and Kenneth Bond,
researchers at the University of Alberta/Capital Health Evidence-
based Practice Center in Edmonton, Canada.
In compiling their report, Ospina, Bond and their fellow researchers
analyzed a mountain of medical and psychological literature—813
studies in all—looking at the impact of meditation on conditions such
as hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and substance abuse.
They found some evidence that certain types of meditation reduce
blood pressure and stress in clinical populations. Among healthy
individuals, practices such as Yoga seemed to increase verbal
creativity and reduce heart rate, blood pressure and cholesterol.
However, Ospina says no firm conclusions on the effects of meditation
practices in health care can be drawn based on the available evidence
because the existing scientific research is characterized by poor
methodological quality and does not appear to have a common
theoretical perspective.
“Future research on meditation practices must be more rigorous in the
design and execution of studies and in the analysis and reporting of
results,” Ospina explains.
But the researchers caution against dismissing the therapeutic value
of meditation outright. “This report’s conclusions shouldn’t be taken
as a sign that meditation doesn’t work,” Bond says. “Many
uncertainties surround the practice of meditation. For medical
practitioners who are seeking to make evidence-based decisions
regarding the therapeutic value of meditation, the report shows that
the evidence is inconclusive regarding its effectiveness.” For the
general public, adds Ospina, “this research highlights that choosing
to practice a particular meditation technique continues to rely
solely on individual experiences and personal preferences, until more
conclusive scientific evidence is produced.”
The report, published June 2007 and titled Meditation Practices for
Health: State of the Research, identified five broad categories of
meditation practices: mantra meditation, mindfulness meditation,
Yoga, Tai Chi and Qi Gong. Transcendental Meditation and relaxation
response (both of which are forms of mantra meditation) were the most
commonly studied types of meditation. Studies involving Yoga and
mindfulness meditation were also common.
Source: University of Alberta
http://www.box.net/shared/static/ux89mbb5nc.pdf
