Hello from Pippa – Isn’t it interesting that how we use our thinking during any given day will physically affect our brains?
I wonder if you’ve come across Loving Kindness Meditation (also called Metta Meditation)?
There are many versions online for you, but it goes something like this………
May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be loved – direct this towards someone you like
May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you live with ease – direct this towards yourself
May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you live with ease – direct this towards someone you don’t really know
May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you live with ease – direct this towards someone you are struggling with, or have communication problems with
In recent research published in Psychoneuroendocrinology, scientists have shown that loving-kindness meditation has a positive impact at the cellular level. The study examined how different types of meditation influenced telomere length, which is an indicator of physiological ageing.
Telomeres are the end caps of DNA on our chromosomes. They help in DNA replication and get shorter over time.
“Chronological age and biological age are not identical. The former is measured in years, whereas the latter is often indexed by telomere length,” the authors of the new study explained. “Telomeres progressively shorten with cell division (i.e., aging) in general, but may also be replenished, or lengthened, by the enzyme telomerase.”
My partner has now been practising this meditation for several weeks. He reports being able to change his mood completely and being much more calm.
The study, “Loving-kindness meditation slows biological aging in novices: Evidence from a 12-week randomized controlled trial“, was authored by Khoa D. Le Nguyen, Jue Lin, Sara B. Algoe, Mary M. Brantley, Sumi L. Kim, Jeffrey Brantley, Sharon Salzberg, and Barbara L. Fredrickson.
Research published in the journal Cancer in 2014 also found that telomeres maintained their length in breast cancer survivors who practiced mindfulness meditation. Additionally, a 2018 study in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity found that telomere length actually increased in meditation retreat participants after three weeks.