Many Christian and Jewish yogis are incorporating prayer and religious teachings into the practice. 'It allows us to blur the line between the physical and the spiritual,' one leader says.Christian pop music played quietly in the background as instructor Bryan Brock led a recent yoga class at the nondenominational Church at Rocky Peak in Chatsworth.
Incorporating prayer and readings from the Bible, Brock urged his class of about 20 students to find strength in their connection to their creator through yoga's deep, controlled breathing. "The goal of Christian yoga is to open ourselves up to God," he said. "It allows us to blur the line between the physical and the spiritual."
The instructor then recited the Lord's Prayer while his students moved slowly through a series of postures known as the sun salutation.
Such hybrid classes, which combine yoga practice with elements of Christianity or Judaism, appear to be growing in popularity across Southern California and elsewhere.
Some Christians call their versions of the discipline holy yoga or Yahweh yoga and some teachers urge participants to "breathe down Jesus." Jewish yogis, in turn, have developed -- and in some cases, even trademarked -- Torah yoga, Kabbalah yoga and aleph bet yoga, applying Eastern meditative movements to Jewish prayer and study.
Meanwhile, Californian Muslims who practice yoga have yet to merge it with the teachings of the Koran or worship of Allah, a local leader says. And there are skeptics within all three Abrahamic religions who question whether it is proper to integrate the Hindu-based spiritual practice into Western monotheistic traditions.
Rayna Mike said she was skeptical of yoga before she started going to Brock's class at the Church at Rocky Peak, an evangelical congregation. "I never did it before because I considered it Eastern philosophy and I didn't want any part of it," said Mike, a Bel-Air businesswoman.
Mike changed her mind when her trainer at the Church on the Way in Van Nuys recommended the yoga class, and she said the practice has improved her health while feeding her soul.
"You can go and sweat anywhere, but that's not the point," she said. "This is a beautiful thing. It's an answer to my prayers."
Brock completed a 200-hour accredited course in Phoenix designed by Brooke Boon, author of the book "Holy Yoga." Boon has trained nearly 200 Christian yogis, about a dozen of whom are teaching in Southern California.
"Christ is my guru. Yoga is a spiritual discipline much like prayer, meditation and fasting," Boon said in a telephone interview. "No one religion can claim ownership."
Some fundamentalist Christians distance themselves from yoga, saying it is inseparable from Hinduism or Buddhism and therefore dangerous, even blasphemous. Some Orthodox Jewish authorities warn that if practiced with all its Eastern components, including Sanskrit chanting and small statues of deities, it amounts to avodah zarah, or the worship of false gods.
For many religious Jews, Christians and Muslims, viewing yoga as a physical rather than spiritual practice solves the dilemma.
But Rabbi Avivah Winocur Erlick, a chaplain at Providence Tarzana Medical Center, says it is impossible to separate yoga from her Jewish spiritualism. About six years ago, Erlick began having intense spiritual experiences while doing yoga. She sought advice from a rabbi.
"He said, 'God has been trying to reach you all these years and he is reaching you through yoga," Erlick recalled. The rabbi challenged her to reconcile yoga with Judaism, which led to five years of study to become a rabbi. "For me, yoga is prayer," Erlick said.
Erlick, who is writing a book on the subject, says Jews have vigorously debated the issue for two decades. She counts 83 active teachers, mainly in the U.S. and Israel, who combine yoga and Judaism.
One is Californian Ida Unger, who draws on Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, to interpret yoga postures as Hebrew letters. Unger recently demonstrated her aleph bet yoga to seniors at Los Angeles' Milken Community High School.
"I was in a triangle pose and I had an epiphany. I was an aleph," Unger told the class, posing in the shape of the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
"In Kabbalah, letters are the building blocks with which the holy creator is channeled to Earth."
Unger chants shalom (peace) instead of om, and recites the daily Jewish prayer for awakening when she does the sun salutation.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-beliefs-yoga5-2010apr05,0,7708032.story
Monday, April 5, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
Yoga Draws Criticism
Yoga, an ancient meditative practice that posses its philosophical and spiritual roots in Hinduism in India, is widely adopted as an exercise for those suffering from depression or painful knee joints and even obesity.
Ever since it is tagged as the “wellness practice-of-choice” for aging baby-boomers and work-stressed yuppies, critics have not left it untouched with their rebuke citing the large numbers of injuries suffered by yoga students.
