The influence of meditative relaxation techniques on brain electrical activity and hemodynamics in carotid arteries

The article describes the results of research of features of electrical brain activity and hemodynamics in the carotid arteries of patients with varying degrees of activity in response to the practice of Kirtan kriya. Modern man is frequently confronted with the consequences of extreme or traumatic situations, such as depression, mental distress, post-traumatic stress. As a result, such changes affect the system of meaning orientations. Increasing virtualization of many forms of social relations makes it difficult to find one's identity. Humans psyche is a good device that helps a person to adapt to changing conditions of social environment, but at the same time it is also the most sensitive apparatus. A number of authors put the loss of identity at the head of such social problems as alcoholism, drug addiction, IT-dependence and other ways of escaping from reality. Thus, modern man needs methods to deal with these significant social problems, and with causes leading thereto: the overabundance of information and emotional tension. One such method is meditation. There are positive aspects of meditation in professional sport where meditation is a specific remedy for "sports" stress, in improving the overall health of the population, in personal development, in stress management. Despite the increased interest in the study of meditative techniques, the mechanism of meditation and its physiological components remain poorly understood. Therefore, this article describes the changes in physiological parameters during meditation. It was shown that during meditation there is an increase in the maximum amplitude of the Delta rhythm, with most effect in the group of teachers of kundalini yoga. In the group of an average level it is much weaker. The power of the rhythm (maximum and average) and the index rate increase only in the group of teachers. In the middle group there is a slight tendency to increase, these indicators did not change in beginners. The theta rhythm observed similar changes. The group of beginners has a reduction of the index and the power of the theta rhythm. The maximum amplitude of the alpha rhythm in the occipital and central parts increases very much for the beginners, by 4-5 times. For the second group the increase was weaker, by 2-3 times, for the professionals no significant changes were detected. The maximum power and index of the alpha rhythm in the occipital and central parts increased for the beginners and reduced for the professionals. Analysis of the beta rhythm showed an increase of all parameters (maximum and average amplitude, power and index) in the central and temporal parts for the beginners, no changes for the average level and a decrease for the group of teachers. Thus, meditative relaxation technique modulates the structure of the electrical activity of the brain. It was also shown that meditation technique increases the elastic properties of the carotid arteries, in the form of a higher Gosling and Pursel indices, which increase in response to meditation practice. The study revealed a statistically significant increase of the spectral index of the extension in the left common carotid artery for the group previously non-practicing the meditation of kundalini yoga, and a decrease for the group of yoga teachers on both sides.

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