Dr. Andrew Fingelkurts, Dr. Alexander Fingelkurts, Dr. Tarja Kallio-Tamminen
Apparently, humans have not been very successful in adapting to the challenges of their changing environment, as the number of psychiatric and psychosomatic disorders is only increasing in all industrialised countries. Each of us faces many changes in our lives and more and more often we have to renew our old strategies of action and survival. Managing growing information causes stress and human misjudgment, the consequences of which can be increasingly serious in the global world. It is beginning to be doubted whether a person is psychologically and biologically capable of adapting to all the demands that the rapid change in life and the dynamics of a technological society impose on us.
At the same time, we know that humans have enormous potential for action – there are as many flexibly connected neurons in our brains as there are stars in the Milky Way. Their countless possibilities for connection should guarantee the organism a good ability to adapt to the most diverse conditions, including rapidly changing and irregular ones, without any information overload. If these vast brain resources could be activated, the individual should have no difficulty in maintaining their health – and the health of their environment. One well-known means of activating a person's deeper resources are yoga and meditation techniques. Throughout history, Indian yogis and ancient sages have taught how a person can enter a higher state where peace, balance and coordination are strengthened. In recent decades, more and more people in the West have noticed the functionality of yoga and meditation techniques. They seem to increase vitality and help to face life's challenges.
Is the same meditation technique suitable for everyone?
Yoga and meditation have been scientifically proven to have many beneficial effects: stress is reduced, mental state and functional capacity improve, blood pressure decreases, and the immune system is strengthened. However, the concrete mechanism of action of these changes has so far not been very well known. Only in recent years, neurophysiologists have discovered in the brain such processes that change with practice, which can be directly attributed to the effects of meditation and yoga. The explanation of how and why the brain can improve its own functioning is gradually opening up.
Numerous measurements have undeniably shown that yoga and meditation have a pronounced causal effect on human physiology. Still, not all changes can be interpreted as positive. In some practitioners of meditation, similar changes in brain activity have been observed associated with certain pathological conditions. For example, alpha waves can slow down and turn into theta waves, and the activity of certain structures of the cerebral cortex may accelerate too much. These are usually associated with poor functioning of glutamate and GABA neurotransmitters, which, together with EEG retardation, is characterized by impaired cognitive functions, epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease. Other adverse health effects caused by meditation and yoga have also been observed. For example, Margaret Singer and Janja Lalich collected data on 70 patients who had sought treatment for problems that began during meditation exercises. The problems range from muscle spasms and facial twitching to insomnia, hallucinations and psychotic states. Such unexpected discoveries raise concerns about whether all meditation and yoga techniques are suitable for everyone. Perhaps no technique can be unreservedly recommended to everyone.
If a person wants to change or enhance the functioning of their brain in some way, it is essential to know how their own brain works and in which functions there is room for improvement. The use of meditation as a therapeutic method can be enhanced, for example, with the results provided by the electroencephalogram (EEG). The EEG measures the electrical potentials inherent in brain activity. Small voltages of millions of neurons create electric fields, the intensity of which in different parts of the head can be measured when electrodes are attached to the scalp with the help of an electrically conductive gel.
The introduction of a modern EEG (qEEG) using digital technologies made it possible to significantly develop and diversify the analysis methods. Numerous studies in cognitive neuroscience have already reliably demonstrated in what ways the electrical activity of different parts of the cerebral cortex reflects different states of brain activity. A single measurement can be used to accurately determine different aspects of mental function, such as concentration and attention, speed of information processing, stress regulation, emotions, integration of different skills, as well as brain efficiency, the ability to regulate its load and reach relevant information. It can rightly be said that qEEG is a 'natural' window into the human brain. It can be used to obtain an objective picture of the ways in which meditation affects different aspects of an individual's brain function. Knowledge of the functional state of the brain also helps to find those individuals who are most likely to benefit from the effects of a particular meditation technique on their brain function.
When studying brain activity, it has been found that different meditation techniques (e.g., those that focus on a specific object or that are without an object) give rise to different meditative states. Different vibrational states typically arise in different parts of the brain, which during contemplation are combined with the basic neurophysiological profile of each practitioner. Thus, if a person already knows in advance his own individual EEG profile, he will be able to choose the most suitable meditation and yoga techniques for himself, thereby minimizing the risk of negative effects.
Knowledge of the individual EEG profile, knowledge of which cognitive skills and areas are strong and which are weak, can also help meditation instructors and coaches to choose more functional individual coaching programs, which will give a person access to an increasing share of the full potential of their brain.