Recent years have witnessed surging number of charges revealing that self-styled yoga organizations and their elite teachers are preying on their students, making an attempt of substituting spiritual enlightenment with psychological manipulation, New Age “hucksterism,” and even cultic worship.
Famous yoga celebrities like Rodney Yee - who was charged in 2004 of having serial affairs with students- have triggered public authorities to call to impose stringent business regulations on the nation's estimated 5,000 yoga training centers.
The thriving industry attributes an estimated $6 billion annually. In fact, at least 18 million Americans practice is revealed to practice yoga on regular basis, reveals recent surveys, and another 25 million claims that they plan to in the coming year.
http://topnews.us/content/215102-yoga-draws-criticism
Ever since it is tagged as the “wellness practice-of-choice” for aging baby-boomers and work-stressed yuppies, critics have not left it untouched with their rebuke citing the large numbers of injuries suffered by yoga students.
Recent years have witnessed surging number of charges revealing that self-styled yoga organizations and their elite teachers are preying on their students, making an attempt of substituting spiritual enlightenment with psychological manipulation, New Age “hucksterism,” and even cultic worship.
Famous yoga celebrities like Rodney Yee - who was charged in 2004 of having serial affairs with students- have triggered public authorities to call to impose stringent business regulations on the nation's estimated 5,000 yoga training centers.
The thriving industry attributes an estimated $6 billion annually. In fact, at least 18 million Americans practice is revealed to practice yoga on regular basis, reveals recent surveys, and another 25 million claims that they plan to in the coming year.
http://topnews.us/content/215102-yoga-draws-criticism
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Yoga becoming lifestyle trend in urban Nepal
Yoga has almost become a lifestyle trend among the urban middle class in this country, courtesy the Indian television channels which telecast holistic health and lifestyle programmes. Yoga CDs, VCDs and Indian health manuals are also easily available and sold at streetside book vends and leading bookstores.
The power of Indian yoga also has government endorsement in the country, which grapples with a high drug addiction rate and work-related stress.
Ratan Kumar Misra, an auditor at a firm in Kathmandu, practises an hour of Indian yoga and pranayam or breathing exercises every morning. Misra is among around 100,000 people in this country who have benefited from yoga and ayurveda as an alternative lifestyle and healing trend.
"I feel comfortable after my morning ritual of yoga. Though I can't do it every day, over the last few days, I have not compromised on my fitness regimen. Indian yoga is very popular in Nepal," Misra said.
For Misra, the simple routine of half-an-hour of breathing exercises or pranayam followed by asanas or yogic postures has kept his 'high blood pressure in check'.
Babu Raja, a shopkeeper in Kathmandu, is enthusiastic about yoga too. "Yoga will help Nepal consolidate its social fabric - especially among the urban professionals. Thousands of residents of Kathmandu switch on their television early in the morning to watch Indian channels like Aastha beam yoga capsules," Raja said.
The shopkeeper, who is attending yoga guru Ramdev's six-day yoga and health service (ayurveda) camp at Tundikhiel in the capital, 'goes to Swayambhunath Temple atop a hill in the capital' to meditate and practice yoga.
Raja says traditional Indian yoga will help foster 'peace in the Nepali society'. "I believe in the power of ayurveda," the shopkeeper said.
Indian yoga has forayed into the Nepalese common psyche in different ways. For 73-year journalist Ramashish, who has spent 46 years in Kathmandu, 'yoga has given him a second chance in life'.
"In 2004, I was diagnosed with 95 per cent arterial blockade and a valve had collapsed. The hospitals in India said I required surgery. But I took to pranayama and yoga and now I am fit," the veteran newsman said in Kathmandu. The newsman claimed that 'yoga has even helped him grow new hair on his bald pate'.
The power of Indian yoga has received a big shot in the arm with guru Ramdev, the co-founder of Patanjali Yogpeeth, opening his five-day yoga camp - the second in three years - at Tundikhiel in the capital.
The guru, with the help of the Nepal government, is commissioning four new yoga projects at Dhulikhel, Syangsa, Mandikathar and Tundikhiel in the capital.
"We have invested Rs 40 crore (INR) in promoting yoga in the country," Shaligram Singh, a trustee for the Haridwar-based Patanjali Yogpeeth, said.
