The Meditation Conundrum - The Lack of Good Science, but an Ancient Practice that Feels Good Anyway
Last week, I wrote about the body’s exquisite homeostasis and how we need to question what we put in our body and how we use our body and mind. We need to be cognizant about what we put inside our bodies, especially when it comes to drugs and supplements…as also what we do with our body and mind.
That physical activity is a cornerstone of healthful ageing, allowing us to live long, healthy has been proven multiple times over with well-conducted studies, both observational and randomized controlled. Like with drugs, even physical activity can have adverse events, mainly in the form of injuries, and we need to be judicious and careful about how much we push our body…but push we must.
A year ago, I wrote about how positive psychological well-being is supposed to improve cardiovascular health. The mind and the body are both connected, a concept of dualism that has been known to man since time immemorial but underwent a split in the Western world in the 17th century starting with Rene Descartes and then laid the ground for modern medicine that for many decades assumed that the mind and body were two separate systems to be managed independently, as against most traditional medicine concepts that have always managed people holistically.
So how do we keep our mind healthy? Physical activity makes a big difference, as does increasing cognitive reserve with education and learning. To some extent, exercising the mind with puzzles and games along with reading, also help.
And then comes meditation.