Despite the scientific establishment’s equivocal conclusions about the efficacy of meditation, positive perceptions are evident among the Western lay population because of the increasing popularity of the philosophy, metaphysics and folklore associated with the ancient and traditional Indian ideas of meditation. So it is important to develop an understanding of meditation, in the words of [...]
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The aphorisms of Patanjali on the Yoga Sutras are contained in four chapters and are nearly two hundred in number. The author of the aphorisms is said to be the same Patanjali who wrote the famous commentary on Panini’s aphorisms, under the name of the Mahabhasya or ‘The Great Commentary’. Another work on Medicine is [...]
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In my systematic review of 120 randomised controlled trials, twenty eight trials used a “multimodal” approach in which meditation was used as part of a “blunderbuss” of interventions woven into a single coordinated program. Most of these programs involved other practices aimed at reducing stress such as yoga postures, exercise, breathing techniques, or group support. [...]
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Within the yoga tradition, meditation is defined as an experiential state of awareness specifically involving control over all aspects of mental activity. Feuerstein (2006) explains that “the initial purpose of meditation is to intercept the flux of ordinary mental activity.” He translates Patanjali’s explanation from the Yoga Sutras (aphorism 1.2) as follows: “Yoga is the [...]
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Of great interest is that the yoga tradition does not just describe philosophical, moral, metaphysical associations between mind, behaviour and health but actually describes the mechanism by which they are interconnected. This is the system of chakras (energy plexuses) and nadis (energy channels). Described since ancient times, the physical body is said to be energized [...]
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The yogic idea of mental silence implies first, that taming of the mind is the key to successful personal development and second, that the untamed mind is a fundamental factor in the development of disease. These ancient ideas are reflected in modern scientific evidence which demonstrates the deleterious impact of stress and negative affect (emotion/mood) [...]
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Posted in cross-cultural, yoga on Apr 13th, 2009
For those people who imagine that yoga consists of pretzel-like postures, the term “yogic science” will seem contradictory. But this year, the world’s first masters degree in applied yogic science will be awarded to students studying at the “yoga university” Bihar Yoga Bharati (Munger, India). And worldwide, interest is increasing in the biological effects of [...]
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