Abstract

While most humans work to sustain themselves and their family, some say they love their profession or job or it’s their passion. If we work for feeding our body only or a bit of our mind but do not consider our soul, it will be tragic to the extent that it may kill us metaphorically and physically also. But there are ways to satisfy our soul along with physical needs. Finding creative things like playing musical instruments, doll making, carpentry, embroidery, sewing, gardening, basket weaving, painting, sculpture or meditation that feeds our soul will add value to our life. Psychologists recommend mindfulness meditation as it changes our brain and biology in positive ways, improving mental and physical health. Research on meditation and tasks that nourish Mind, Body and Soul are important alternative therapeutic approaches that have developed rapidly and been widely applied in clinical medicine in the last decade. Studies of creative pursuits, meditation and spiritual work show that such alternate approaches have great impact on brain structure and function, and epigenetic and telomere regulation. The application of meditation and other approaches have been used to address mental illnesses, like major depressive disorders & substance addictive disorders.

While creative tasks propel humans on spiritual path by making them more compassionate, less complaining, more loving and caring and appreciative of all good things around them and overcome monotony of routine work that was starving their soul, meditation helps us to manage stress and anxiety by eliminating distracting thoughts, improves overall well, enhances our compassion by making more kind and caring towards others, thus helping individuals cope with stress & anxiety. At present, there is no unified definition of meditation, instead it can be classified into focused attention meditation (FA), open monitoring meditation (OM), transcendental meditation (TM), loving–kindness meditation (LKM), mindfulness meditation (MM) and body–mind meditation (B-M). The techniques which form the primary basis of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), dialectical behaviour therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)3 and mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP). Mindfulness involves attention and acceptance. The attention is about focussing on what’s happening in the present moment, through directing our awareness to our breath, thoughts, the physical sensations & the feelings we experience. The acceptance involves observing those feelings and sensations without judgment and instead of reacting to them, just let them go.

Materials and Methods: This paper is an outcome on the author and his friend’s outcome to illustrate the biological mechanisms of meditation and its application in mental disorders and one of his close associates complimenting spiritual activities with free time Carpentry work, that has made him a better person.

Outcomes: While the individual with his carpentry and Bhajans has become a better person, the author’s group practicing Still mediation for last one year has immensely benefited in managing the family, financial or professional pressure better these days compared 2023-24. They try to analyse the cause of stress and try to manage it in a suitable way according to the situation.

Keywords:Mind, Body, Soul, meditation, Mindful meditation, still meditation, Walking meditation, Attention, Acceptance, Physical health, Mental Health, Spiritual Health, Social health

Abbreviations:FA: Focused Attention; OM: Open Monitoring Meditation; TM: Transcendental Meditation, LKM: loving–kindness Meditation, MM: Mindfulness Meditation; B-M: Body–Mind Meditation; MBI: Mindfulness-Based Interventions; MBSR: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, MBCT: Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy; ACT: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy; MBRP: Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention; ALHAS: Assetz Lumos Health Aging Seniors

Introduction

While most humans work to sustain themselves and their family, some say they love their profession or job or it’s their passion. If we work for feeding our body only or a bit of our mind but do not consider our soul, it will be tragic to the extent that it may kill us metaphorically and physically also. Finding creative work like playing musical instruments, doll making, carpentry, embroidery, sewing, gardening, basket weaving, painting, sculpture or meditation are some of the ways successful people pursue to satisfy their soul along with physical needs that adds value to their life [1]. Psychologists recommend over a decade now mindfulness meditation to change our brain and biology in positive ways, to improve mental and physical health [2].

Once people begin doing any of these tasks, they will find that personality and thinking gets transformed to more efficient, start looking at problems with new eyes, produce new ideas, with better management and interpersonal skills. Such individuals transform their routine work and personal time, to converse and interact in constructive ways. They find time to look around them and notice things that they never saw and their Mind, Body and Soul start giving outcomes they never thought earlier were possible. These changes push them on a spiritual path and make them more compassionate, less complaining, more loving and caring and appreciative of all good things around them and overcome the monotony of routine work that was starving their soul. The Ultimate satisfaction for a man’s commitment and hard work is not what he gets from it but what he becomes because of his efforts it! [2].

Meditation is a practice that involves focusing our attention on a particular thing to achieve a calm state of mind, helping us to manage stress and anxiety better by i) eliminating distracting thoughts ii) Enhancing awareness about our own thoughts and emotions iii) influencing our physical, mental, social, spiritual and emotional health iv) It Improves our compassion towards others [3]. One can meditate by focusing on our breathing, a sound, an image, or a mantra, both while sitting still or moving around. Practicing mindfulness involves paying attention to the present moment without judgment and let go instead of reacting to our thoughts or others behaviour. Mindfulness consists of two parts: i) attention and ii) acceptance. The attention about tuning into our experiences to focus on what’s happening currently and directing our awareness to our breath, our thoughts, the physical sensations in our body & the feelings we experience. The acceptance piece involves observing those feelings and sensations without judgment and let them go instead of responding or reacting to those thoughts or feelings. Mindfulness based therapies provide the tools to put those concepts into practice, through breathing exercises, yoga, and guided lessons to help people become aware of their body sensations, thoughts, and feelings [4].

