Sound Mind in a Sound Body-Yoga!

Since childhood we were always told to meditate, do yoga and this would help you stay happy and healthy. As a child, I always found meditating (sitting in one place, eyes closed and concentrate on your breath) very boring. But now as I read papers on benefits of yoga I am stunned.

Now researchers in Canada have found the first evidence to suggest that support groups that encourage meditation and yoga can actually alter the cellular activity of cancer survivors.Their study is one of the first to suggest that a mind-body connection really does exist. 

The team found that the telomeres - the protein caps at the end of our chromosomes that determine how quickly a cell ages - stayed the same length in cancer survivors who meditated or took part in support groups over a three-month period. On the other hand, the telomeres of cancer survivors who didn't participate in these groups shortened during the three-month study.

You must be wondering what are telomeres. Let’s compare it to a "shoelace". One chromosome is the shoelace and the plastic tip is the telomere. The telomeres protect the whole genetic information present in the chromosome and prevent the ends from fraying and sticking to each other. These telomeres hold some secrets to how we age and get cancer.

Each time a cell divides, the telomeres get shorter. When they get too short, the cell can no longer divide; it becomes inactive or "senescent" or it dies. This shortening process is associated with ageing, cancer, and a higher risk of death. So telomeres also have been compared with a bomb fuse.

It’s a pretty huge first step towards understanding more about how our mental state affects our health. Also this study links science to a very old practice followed by a huge population! Yoga and meditation has such immense strength and this study, has opened doors to a world, where we can now give scientific evidences to the ancient practices and beliefs.

I say let’s start meditating from today and have a sound mind in a sound body!

(Shuts the laptop, closes eyes, starts meditating)

Reference- http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.29063/pdf 

Telomeres at the end of chromosome