Not only Patanjali yog, the Bangalore-based Art of Living Foundation led by seer Ravi Shankar, has also made inroads in Nepal. "I have been practicing sudarshan kriya for the last four years and am into advanced level meditation now," Prakash Shah, a resident of the Tarai region in Nepal, said.
Shah, a member of Nepal's Madhesi Party, said the Art of Living was popular in the Terai region and had a large centre at Birgunj on the Bihar-Nepal border.
Books on yoga have also been a catalyst in carrying the message of holistic lifestyle across the country. Manuals available at roadside kiosks and leading bookstores are priced reasonably to reach out to the working class.
For the youth, yoga is a potent tool to battle addiction. "Yoga is drawing back the youth to the holistic lifestyle fold. It is permanent de-addiction," Bhuwan KC, a Kathmandu-based teacher in his 20s, said.
Vijaya Laxmi, a pharmacist in the capital, says "yoga has become the talk in the drawing rooms of urban Nepal." "For working women like us, it is a great stress-buster," the pharmacist said.
The power of Indian yoga also has government endorsement in the country, which grapples with a high drug addiction rate and work-related stress.
Ratan Kumar Misra, an auditor at a firm in Kathmandu, practises an hour of Indian yoga and pranayam or breathing exercises every morning. Misra is among around 100,000 people in this country who have benefited from yoga and ayurveda as an alternative lifestyle and healing trend.
"I feel comfortable after my morning ritual of yoga. Though I can't do it every day, over the last few days, I have not compromised on my fitness regimen. Indian yoga is very popular in Nepal," Misra said.
For Misra, the simple routine of half-an-hour of breathing exercises or pranayam followed by asanas or yogic postures has kept his 'high blood pressure in check'.
Babu Raja, a shopkeeper in Kathmandu, is enthusiastic about yoga too. "Yoga will help Nepal consolidate its social fabric - especially among the urban professionals. Thousands of residents of Kathmandu switch on their television early in the morning to watch Indian channels like Aastha beam yoga capsules," Raja said.
The shopkeeper, who is attending yoga guru Ramdev's six-day yoga and health service (ayurveda) camp at Tundikhiel in the capital, 'goes to Swayambhunath Temple atop a hill in the capital' to meditate and practice yoga.
Raja says traditional Indian yoga will help foster 'peace in the Nepali society'. "I believe in the power of ayurveda," the shopkeeper said.
Indian yoga has forayed into the Nepalese common psyche in different ways. For 73-year journalist Ramashish, who has spent 46 years in Kathmandu, 'yoga has given him a second chance in life'.
"In 2004, I was diagnosed with 95 per cent arterial blockade and a valve had collapsed. The hospitals in India said I required surgery. But I took to pranayama and yoga and now I am fit," the veteran newsman said in Kathmandu. The newsman claimed that 'yoga has even helped him grow new hair on his bald pate'.
The power of Indian yoga has received a big shot in the arm with guru Ramdev, the co-founder of Patanjali Yogpeeth, opening his five-day yoga camp - the second in three years - at Tundikhiel in the capital.
The guru, with the help of the Nepal government, is commissioning four new yoga projects at Dhulikhel, Syangsa, Mandikathar and Tundikhiel in the capital.
"We have invested Rs 40 crore (INR) in promoting yoga in the country," Shaligram Singh, a trustee for the Haridwar-based Patanjali Yogpeeth, said.
Not only Patanjali yog, the Bangalore-based Art of Living Foundation led by seer Ravi Shankar, has also made inroads in Nepal. "I have been practicing sudarshan kriya for the last four years and am into advanced level meditation now," Prakash Shah, a resident of the Tarai region in Nepal, said.
Shah, a member of Nepal's Madhesi Party, said the Art of Living was popular in the Terai region and had a large centre at Birgunj on the Bihar-Nepal border.
Books on yoga have also been a catalyst in carrying the message of holistic lifestyle across the country. Manuals available at roadside kiosks and leading bookstores are priced reasonably to reach out to the working class.
For the youth, yoga is a potent tool to battle addiction. "Yoga is drawing back the youth to the holistic lifestyle fold. It is permanent de-addiction," Bhuwan KC, a Kathmandu-based teacher in his 20s, said.
