The report card on human health reveals mixed scores - there’s good news and bad news: around the world, infectious diseases (think lung infection, diarrhoea, HIV), are trending down(WHO, Aug 2024); however, chronic physical (think diabetes, heart disease, cancer, dementia) and mental ailments are rising. Global medicine usage has grown by more than 14% in the past five years and is expected to keep growing over the next five years.
Now that we know where we are headed, can we pivot to change course? We most definitely can and we are probably in the most favourable time - in terms of awareness, resources, medical advancement and technology - to do so.
A pill for every ill
We all know that human beings are much more than just a sum of their parts and each one of us is unique. Consequently, while we can broadly agree on what keeps us healthy and what makes us ill, there is nothing linear or predictable about individual health or its lack thereof. Advances in medical science have given us the convenience of a pill for every ill which has undoubtedly alleviated physical suffering to a phenomenal degree and accelerated the healing process in the human mechanism. But are we underestimating the capabilities of the human mechanism? Can it play a far greater and more impactful role in recovery, healing and most of all in arresting and reversing the onset of disease? Research says “Yes”.
Take a ‘Chill Pill’
Most of the traditional Eastern cultures treated the body and mind as an interconnected unit and spent enormous time and effort in understanding how they can be primed to serve the human being. The focus of most disciplines such as Zen, Yoga and martial arts is on bringing the body and mind to a state of optimal ease. These techniques are the traditional equivalent of the modern day ‘chill pill’ - an imaginary pill to quell agitation. It is important to note here that the contribution from Indian yogis in this domain over millennia is of immense significance.
Consciously calming the body and mind - loosely referred to as Meditation - is the equivalent of taking a ‘chill pill’. In fact, a 2023 article in JAMA ( a top medical journal) published that meditation and first line anxiety drugs have equal benefits. Without understanding how or why, we innately know what’s good for us. It is estimated that anywhere between 200 and 500 million people meditate worldwide. In March 2020, when the world shut down because of the COVID pandemic and no effective treatment was yet in sight, the time spent on meditation increased by 2900% around the world!
Now, medical and contemplative sciences are pushing the frontiers of research in a bid to understand how they can complement each other to prevent disease and accelerate healing and recovery.
Closing your eyes could be an eye-opener
There are hundreds of meditation techniques but even just 10 minutes of closing our eyes and holding still can reorganize and integrate our energies and make us calmer. By reducing stress, fear and anxiety meditation strengthens the immune system and enables it to function better and accelerates healing and recovery from illness. A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found meditation to lower the risk of high cholesterol by 35%, high blood pressure by 14%, diabetes by 30%, stroke by 24%, and coronary artery disease by 49%.
Shambhavi Mahamudra (Inner Engineering), a 21-minute practice offered by Isha Foundation has been extensively studied to document its impact on the physical, mental and emotional aspects of the human system. Regular practitioners reported several health benefits from the practice: 67% of practitioners noted improvement in blood pressure, 71% in diabetes and 79% in asthma. The ability to regulate one’s own physical health has a significant impact on mental wellbeing. With more advanced meditation programs, practitioners revealed a sustained feeling of wellness over longer periods of time.
A global wave of meditation
The significant rise in levels of stress, anxiety and depression in the world is pointing to a mental health pandemic in the coming decades. Already, loneliness is a major issue with 1 out of 4 adults in the world experiencing feelings of isolation regularly. Young adults aged 18-34 report feeling lonely every day. 63% of these young adults are experiencing significant symptoms of anxiety and depression. Stress, anxiety and depression are a natural progression of feeling isolated and alone and medication seems like the easy solution. The worldwide anxiolytics market which was valued at USD 12 billion approximately in 2023 is projected to grow to over USD 18 billion by 2032.
Apps such as Miracle of Mind and many others in the market can reverse this trend. Meditation may not be a substitute for medication but it may help people from getting to a point where they need medication to turn around. Many factors are converging to make this the best possible time to create a happy and healthy Humanity.
Just a couple of decades ago, Yoga and Meditation were esoteric practices. Genuine instructors were not easily accessible. Today, we have fingertip access to techniques that can create mental wellbeing.
A general sense of volatility prevails in the world– be it economic, ecological, political or social. This is naturally pushing people to seek greater balance, clarity and stability in their lives.
Finally, the lines are blurring between modern and traditional sciences. There are more reliable methods to determine the effect and impact of the subjective sciences on the human body than ever before. This has brought greater acceptance for alternate systems of health and medicine and greater eagerness to explore how they can be blended for optimal healthcare.
Miracle of Mind (MoM) is a freely downloadable meditation app. The app was launched this year with an ambitious goal - to get 3 billion people in the world to close their eyes for a few minutes every day. It offers a simple 7-minute guided meditation practice which can be done anytime, anywhere, by anyone. That 1.5 million people downloaded the app within 24 hours of its launch is testament to the human longing for greater mental and emotional balance and wellbeing.
We established the Sadhguru Center for a Conscious Planet in 2020 at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center , Boston, Massachusetts to bridge science and spirituality and combine clinical and contemplative practices to promote recovery from surgery or serious medical illness. The Center is bringing together scientific investigators, experienced meditators, experts in the fields of medicine and contemplative sciences and others in exploratory research to determine how we can harness the power of the mind to improve patient health and healing.
Illness, however, need not be the driver to invest in one’s own wellbeing. If 8 billion people commit to investing a few minutes every day to explore, through meditation, how to bring the body and mind to harmony, we could very well create a good pandemic.
By Dr. Balachundhar Subramaniam , MD MPH
Professor of Anesthesiology, Harvard Medical School
Clinician Scientist- Neuroscience.
Director, Sadhguru Center for a Conscious Planet, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA.
