science and spirituality

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Science and Spirituality Vinod Kochupillai Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi

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Science and Spirituality

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  • 1. Science and Spirituality
    • Vinod Kochupillai
  • Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital
  • All India Institute of Medical Sciences
  • New Delhi

2. Poll Conducted: Are you happy with your life

  • High percentage: Yes
  • Surprise
  • Contradictory to statistics
  • Anxiety, depression, Suicide increasing
  • If people are happy:
  • Why increase in depression and suicides??

3. Emotions: unaware or not expressed

  • Unaware of feelings
  • ashamed to admit
  • Pretending to have fun
  • Emotions: mayseemto be under control --but!

4. Suppressed emotions: Explode

  • Affect: Work out put
  • Interpersonal relations
  • Depression/ anxiety
  • heart attacks, ulcers, migraine, High BP, cancer

5. Scientific Studies

  • Every change in the mental-emotional state, conscious or unconscious is accompanied by an appropriate change in physiological state and every change in the physiological state is accompanied by an appropriate change in the mental-emotional state
  • Elmer Green - Mayo clinic Physician

6. Body and Mind

  • Brain/ mind: dominate body:
  • No longer true
  • Body and mind: inseparable
  • Intelligence: not only in brain; throughout the body
  • Memory and capacity to learn:
  • not only brain; other systems also like immune system

7. Neuropeptides & receptors: Biochemical Messengers

  • Act with intelligence
  • Communicate: each other
  • Regulate: conscious and
  • Unconscious activities
  • Translate large changes:
  • Behavior, physical activity, even mood
  • biochemical base: awareness and consciousness

8. Neuropeptides and receptors:Not only brain and nerve cells

  • Present in many parts:
  • Blood cells (mono & lymphocytes)
  • Respiratory centre
  • G I tract - entire lining: esophagus - large intestine
  • Density of receptors:gut feeling
  • Distressing news: diarrhoea
  • dyspepsia: grouchy & irritable

9. Internal Chemicals

  • Biochemical messengers: Neuropeptides and their receptors
  • Manifest as our emotions, beliefs and expectations
  • Profoundly influence
  • how we respond and experience our world
  • unite mind, spirit and emotions with physical body
  • Dr. Pert: Molecules of Emotions

10. Biochemical messengers: Molecules of Emotions

  • Massive information transfer:
  • Over a network linking all system and organs
  • engaging: all: molecules of emotions as means of communication
  • Mobile brain
  • Moves throughout body
  • located in all places at once
  • not just in the head

11. Body wide information network

  • Includingallorganssystems,
  • Emotions,thoughtsandspirit
  • Everchanginganddynamic
  • infinitelyflexible

12. Endorphins and Chakras

  • A yogi enquired: Dr. Pert
  • If Endorphins: neuropeptide (bodys natural opiate)
  • concentrated along spine: that corresponded to chakras
  • 7 Chakaras: centres of subtle energy
  • govern basic physical and metaphysical functions: ranging: sexuality to emotions to higher consciousness

13. Endorphins & Chakras

  • Dr. Pert - pulled out a diagram that depicted-2 chains
  • of nerve bundles on either side of spinal cord.
  • Each rich with information carrying peptides
  • Chakra map exactly overlapped endorphins map

14. Emotions: needed

  • Anger to define boundaries
  • Grief to deal with losses
  • Fear to protect from danger

15. Emotions denied; chronically suppressed - Stress

  • Toxic situation
  • Flow of peptides (messengers): blocked
  • important body functions:
  • breathings, blood flow, Immunity:
  • adversely affected
  • Manifests as diseases
  • Healing processes: adversely affected

16. Free Flow of Emotions

  • Emotions allowed to move: naturally
  • Inner chemicals flow: freely
  • Experience:
  • freedom,joyhealthystate ofbeing

17. Frontal cortex: Part of brain: Unique to humans

  • Sits behind forehead
  • Rich: Chemical messengers
  • Location: higher cognitive functions
  • Planning for the future
  • Making decisions
  • Formulating intentions to change

18. Frontal cortex: To perform

  • Needs adequate nourishment
  • Brains only food - Glucose
  • carried through blood
  • Glucose - store & secrete messenger chemicals
  • Neurotransmitters, Neuropeptides

19. Blocked or suppressed emotions

  • Blood vessels:
  • Constricted (narrowed)
  • Blood flow: restricted
  • Deprives :importantpartof brain
  • and other organs:
  • of vital nourishment

20. Frontal Contex: Inadequate Nourishment

  • Foggy and less alert
  • limited in awareness
  • Decision making processes: Interfered
  • unable to respond freshly to world around:
  • get stuck
  • Lack of fresh ideas

21. Emotions and body sensations: Link

  • Each emotion: Physical sensation
  • Attention over physical sensation: allows emotions to move rather then suppress
  • often happens: at unconscious level
  • one is not aware
  • Elimination of stress; brings it into consciousness; one becomes aware

22. Elimination of Stress

  • Over centuries
  • Yoga,meditation, Pranayam
  • Meditationallows long buried thoughts and feelings to surface, is a way of getting the peptides flow again, returning the body and the emotions to health.

23. Sudarshan Kriya (SK) and Pranayam (P)

  • More recently
  • His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
  • Introduced a powerful process -Sudarshan Kriya
  • Rhythmic breathing process -
  • Three rhythms followed cyclically.