Vijaya Laxmi, a pharmacist in the capital, says "yoga has become the talk in the drawing rooms of urban Nepal." "For working women like us, it is a great stress-buster," the pharmacist said.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Sweating it out with Bikram yoga
When bartender Paul O’Halloran was told that Bikram yoga was about to change his life, he scoffed.
“I just thought, ‘Oh, God,’ like it was so new age-y,” says O’Halloran. “I’m an Irish Catholic gay guy from the Bronx, so really, no one is more cynical than me.”
But O’Halloran began to notice a change in himself as he continued the practice for a few months. After a steady habit of drinking heavily five nights a week, O’Halloran made the decision to get sober. He credits Bikram as being integral to his recovery.
“As far as getting over alcohol, I don’t know if I could’ve done it without [Bikram],” he says. “I know that I wouldn’t have done it as soon as I’ve done it.”
Bikram yoga consists of 24 poses done in a hot room, with the temperature set around 95 to 105 degrees. Though this form of yoga does have its share of critics who believe it is too extreme and potentially dangerous, it has an equal number of fervent fans.
Because the practice forces the body to sweat profusely, a healthy lifestyle becomes a necessity in order to take the classes —coming to a session with a hangover just isn’t an option. Those who truly devote themselves to Bikram can often count on the desire for vices diminishing over time.
“Your stomach just doesn’t want to eat bad stuff. You just don’t feel like it,” says Donna Rubin, co-owner of Bikram Yoga NYC, about the long-term effects of Bikram yoga practice. “People who have tried to quit smoking, they’ve said that they just didn’t feel like it anymore. It sort of assists any program that they’re already on. You’re more tuned in, and your body just starts to tell you what’s good and what’s bad.”
http://www.metro.us/us/article/2010/03/30/01/0744-82/index.xml
“I just thought, ‘Oh, God,’ like it was so new age-y,” says O’Halloran. “I’m an Irish Catholic gay guy from the Bronx, so really, no one is more cynical than me.”
But O’Halloran began to notice a change in himself as he continued the practice for a few months. After a steady habit of drinking heavily five nights a week, O’Halloran made the decision to get sober. He credits Bikram as being integral to his recovery.
“As far as getting over alcohol, I don’t know if I could’ve done it without [Bikram],” he says. “I know that I wouldn’t have done it as soon as I’ve done it.”
Bikram yoga consists of 24 poses done in a hot room, with the temperature set around 95 to 105 degrees. Though this form of yoga does have its share of critics who believe it is too extreme and potentially dangerous, it has an equal number of fervent fans.
Because the practice forces the body to sweat profusely, a healthy lifestyle becomes a necessity in order to take the classes —coming to a session with a hangover just isn’t an option. Those who truly devote themselves to Bikram can often count on the desire for vices diminishing over time.
“Your stomach just doesn’t want to eat bad stuff. You just don’t feel like it,” says Donna Rubin, co-owner of Bikram Yoga NYC, about the long-term effects of Bikram yoga practice. “People who have tried to quit smoking, they’ve said that they just didn’t feel like it anymore. It sort of assists any program that they’re already on. You’re more tuned in, and your body just starts to tell you what’s good and what’s bad.”
http://www.metro.us/us/article/2010/03/30/01/0744-82/index.xml
Thursday, March 25, 2010
5 Worst Foods to Eat Right Before Doing Bikram Yoga
We've recently taken up the ancient practice of Bikram Yoga to supplement our neo-hippie health kick. For those of you who aren't familiar with this type of yoga, it's the torturous one that is done for exactly 90 minutes in a 105 degree humid room. So it's basically like doing regular yoga for a long time outdoors in August. Anyway, due to the extreme heat and intense workout, a list of dos and don'ts is provided when you enter the studio. One of the biggest don'ts is eating beforehand, presumably because doing so would make you hurl all over your neighbor while trying to perfect your Eagle pose. So being sick and twisted, we decided to come up with the five worst foods you could eat before engaging in this extreme exercise ritual. Please let us know your thoughts as well.
5. Pancakes - This one was actually inspired by a friend of ours who indulged in a big plate of IHOP about an hour before the class started. Was it the heaviness of the floury cake, the sugary sweetness of the maple syrup, or the richness of the tablespoons of butter that caused her to lie in Dead Body pose for the majority of the class? We're not sure, but regardless we're going to stay away from all these things.