Now that we know where we are headed, can we pivot to change course? We most definitely can and we are probably in the most favourable time - in terms of awareness, resources, medical advancement and technology - to do so.
A pill for every ill
We all know that human beings are much more than just a sum of their parts and each one of us is unique. Consequently, while we can broadly agree on what keeps us healthy and what makes us ill, there is nothing linear or predictable about individual health or its lack thereof. Advances in medical science have given us the convenience of a pill for every ill which has undoubtedly alleviated physical suffering to a phenomenal degree and accelerated the healing process in the human mechanism. But are we underestimating the capabilities of the human mechanism? Can it play a far greater and more impactful role in recovery, healing and most of all in arresting and reversing the onset of disease? Research says “Yes”.
Take a ‘Chill Pill’
Most of the traditional Eastern cultures treated the body and mind as an interconnected unit and spent enormous time and effort in understanding how they can be primed to serve the human being. The focus of most disciplines such as Zen, Yoga and martial arts is on bringing the body and mind to a state of optimal ease. These techniques are the traditional equivalent of the modern day ‘chill pill’ - an imaginary pill to quell agitation. It is important to note here that the contribution from Indian yogis in this domain over millennia is of immense significance.
Consciously calming the body and mind - loosely referred to as Meditation - is the equivalent of taking a ‘chill pill’. In fact, a 2023 article in JAMA ( a top medical journal) published that meditation and first line anxiety drugs have equal benefits. Without understanding how or why, we innately know what’s good for us. It is estimated that anywhere between 200 and 500 million people meditate worldwide. In March 2020, when the world shut down because of the COVID pandemic and no effective treatment was yet in sight, the time spent on meditation increased by 2900% around the world!
Now, medical and contemplative sciences are pushing the frontiers of research in a bid to understand how they can complement each other to prevent disease and accelerate healing and recovery.
Closing your eyes could be an eye-opener
There are hundreds of meditation techniques but even just 10 minutes of closing our eyes and holding still can reorganize and integrate our energies and make us calmer. By reducing stress, fear and anxiety meditation strengthens the immune system and enables it to function better and accelerates healing and recovery from illness. A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found meditation to lower the risk of high cholesterol by 35%, high blood pressure by 14%, diabetes by 30%, stroke by 24%, and coronary artery disease by 49%.
Shambhavi Mahamudra (Inner Engineering), a 21-minute practice offered by Isha Foundation has been extensively studied to document its impact on the physical, mental and emotional aspects of the human system. Regular practitioners reported several health benefits from the practice: 67% of practitioners noted improvement in blood pressure, 71% in diabetes and 79% in asthma. The ability to regulate one’s own physical health has a significant impact on mental wellbeing. With more advanced meditation programs, practitioners revealed a sustained feeling of wellness over longer periods of time.
A global wave of meditation
The significant rise in levels of stress, anxiety and depression in the world is pointing to a mental health pandemic in the coming decades. Already, loneliness is a major issue with 1 out of 4 adults in the world experiencing feelings of isolation regularly. Young adults aged 18-34 report feeling lonely every day. 63% of these young adults are experiencing significant symptoms of anxiety and depression. Stress, anxiety and depression are a natural progression of feeling isolated and alone and medication seems like the easy solution. The worldwide anxiolytics market which was valued at USD 12 billion approximately in 2023 is projected to grow to over USD 18 billion by 2032.
Apps such as Miracle of Mind and many others in the market can reverse this trend. Meditation may not be a substitute for medication but it may help people from getting to a point where they need medication to turn around. Many factors are converging to make this the best possible time to create a happy and healthy Humanity.
Just a couple of decades ago, Yoga and Meditation were esoteric practices. Genuine instructors were not easily accessible. Today, we have fingertip access to techniques that can create mental wellbeing.
A general sense of volatility prevails in the world– be it economic, ecological, political or social. This is naturally pushing people to seek greater balance, clarity and stability in their lives.
Finally, the lines are blurring between modern and traditional sciences. There are more reliable methods to determine the effect and impact of the subjective sciences on the human body than ever before. This has brought greater acceptance for alternate systems of health and medicine and greater eagerness to explore how they can be blended for optimal healthcare.
Miracle of Mind (MoM) is a freely downloadable meditation app. The app was launched this year with an ambitious goal - to get 3 billion people in the world to close their eyes for a few minutes every day. It offers a simple 7-minute guided meditation practice which can be done anytime, anywhere, by anyone. That 1.5 million people downloaded the app within 24 hours of its launch is testament to the human longing for greater mental and emotional balance and wellbeing.
We established the Sadhguru Center for a Conscious Planet in 2020 at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center , Boston, Massachusetts to bridge science and spirituality and combine clinical and contemplative practices to promote recovery from surgery or serious medical illness. The Center is bringing together scientific investigators, experienced meditators, experts in the fields of medicine and contemplative sciences and others in exploratory research to determine how we can harness the power of the mind to improve patient health and healing.
Illness, however, need not be the driver to invest in one’s own wellbeing. If 8 billion people commit to investing a few minutes every day to explore, through meditation, how to bring the body and mind to harmony, we could very well create a good pandemic.
By Dr. Balachundhar Subramaniam , MD MPH
Professor of Anesthesiology, Harvard Medical School
Clinician Scientist- Neuroscience.
Director, Sadhguru Center for a Conscious Planet, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA.
You may also like
'Unacceptable': NCW condemns derogatory remarks against Col Sufiya Qureshi
April Jones' dad dies without ever having found kidnapped schoolgirl's body
Garmin shoppers get £81 discount on 'all-rounder' fitness watch
Fashion Tips: Know whether a skirt or pants will look perfect on you in this way, celebrity stylists also follow this secret formula..
Kerala police launch probe after threats to Jehovah''s Witnesses
