Heart disease
Heart patients can dramatically reduce their blood pressure levels simply by meditating. And the patients who used the mantra-based Transcendental Meditation technique also reduced their insulin resistance.
While it’s long been known that meditation can reduce blood pressure, it’s the first time that a study has found that it also improves blood sugar and insulin levels.
During the 16-week programme, the patients who meditated achieved significant reductions in their blood pressure without losing weight, changing their diet or altering their medications. The study involved 52 heart patients, who were taught how to meditate, and whose progress was compared with 51 non-meditating matched heart patients.
The results also suggest a strong link between the mind—especially mental stress—and disturbances in metabolic processing, which includes high blood pressure, abdominal obesity, high cholesterol levels and insulin resistance (Arch Intern Med, 2006; 166: 1218–24).