4. Chicken Vindaloo - Indian food plus Indian workout = not much fun. Yes, this one is counterintuitive at first, but when you think about it, heating up your internal temperature with thousands of Scoville units of hot chilies really isn't the best thing to do before going into a virtual steam room to work out. Breakthrough discovery, we know.
3. Ice cream sundae - Mounds and mounds of rich, sugary dairy piled high into a bowl and topped with even more sugar. This creation could make you sick all by itself, sans heat. Add a bunch of abdominal stretching and turning, and that's one sweet recipe for embarrassment.
2. Porterhouse steak - Eating big hunks of meat shortly before working out is generally not a great idea. When it comes to a steak this big, though, you're really in trouble. We cannot even fathom how many hours would be required to sufficiently process this big of a chunk of cow before attempting Triangle pose, which is said to be like putting your body through a very mild heart attack. Hmmm... you think they cancel each other out, then? Probably not.
1. Monster burrito - Where to start? The huge, bready tortilla that will sit in your belly like a rock for hours? The big chunks of fajita meat that need mucho digestion time? Or what about the large quantity of beans that are likely to induce noxious gas fumes in a hot, crowded quiet room? Oh, the possibilities are endless with this one.
5. Pancakes - This one was actually inspired by a friend of ours who indulged in a big plate of IHOP about an hour before the class started. Was it the heaviness of the floury cake, the sugary sweetness of the maple syrup, or the richness of the tablespoons of butter that caused her to lie in Dead Body pose for the majority of the class? We're not sure, but regardless we're going to stay away from all these things.
4. Chicken Vindaloo - Indian food plus Indian workout = not much fun. Yes, this one is counterintuitive at first, but when you think about it, heating up your internal temperature with thousands of Scoville units of hot chilies really isn't the best thing to do before going into a virtual steam room to work out. Breakthrough discovery, we know.
3. Ice cream sundae - Mounds and mounds of rich, sugary dairy piled high into a bowl and topped with even more sugar. This creation could make you sick all by itself, sans heat. Add a bunch of abdominal stretching and turning, and that's one sweet recipe for embarrassment.
2. Porterhouse steak - Eating big hunks of meat shortly before working out is generally not a great idea. When it comes to a steak this big, though, you're really in trouble. We cannot even fathom how many hours would be required to sufficiently process this big of a chunk of cow before attempting Triangle pose, which is said to be like putting your body through a very mild heart attack. Hmmm... you think they cancel each other out, then? Probably not.
1. Monster burrito - Where to start? The huge, bready tortilla that will sit in your belly like a rock for hours? The big chunks of fajita meat that need mucho digestion time? Or what about the large quantity of beans that are likely to induce noxious gas fumes in a hot, crowded quiet room? Oh, the possibilities are endless with this one.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Yoga session tonight will benefit CV Sierra Club
Catherine Reid invites you to come to a yoga session tonight [Tuesday, March 23rd] to get in touch with your inner yogi and to at the same time support the protection of the Courtenay River Estuary through Sierra Club Comox Valley.
Catherine discovered yoga in 1974 and the gifts of this ancient practice have been weaving their way into her life ever since. She completed her Astanga teacher training in 2004 through Trinity Yoga. She currently teaches various levels and styles of Hatha yoga in several locations throughout the Valley.
The first class starts at 5:30 p.m. and runs to 6:45 p.m. This class will be for those who are new to yoga, or with less than a year of yoga experience. It will also be appropriate for more experienced students who simply want a gentle class that night. There will be clear explanations and options given so you can choose what works best for your body.
The second class from 7:15 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. is for people who have had a regular yoga practice for at least a year. Please come if you're familiar with Sun Salutations, if you understand basic alignment principles, and if Downward-Facing Dog feels wonderful for you. Expect to sweat (blood and tears optional).
All Classes are at the K'ómoks First Nation Band Hall, at 3320 Comox Road in Comox.
Please bring your own yoga mat if possible. A limited amount will be mats will be available at the Hall.
Light refreshments of herb tea, water and fresh fruit will be served. Admission is by donation to Sierra Club Comox Valley.
