Meditation Practices as a Part of Healing and Healthcare

The interest in meditation practices as healing strategies comes with the need to acquire a deeper knowledge of the intricate connections between body and mind, and how the mental and spiritual state of an individual directly affects psychological and physical well-being. Meditation practices have been advocated as mind-body treatments for health-related problems and as methods to attain or maintain general wellness. There is a growing body of scientific literature on the effects of meditation practices for a variety of psychiatric disorders such as depression, 18 anxieties, 14, 19 panic disorders, 20 binge eating disorders,7 and substance abuse 21, 22 among others. Effects of meditation practices have been also documented using measures of emotional distress20 and cognitive abilities.23

The effects of meditation practices as complementary treatments for medical conditions other than mental illness have been evaluated using a variety of methods and outcomes. These clinical conditions include hypertension24 and other cardiovascular disorders,25,26 pain syndromes and musculoskeletal diseases,18,27 28 respiratory disorders (e.g., asthma, congestive obstructive pulmonary disease),29 dermatological problems (e.g., psoriasis, allergies),30 immunological disorders,27 and treatment-related symptoms of breast and prostate cancer. 18, 31

There is also a considerable interest in understanding the physiological and neuropsychological effects of certain meditation practices.
3, 32, 33 Research conducted in this area has used a variety of methodological approaches and formal evaluations of the methodological quality of this body of evidence have not been conducted. There is a need to evaluate the evidence that has emerged within the past several decades on the effects of meditation practices in healthcare. Reports on the therapeutic effects of a variety of meditation practices vary greatly across studies. Numerous authors have claimed that most of the studies in this area are methodologically flawed and often have small sample sizes.3,34,35

The magnitude and direction of the effect often varies from one type of practice to another; however, authors agree that some meditation practices hold some promise of therapeutic benefit for a variety of diseases or conditions. Therefore, there is a great need to clarify and address a host of clinical and research questions regarding the benefits of these interventions.

It is also important to systematically evaluate the role that effect modifiers (e.g., age, gender, duration of practice, other characteristics of mediators, training conditions) may have in influencing the outcomes of the types of meditation. By elucidating important clinical questions regarding the therapeutic effects of meditation practices, consensus on standards of practice can be reached with a view to integrate mind-body approaches more effectively into conventional medical care.

Objectives of the Review

• To provide a descriptive overview and synthesis of information on meditation practices in terms of the main components of the practice, the role of spirituality, training requirements, and criteria for success.

• To conduct a systematic review and synthesis of the evidence on (1) the state of research on the therapeutic use of meditation practices in healthcare, (2) the efficacy and effectiveness of meditation practices in healthcare, (3) the role of effect modifiers for the practices, and (4) the effects of meditation practices on physiological and n euro psychological outcomes.

Perception and experience and an object within the field), the kind of anchor employed (a word, breath, sound, object or sensation), and according to the posture used (motionless sitting or moving).  Like other complex and multifaceted therapeutic interventions, meditation practices involve a mixture of specific and vaguely defined characteristics, and they can be practiced on their own or in conjunction with other therapies. As pointed out by many authors, any attempt to create taxonomy of meditation only approximates the multidimensional experience of the practices.