Meditation has long held the reputation for bringing about beneficial changes in those who meditate. These claims include everything from increasing will power to decreasing road rage. But now scientific evidence is emerging which suggests that the way our very genes express themselves can be altered in a relatively short time by mindfulness meditation.
The scientific journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, recently published an article describing how researchers have discovered specific molecular and genetic changes in the body after a period of mindful meditation. These genetic changes can best be understood in terms of epigenetics. Epigenetics refers to changes that occur in our genetic activity without changing our genetic code. In other words, the DNA code stayed the same but how the code was expressed was different. Another term for this genetic activity is “genetic expression.” It appears that the calmness of the mind may be able to exert a potentially positive effect on our genetic expression (DNA expression).
Researchers worked with a group of experienced meditators and a group of untrained subjects. The experienced meditators were put through a day of intensive mindful-meditation; the group of untrained subjects spent a day in quiet activities which did not include meditation. After 8 hours of meditation, a range of genetic and molecular changes showed up in the group of meditators. These changes included reduced levels of expression of pro-inflammatory genes. This means that after only 8 hours of mindfulness-based training the DNA expressed less pro-inflammatory genes.
Other studies have also shown that mindfulness-based trainings have beneficial effects on inflammatory disorders. This is why the American Heart Association endorses mindfulness-based training as a preventative intervention. In addition, previous studies in rodents and in people have shown dynamic epigenetic responses to physical stimuli such as stress, diet, or exercise within just a few hours.
This study is further evidence that the medical community is beginning to acknowledge the health benefits of meditation. As you can see from the results, it suggests that the calmness of the mind can have an effect on how your genes express themselves. In other words, if you are more calm, then your genes will not “produce” or will not “produce as much” of the “products” that effect your body in a negative way.