U.S Army Finds Meditation Reduces Stress
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Experiments conducted by The U.S Army's Research Lab find Yoga is able to Eliminate Stress completely.
An extensive experiment conducted by scientists from the U.S Army Research Lab has found significant evidence in proving that meditation is a useful and profound way to reduce the effects and sensations of stress, which often triggers the body’s “fight-or-flight” response. Unfortunately, this reaction can have drastic negative impacts on our day-to-day life, which can be found to incur harm on both the physical and mental states.
Within today’s hectic lifestyle, there are many things that can lead to incapacitating stress disorders. Deadlines, opinions, expectations and success are all very real, everyday life stressors –and who could be in a better position to research how to deal with intense stress than the U.S Army? The Army is a highly-charged and anxious environment, where most soldiers feel the pinch of high stress levels that can result in burnout and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTST)
The Army’s intense study on Heart Rate Variability (HRV) leads to an insight into the way in which the heart responds to external stressors. A newly developed data processing system called Dynamic Subordinate Technique, is able to measure the changes in HRV and relate these changes directly to brain activity that is presented during and after meditation. The findings provide clear insight into the potential of meditation in reducing stress; meditation has the ability to lessen and moderate stress symptoms such as impatience, impulsiveness and the inability to stay focused or to concentrate.
This research found that meditation from Yogic traditions are the most effective forms of meditation in reducing stress, even more than those of the Chi tradition. The team of researchers found that the long-term practice of this form of mediation has the potential of making stress relief permanent.
Yoga Nidra stands out as a powerful meditation technique to combat stress and anxiety. Yoga Nidra requires the yogi to lie in corpse pose in an effort to unveil the five layers of self, leaving both the body and mind with a sense of wholeness and fulfilment. Yoga Nidra encompasses deep rest and relaxation as the root of its stress relieving ability. With the whole body completely on the floor, the person is able to concentrate wholly on breath awareness and rest. Anyone can do this practice, which is a simple and highly effective way of mitigating stress.
The practices of the Yogic traditions are known to be one of the oldest and most effective ways to battle intense stress as well as a way of keeping the mind and body healthy. Through the combination of pranayama, asanas, and meditation, yoga is recognised as the most effective stress buster. The practice of meditation has profound effects on the body, from stress relief and reduction of muscular tension to improvements in sleep, allergies and multiple medical conditions.
The research completed by the U.S Army also found that such meditation can lead to the development of a higher level of executive control, with a stronger sense of goal orientated behaviour and cognitive abilities. With stress relief being the present goal for these findings on Yoga and meditation, the U.S Army is looking further into long-term goals with the hope of using such meditation techniques to alleviate the effects and symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
American Association for the Advancement of Science Spokesperson, West, has said that the potential for this long-term goal to succeed has become increasingly more likely with the new ability to measure the effectiveness of meditation in regards to stress relief. This new Dynamic Subordinate Technique is the most direct measure of understanding the benefits of meditation on stress-relief ever to be compiled and is a profound discovery in regards to awareness in the reduction of stress.
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Story Source: Materials provided by US Army Research Laboratory. (Content may be edited for style).