24. Rhythmic breathing: Effect on chemical messengers

  • Rhythmic change in the rate of breath Changes:
  • quantity and quality: peptides
  • Conscious alteration of breath:
  • holding or breathing fast:
  • chemicals diffuse into several areas

25. Fast conscious breathing

  • Peptidesdiffuseallover
  • Many-Endorphins:
  • bodysnaturalopiates:released
  • Senseofjoyandhappiness,peace
  • andrelieffrombodypains
  • peptide-respiratorylink:
  • Welldocumented

26. Respiratory centre: Peptides

  • Any peptide (Chemical messenger) found anywhere: also found in resp centre
  • May be the scientific base for the powerful healing effects of SK and P

27. Spirituality & Science

  • Regular practice: SK, P, yoga and meditation
  • stresses: eliminated
  • peptides flow freely
  • one becomes aware
  • living in the present
  • focused, alert and yet relaxed
  • This is what spirituality (consciousness) is all
  • about
  • Productivity, efficiency and relationships automatically improve

28. Sudarshan Kriya and Pranayam

  • Increase connectivity and information processing in brain
  • Resting EEG 2 groups: practicing SK and P x at least 2 years vs controls:beta waves
  • EEG during SK and P -alpha waves:
  • relaxed alertness
  • Manveer Bhatia
  • Neurologist & EEG Incharge

29. During SK & P Resting EEG:Control Vs practitioners ofSK & P 30.

  • Bhatia M, Kumar A, Bhardwaj NK, Pandey RM and Kochupillai V.
  • Electrophysiological evaluation of Sudarshan Kriya; EEG, BAER and P-300 study.
  • Ind J Physiol & Pharmacol
  • 47(2): 157-163, 2003

31. Sudarshan Kriya and Pranayam: effect on blood cortisol & ACTH

  • Studies done at AIIMS and NIMHANS, Bangalore
  • Fall in blood cortisol and ACTH (Stress hormones)
  • Consistent: relaxing effect of SK and P NIMHANS: Alcohol addicts & patients with depression
  • 70% required no medication
  • SK & P No side effects
  • Cost effective

32.

  • Jankiramaiah et al. A Therapeutic Efficacy of
  • Sudarshan Kriya yoga 9SKY) In Dysthymic
  • Disorders.
  • NIMHANS Journal 17;21-28,1998
  • Naga Venkatesha et al. P300 Amplitude And
  • Antidepressant Response To Sudarshan Kriya Yoga.
  • Journal Affective Disorders 50;45-48,1998.
  • Jankiramaiah et al. Antidepressant Efficacy Of
  • Sudarshan Kriya Yoga 9SKY) In Melancholia.
  • Journal Affective Disorders 57; 255-59, 2000.

33. Sudarshan Kriya and Pranayam: Fall in blood lactate

  • Police trainees - highly stressed group
  • Alter 5 months of SK and P practice
  • remarkable fall in blood lactate consistent with relaxation effect
  • Blood lactate tends to increase during physical and/ of mental stress
  • Neeta Singh: Prof. Biochemistry: AIIMS

34. 35. Sudarshan Kriya and Pranayam:Antioxidant defense

  • Police trainees
  • Studied at base line,
  • after 5 months of SK and P practice
  • and during SK and P
          • Neeta Singh, Prof, Biochemistry, AIIMS .

36. 37.

  • Sharma H, Sen S, Singh A, Bhardwaj NK, Kochupillai V and Singh N.
  • Sudarshan Kriya practitioners exhibit better antioxidant status and lower blood lactate levels
  • Biological Psychology
  • 63: 281 - 291, 2003.

38. Sudarshan Kriya & Pranayam: Effect on Immune system

  • NK cells: 3 groups: Those practing SK and P x at least 2 years
  • Normal controls
  • Cancer patients in remission
  • Cancer patients in remission
  • Controls Vs those practicing SK & P
  • NK cells baseline and after 3 and 6 months.
  • S.N. Das, Additional Prof., Biotechnology, AIIMS

39. Cancer patients in remission Control Vspractitioners of SK & PVs cancer pts in remission 40. Increase in Natural Killer cells and antioxidant defence

  • May protect from agerelated diseases such ascancer, rheumatoid arthritis, coronary arterydisease etc.
  • May slow down cancer progression

41. Sudarshan Kriya & tobacco Cessation : 82 subjects Day 6:53 / 82 = 65% Month 2 :63 individuals FU 23 Tobacco free 23/82 = 28% Month 6 :34 individuals FU 17 Tobacco free 17 /82 = 21% 42. Tobacco cessation thr. Sudarshan Kriya

  • Cost effective
  • No side effects
  • Durable
  • Urge to smoke disappears
  • No effort or supervision required

43. Cholesterol study: Bangalore Medical College Dr. Geetha the total Cholesterol decreasedHDL increased (Good Cholesterol) LDL decreased (Bad Cholesterol) 44. Tata Institute of Social Sciences: Research

  • Participants: Management level
  • Ambit corporate finance, Bacardi, Cadburys, Indian oil, Mukand Steel, NTCP, Rallis India,Strategic capital securities, Tata chemicals, World bank groups, WHO Transasia Biochemicals
  • Total participants: 543 -
  • underwent AOL workshop and learnt SK & P

45. Tata institute Social Science: Research (Contd)

  • Improved state of mind = 88%
  • Improvement in dealing
  • with people= 60%
  • Handled stressful situation
  • better= 58%
  • Practicing SK & P:
  • Regularly= 58%
  • Recommended AOL
  • course to others= 60%

46. Science and spiritualityConclusions

  • SK & P and meditation (spiritual practices): allow free flow of neuropeptide and receptors: molecules of emotions
  • elimination of stress, anxiety
  • Better Immune status and antioxidant defense
  • Freedom from addictions
  • Healthier body and healthier mind:
  • Increased productivity, efficiency, better relations

47. Science and spirituality

  • The systematic understanding of reality is called science and systematic understanding of one who is understanding is called spirituality.
  • HH Sri Sri Ravi Shankar