Contact Catherine at 250-898-8414 for further information.
http://www.canada.com/Yoga+session+tonight+will+benefit+Sierra+Club/2718057/story.html
Catherine discovered yoga in 1974 and the gifts of this ancient practice have been weaving their way into her life ever since. She completed her Astanga teacher training in 2004 through Trinity Yoga. She currently teaches various levels and styles of Hatha yoga in several locations throughout the Valley.
The first class starts at 5:30 p.m. and runs to 6:45 p.m. This class will be for those who are new to yoga, or with less than a year of yoga experience. It will also be appropriate for more experienced students who simply want a gentle class that night. There will be clear explanations and options given so you can choose what works best for your body.
The second class from 7:15 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. is for people who have had a regular yoga practice for at least a year. Please come if you're familiar with Sun Salutations, if you understand basic alignment principles, and if Downward-Facing Dog feels wonderful for you. Expect to sweat (blood and tears optional).
All Classes are at the K'ómoks First Nation Band Hall, at 3320 Comox Road in Comox.
Please bring your own yoga mat if possible. A limited amount will be mats will be available at the Hall.
Light refreshments of herb tea, water and fresh fruit will be served. Admission is by donation to Sierra Club Comox Valley.
Contact Catherine at 250-898-8414 for further information.
http://www.canada.com/Yoga+session+tonight+will+benefit+Sierra+Club/2718057/story.html
Monday, March 22, 2010
Is meditation a wonder cure for heart disease?
Meditation can lower the risk of heart attack in subjects with existing disease, comparable to that of powerful new drugs. In a 5-year study, meditating cardiac patients were almost 50% less likely to be affected.
The effect that meditation techniques have on blood pressure, stress and cognition are well known. However, until recently, there was little scientific research on how the practice can affect the health and clinical condition of patients.
A study of the subject was done by preventive medicine specialist Robert Schneider of the Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, and endocrinologist Theodore Kotchen of the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, reports Science magazine.
Read more
The researchers enlisted 201 patients with narrowed coronary arteries – a risk factor for heart attack and stroke. The subjects were all African American, a high-risk group for heart disease.
The volunteers were assigned into two groups. Both were taking standard medicine for high blood pressure and atherosclerosis and were taught good practices for patients with cardiac conditions. One group was also taught transcendental meditation and asked to practice for 15 to 20 minutes a day. Transcendental meditation is a technique developed by Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, which became internationally known after the Beatles practiced it.
Over 5 years, the meditation practitioners showed 47% lower rates of heart attacks, strokes, and death compared to the control group. Meditation has proved as powerful as any new class of heart disease medications entering the market, says Schneider. The mechanism for this is not obvious, but is probably linked with lower blood pressures associated with meditation, researchers believe.
It’s early to call transcendental mediation a wonder cure for the heart, however. The effect may not translate well to other ethnic groups with lower risks of cardiac diseases. On the other hand, other techniques reducing blood pressure and stress levels could prove effective too. Those may include yoga or even prayer, commented cardiologist Sabahat Bokhari of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City.
The effect that meditation techniques have on blood pressure, stress and cognition are well known. However, until recently, there was little scientific research on how the practice can affect the health and clinical condition of patients.
A study of the subject was done by preventive medicine specialist Robert Schneider of the Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, and endocrinologist Theodore Kotchen of the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, reports Science magazine.
Read more
The researchers enlisted 201 patients with narrowed coronary arteries – a risk factor for heart attack and stroke. The subjects were all African American, a high-risk group for heart disease.
The volunteers were assigned into two groups. Both were taking standard medicine for high blood pressure and atherosclerosis and were taught good practices for patients with cardiac conditions. One group was also taught transcendental meditation and asked to practice for 15 to 20 minutes a day. Transcendental meditation is a technique developed by Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, which became internationally known after the Beatles practiced it.
Over 5 years, the meditation practitioners showed 47% lower rates of heart attacks, strokes, and death compared to the control group. Meditation has proved as powerful as any new class of heart disease medications entering the market, says Schneider. The mechanism for this is not obvious, but is probably linked with lower blood pressures associated with meditation, researchers believe.
It’s early to call transcendental mediation a wonder cure for the heart, however. The effect may not translate well to other ethnic groups with lower risks of cardiac diseases. On the other hand, other techniques reducing blood pressure and stress levels could prove effective too. Those may include yoga or even prayer, commented cardiologist Sabahat Bokhari of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City.
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