Why Meditation Works
Here is what we know today.
The Science
Studies and Observations
Healing properties of meditation have been documented for centuries. In modern science, studies continue to explore the complexity of the human mind and the external and internal variables that influence it. Below are references to studies and books to help you decide if meditation healing is right for you.
Medical Studies
Meta studies* of meditation for pain and illness:
*A meta study, or study of many studies, is the highest level of evidence in medical research literature
Emotion and Dis-ease Connection
- The Body Keeps the Score, Bessel van der Kolk M.D, ed. 2021
- The Positive Shift, Catherine A. Sanderson, PhD, 2019
- When the Body Says No. Understanding the Stress-Disease Connection, Dr. Gábor Maté, M. D., 2008
Recommended Reading
- Becoming Supernatural: How Common People are Doing the Uncommon, Dr. Joe Dispenza, 2017
- The Medical Library Association Guide to Finding Out About Complementary and Alternative Medicine: The Best Print and Electronic Resources, Gregory A. Crawford, 2010
- You Can Heal Your Life, Louise Hay, 1984
Meta studies* of meditation for pain and illness:
*A meta study, or study of many studies, is the highest level of evidence in medical research literature
- The Body Keeps the Score, Bessel van der Kolk M.D, ed. 2021
- The Positive Shift, Catherine A. Sanderson, PhD, 2019
- When the Body Says No. Understanding the Stress-Disease Connection, Dr. Gábor Maté, M. D., 2008
- Becoming Supernatural: How Common People are Doing the Uncommon, Dr. Joe Dispenza, 2017
- The Medical Library Association Guide to Finding Out About Complementary and Alternative Medicine: The Best Print and Electronic Resources, Gregory A. Crawford, 2010
- You Can Heal Your Life, Louise Hay, 1984
Anatomy of Meditation
Thoughts and sensations get processed by brain networks. Then, the interpreted memo gets set to the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is a small region at the base of the brain linking the nervous system to the endocrine system.
Basically, it is one of the body’s main control centers. It helps translate what the brain is sensing or perceiving into physical responses by directing a gland sitting just below to release hormones. This is the pituitary gland.
The pituitary is often called the “master gland” because it controls:
- Growth and body composition through growth hormone.
- Metabolism and energy use through signals that influence the thyroid and adrenal glands.
- Stress response through ACTH, which stimulates cortisol production.
- Reproductive and sexual function through LH and FSH.
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding through prolactin and oxytocin.
- Water balance and blood pressure support through ADH (vasopressin).
When pituitary-controlled hormones are too low or too high, people can experience fatigue, low motivation, brain fog, sleep disruption, irritability, anxiety, depressed mood, or difficulty coping with stress.
Changing Physiology with Meditation
Meditation practice interrupts the cascade of stressful feelings leading to stressful hormones. Choosing a state of relaxation over and over sends a signal from the brain to the body to create a hormonal state that looks like relaxation.
Thoughts do not let a person consciously command pituitary hormones in a simple on/off way. Other major influences include sleep, illness, inflammation, nutrition, medications, reproductive status, and feedback from other glands. But cognition and emotion do alter neural activity, which alters hypothalamic signaling, and which alter pituitary hormones and thus help create the best biochemical state for healing.
Is meditation just the placebo effect?
“Placebo” is the innate ability we have to heal our bodies – when we believe that we will get better and that our environment supports our healing, our bodies respond accordingly. Meditation likely taps into the same physiological response that placebo illicits. However, belief is not necessary for meditative healing to work. Meditation bypasses the need for cues from the environment by creating that sense of safety and support directly within our minds. Belief in meditation is a happy inevitability as you prove to yourself its effectiveness.
Physics of Meditation
Consciousness, Quantum Mechanics
Aya Holyoke’s Story
The first signs of my chronic illness began at age 26. I was climbing up the corporate ladder in a top US renewable energy company. I went from data analyst to supervisor in three years in a demanding work culture and was getting burned out. Symptoms crept up to a final health breakdown at 30.
Diagnosis was tricky. For three years, I was going from doctor to doctor. After a nine-day hospitalization, I was put on medication that finally, finally stabilized me. I went from all-day dread to feeling little windows of “maybe I can get better”.
Then I discovered energy healing. As I meditated with intention of “clearing away junk” in my mind, heart, and memories, my health sky-rocketed back towards normal. In three months, I went from exhausted driving anywhere to taking 6-hour road trips… from eating pre-made meals to making soups and roasts from scratch… from avoiding people to spending time with new and old friends. And I had never felt more mentally and spiritually healthy.
Energy healing practices are not in our typical healthcare system. I want to teach these tools to fill this gap, especially for those who have tried almost everything to get better and are looking for a new option. Standard western medicine is still important and is not to be replaced by energy healing, but the two modalities are incredibly powerful together.
get in touch
Please reach out if you feel you are struggling to get well. Healing journeys are not meant to be done alone. Anam Healing is a safe container where you can be seen beyond any chronic illness and get better quickly.