Recently returned from a 10-day meditation course (thus the missing newsletters) and my fitbit has informed me my heart rate has reduced. Hardly surprising when I was meditating 11 hours per day, sleeping 7 hours, having my meals cooked for me, no phone or responsibilities to distract me from focussing on the art of meditation...and everyone knows how good meditation is for us…right! I entered the course with a resting heart rate (RHR) of 65 bpm and walked out with a RHR of 54 bpm. That is a 15% improvement in 10 days. I was keen to know the research that supported this and started diving into rabbit holes. Coincidentally, a close friend of mine has been suffering with heart issues for over 12 months so my google history already included a lot of enquiries along the lines of:
“What causes heart disease”
“Improving heart health”
“Likely hood of surviving heart attack”
This research lead me to understand that stress is categorically linked to heart health. It seems doctors don't know exactly how chronic stress affects the heart. Most likely, stress causes inflammation, a known factor in heart disease, but that hasn't been proven. Constant stress — whether from a traffic on the daily commute, unhappy marriage, unwell family member or heavy workload, can have real physical effects on the body and yes it can cause heart disease. Just as not all smokers get lung cancer many people under immense stress do not end up with a heart concern. However some experts go as far as to say that stress is a leading risk factor for heart disease—the biggest killer in Australia, up there with unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, smoking, excessive alcohol use, and obesity.
I have enough research under my belt to know that a reduced heart rate is positive and this time in meditation has likely reduced cortisol levels and blood pressure in parallel. There is scientific evidence that meditation supports a healthy mind, heart and body, as little as 15 minutes a day of mindfulness can show improvements. Additionally, as it does not involve moving, it can be of benefit to those who cannot do other physical exercise to balance the stress hormones. Perhaps even more importantly, reducing stress improves relationships, productivity and enjoyment of social activities and time spent on hobbies.
The vipassana meditation course I did taught me that experiential knowledge is superior to intellectual knowledge. I knew on an intellectual level that meditation was good for me but experiencing my heart rate slowing, my peace increasing and the lightness replacing the perceived burdens has me spruiking the benefits to everyone. Meditation will improve your life and if you are reading this thinking "I don’t have time to do it" this is your message that you need it the most, so find the time...please. Any form of mindfulness will work - find one that works for you.
These practises are ancient for a reason, the human body and mind have not changed very much at all, evolution is slow. Less than a hundred years ago we were using a horse and cart, the brain is not designed to move as fast as we are expecting. Scrolling, notifications, multiple channels of communication, trying to multitask, phones in the bedroom, being constantly "on" is vastly different to the way our grandparents lived. Teaching your mind to slow down will help with focus, sleep, and of course a range of health improvements beyond the heart. Believing it is beneficial to have the mind and body busy, looking for a distraction, craving a new thing and avoiding the uncomfortable is a convenience that will catch up with us. The body will not allow us to keep pursuing a frenetic pace, it will give us signs, subtle at first, maybe a headache, racing heart, fatigue, but if we don’t listen the body gets louder. Start listening when you have options, no need to be crazy and drop your life for 10 days and become a monk maybe just think of 5 ways you could incorporate quiet time to support your overall wellbeing.
If you can recognise that you could benefit from slowing down, why not join me on the adventure of a lifetime? We have three spaces left on our Nepal trip this November...I guarantee you will have a reduction in your heart rate, slow down and partake in a phenomenal life changing experience.
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