Epigenomic impacts of meditative practices

Area of Science:

• Integrative medicine
• Epigenetics
• Psychophysiology

Background:

• Meditative practices (MPs) are integral to Eastern medicine and spirituality.
• Integrating MPs into world mainstream medicine (WMM) necessitates empirical validation of their psychophysiological effects.
• Epigenomic regulation presents a measurable mechanism for MP action.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the variety of MPs across Eastern traditions.
• To examine the integration of MPs into WMM through the lens of epigenomic modulation.
• To discuss the empirical evidence for MPs' impact on epigenomic regulation.

Main Methods:

• Review of diverse meditative practices from major Eastern religio-spiritual-healing traditions.
• Analysis of existing WMM-styled studies on the epigenomic impacts of MPs.
• Discussion of epigenomic modulation as a mechanism of action.

Main Results:

• MPs are consistently associated with positive effects on stress-reduction pathways.
• These stress-reduction pathways are known to be sensitive to epigenomic changes.
• Early high-resolution assays demonstrate MPs' capacity to induce dynamic and long-term alterations in the epigenome.

Conclusions:

• Epigenomic modulation is a viable mechanism explaining the psychophysiological benefits of MPs.
• The empirical evidence supports the integration of MPs into WMM.
• MPs offer a promising avenue for enhancing health and well-being through epigenomic regulation.