Kirtan Kriya[i]
Meditating to Help our Brains
Remember
For
several years I have been developing my practice of meditation. My primary thoughts about the process
have been that it provides increased oxygen flow thorough out the brain and
paying attention to the “here and now.”
I
am VERY interested in the following information that I discovered recently. The
meditation process used in the research process is called Kirtan Kirya. It asks us to focus on sounds and finger movements and
that’s all. The study had the participants do this for eight weeks
Here is the
process.
First
there is a repetition of four sounds – SA, TA, NA, MA. While doing this we are
supposed to sequentially touch our thumb to our index finger, middle finger,
fourth finger, and fifth finger.
“This is performed out loud for 2 minutes, in a whisper for 2 minutes,
in silence for 4 minutes, followed by a whisper for 2 minutes and finally out
loud for 2 minutes. The total time is for is for 12 minutes.
“Since
this is a simple quick practice, it has the potential to be a very practical
and low cost measure to help improve memory.” They were asked to do this for
eight weeks. The results were
compared to a group of persons who listened to music for the same amount of
time.
Some of the
Results:
Along
with significant brain structure changes “ The subjects in general found the
meditation practice enjoyable and beneficial. They…”were able to perform the practice a mean of 75% of the
days that they were in the study. Most subjects reported that they subjectively
perceived that their cognitive function was improved after the 8-week problem.
Finally
the researchers tell us that “Even if techniques such as meditation prove to
have only a small value, their low cost and ease of use may make them a
beneficial adjunct to the pharmacological arsenal currently being
explored. Studies with larger
population size would be able to advance the findings of this study.
Sunday
and Monday morning I have gone on my morning hour-long walk and I practiced
this new meditation. I really enjoyed it.
One of the things that happens is I sometimes finding myself mixing the
sounds up but staying focused is a big part of the job.
[i] Newberg, A. B. et al (2010). Meditations Effects of
Cognitive Function and Cerebral
Blood Flow In Subjects with Memory Loss: A Preliminary Study. Journal
of Alzheimer’s Disease pp
517-526. Contact Andrew Newburg e- mail
Andrew.Newberg@uphs.upenn.edu
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