Lazarus (1976, 1984) described several cases in which psychiatric problems such as depression, agitation and schizophrenic de-compensation were observed. These included a 34 year old woman who became suicidal and a 24 year old woman who experienced severe de-personalisation, apparently as a result of transcendental meditation (TM). He also suggested…
The design of RCTs for meditation (or any behaviour-based therapy for that matter) involves a number of unique challenges compared with pharmacological trials. While both categories of trial use an inactive placebo, the pharmaceutical trial uses an inert “sugar tablet” which appears similar to the medication being administered. The participant…
Sham meditation involves designing control strategies that overtly resemble the intervention, but which do not actually trigger the effects purported to be specifically associated with meditation. Sham techniques are used in research when the researcher wishes to examine the specific effects a meditation technique may elicit, while controlling for the…
Traditional meditation texts often warn of the potential negative effects of meditation. These can arise as a result of incorrect preparation, instruction, practice or supervision. Traditionally speaking, misconceptions about the ultimate goals of meditation have often led to unfortunate consequences. Dr Ramesh Manocha further discusses the historical descriptions of the…
A study commissioned by the German government (1980) to assess the effects of TM on youth created controversy when it reported that the majority of participants observed during the trial experienced psychological problems, worsening concentration and variety of physical complaints. Publication of the study was unsuccessfully contested by the TM…
Aftanas et al. (2001) conducted a well designed study of EEG on novice and advanced sahaja yoga meditation practitioners. During meditation substantial changes in midline alpha-theta power, rather than gamma power, distributed more or less symmetrically in the fronto-parietal parts of the brain, occurred in a pattern that was significantly…
Findings suggest that the mental silence experience may be associated with a specific pattern of activity in both the central nervous system and autonomic nervous system which is more complex than simple reduction of arousal and yet different from the cognitive changes seen in association with mindfulness meditaton. Thus, although…
The mechanism of action provoked by meditation is thought primarily to involve its ability to reduce stress. There are two main theories about how this happens. First, that it reduces somatic-arousal thereby reducing the reactivity of the individual to environmental stressors and, second, that it alters the individual’s cognitive appraisal…
It seems logical that experienced meditators would be more likely to be able to generate the experiential and physiological changes associated with meditation at a magnitude sufficient for detection; however selecting them from the wider population necessarily precludes the use of randomisation. This weakens the likelihood that the intervention and…
The sahaja yoga meditator aims to achieve and cultivate the experience of “thoughtless awareness”. As in the notion of “mindful awareness” the meditator aims to sustain that experience even while not formally meditating. Unlike Mindfulness however, the state is not one of introspective, non-judgmental observation of one’s cognitions, but rather…
