Name of Lecture: …Biofeedback Demonstration & SRSG Ashram Research Highlights

Name of Speaker: …Manuel Fernandez, PhD

Program Time: …2-3pm

Location: ...Meditation Hall, SRSG / Meditation Research Institute

Name of Chairman: ...Susan Gould-Fogerite

Name of Reporter: …Claire Braboszcz

Main Points of the Lecture: ....

The Meditation Research Institute (MRI) at SRSG Ashram is based on Swami Veda and Swami Rama’s wish to bring together ancient wisdom and modern science for a better understanding of the various meditative techniques and their effects on the body and the brain. Created in 2005 the MRI, the Lab has been managed by Manuel Fernandez for the last two years.

The MRI offers 3 distinct programs: Community Services, Research and Education.

1. Community Services

The MRI offers to residents of the ashram the use diverse biofeedback technologies to assess or improve meditation effects on their body and brain.

For biofeedback training or testing diverse physiological states, sensors are used that are connected to a computer which then gives feedback on a given physiological activity.

For example, if the exercise is to increase temperature in one’s  right hand, a temperature sensor is put on one of the fingers. Visual (a sun rising) and auditory (soft music) stimuli are given depending on whether the temperature is actually increasing or decreasing.

By amplifying very small signals from the body (electrical activity recorded on the skin, temperature etc.) or the brain (electrical activity emerging from neuronal activity) biofeedback enables one to become aware of subtle and otherwise undetectable changes occurring in their body. One can then monitor in real time one’s internal responses and learn to manipulate them.

Biofeedback training at the MRI can be used to :

- lower blood pressure by working with the breath

- increase Heart Rate Coherence (HRC assesses the regularity of the heart activity related to respiration pattern and is a key indicator of stress and a wide range of maladies – high HRC corresponds to good health)

- improve quality of diaphragmatic breathing

- increase skin temperature , useful for reducing migraines

- lower skin conductance to manage stress

- reduce muscle tension to increase relaxation

Testing the effects of meditation practice is also available. Subjects are tested before and after meditation practice on the following parameters:

- brain waves activity

- skin conductance

- temperature

- muscle activity

- diaphragmatic breathing

NB: For now most of the biofeedback training done at the MRI is to increase relaxation.

1. Research at the MRI

The main goal of research activity at the MRI is to document and have a better understanding of meditation techniques from the Himalayan tradition and others. To do so the lab is equipped with an electroencephalogram (EEG) recording system (Biosemi) with 64 electrodes cap and physiological sensors for breath and skin conductance recording.

Gurukulam students enrolled for three years are tested every 3 months to assess meditation practice effects on their brain and body.  These are valuable and unique data, difficult to acquire anywhere else outside of an ashram.

Research at SRSG’s lab also consists on international project involving researchers from France and the US, Dr Delorme and Dr Cahn as well as two PhD students.  This project consists of testing groups of long term meditators from different traditions using the exact same experimental setup.  This is a long term project that could last up to three years and give valuable and unique knowledge to the scientific community since such data has not been acquired up to now.

1. Education program

The MRI aims also at exposing the staff and Gurukulam students to the biofeedback techniques so they can learn how to use them and apply them .

The session ended with biofeedback demonstrations for increasing skin temperature and heart rate coherence.