Case Study 1 Small Group Still Meditation

Assetz Lumos Health Aging Seniors (ALHAS) is a group of about a dozen seniors in the age group of 60-85 years. Ten male and 5 female residents included 3 over the age of 80 yrs, 09 between 71-80 yrs and 2 between 61-70 yrs and one lady under 60 years. Except two residents’ others were venturing meditation for the first time. Among many other social activities, the group started guided Meditation in January 2024. The guided session for about 25-30 minutes used recorded (U Tube) videos of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankar, of Art of Living in Bengaluru. Though there are 15 registered residents, only half a dozen attends regularly, three days a week. One of Guruji’s followers among us who explains the steps and other nitty grittiest of doing meditation. After 13 months in February 2025, I assessed 6 regular members. The impact of about 150 sessions over 13 months are summarized here.

i. Mental Health

a) Stress: All six agreed that are managing the family, financial or professional pressure better these days compared 2023-24. They try to analyse the cause of stress and try to manage in suitable way according to the situation.
b) Anxiety & Depression: Though none of them had any anxiety problem or obsessive-compulsive behaviour, feel much better in handling anxious moments and can focus better in the current and have fewer negative feelings.

ii. Physical Health

a) BP: All six including this author reported, consistently lower Systolic (10-20 mm hg) and diastolic pressure (5-10 mm Hg) with same antihypertensives and dosage.
b) Sleep: Four of the 6 including the author reported better quality sleep and most importantly falling asleep after mid-night waking up for urination.

iii. Other Benefits

Three of the six reported improved pain tolerance in the last 3-6months following viral or bacterial infections, minor injuries and falls compared to 2023 and most often avoided using analgesics. Two individuals have become more creative one taking to painting another to hidden talent of singing. All six reported that they are more patient theses days to children’s noise or family members arguments.

Case Study 2- Carpentry converting an Engineer as better person

Gopi, a mechanical engineer aged 65 years now, having served in a Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) for over 30 years took to carpentry as a hobby for the last 5 years along with sponsoring and participating in month Group Bhajans. He mostly uses scarps and spillover plywood, and refurbishes items like puja- mandapams, small stools, tea tables etc. He actively participates in planning & organizing Bhajans in all relatives home once a month, documents them through phots, video recording etc and sharing them in the group. Over the last 2 years he is more composed with his Mind, Body and Soul partying together giving highs he never before thought was possible. Such activities propelled him on spiritual path by making him less complaining, more loving and caring and appreciative of all good things around him and overcome monotony of routine work that was starving his soul.

Discussions: In the last decade meditation is increasing in popularity due to its benefits. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) are therapeutic interventions based on exercises to practice at home, over 8-10 weeks to treat people with depression. Meditations, group Bhajans and involvement in tasks that one loves and does with heart not just brain, improve people’s mental and physical health by reducing stress, improving sleep, cognitive function and increasing focus. Meditation also Improves immune function, slows aging of the mind, increases creativity and minimises sweating and facilitates to break habits like smoking, drinking, & drugs. The benefits of meditation can be summarised as:

i. Mental health:

a) Helps to manage stress & reduce negative feelings, by giving a new way to look at things that cause stress and building skills to manage stress. It reduces anxiety and obsessivecompulsive behaviours, making us more self-aware. It helps to reduce depression, by focusing on the present and reducing negative feelings. Meditation improves our pain tolerance, emotion regulation and compassion toward others

ii. Physical health

a) Meditation lowers blood pressure and helps to minimal intra-day variations which in turn reduce strain on the heart and blood vessels. It improves sleep quality & shortens the time to fall asleep after waking in the night.
b) Meditation supports the immune system by reducing inflammation

iii. Other benefits

Meditation improves concentration and attention to details, makes us more self-aware, more patient & creative, thus helping individuals to develop a positive outlook, self-discipline, and healthy sleep patterns. There are two types of meditation still and Walking.

Still Meditation: Meditation is often associated with sitting in a peaceful place, closing the eyes and relaxing, emphasising stillness. It is not an act; it is a quality that naturally manifests if we cultivate the right kind of inner situation. Most people find it’s difficult as one must allow them to float- by without attachment, instead of engaging with them, to lead to a total mental rest. The purpose of meditation is to create a “space” between us and our body & soul [3], as our mind is always thinks of our accumulated past and never about what is happening now. Mind is a useful tool to handle the materialistic aspect of life but if we employ it to handle our whole life, then it’s a total mess. If we look at it logically, from getting out of bed in the morning, freshen up, eat, work, eat, work, eat, sleep, again same thing next day for the rest of our life, that appears like a huge feat. If we look at our life’s experience, issues like seeing the sunrise, the birds in the sky, the flowers blooming in any garden or a child’s face, they give immense pleasure and are worthwhile. To perceive the nature of our life, we must be willing to look beyond the limitations of the logical mind. Logical mind is the fundamental instrument through which we are trying to do everything, which is only equipped to handle the duality of the existence and makes life a constant struggle. Once we create this tension, and the more we logically think about it, the more tense we become. Instead, one can practice meditation in our journey and reclaim some interior margin.

Meditation is explained in 5 stages: Stage 1- is setting our intention to meditate, Stage 2- is concentration, Stage 3- keeping our focus on one idea, or sensation, longer we do, the more we see. Stage 4- sensitivity & Stage 5 - Release. The steps to practice meditation include: i) Schedule a time- first thing in the morning or late evening that suits most, ii) Find a place with not much of noise iii) Set a timer- starting with 20-30 minutes, iv) Relax the body v) Quieten the mind vi) Be present vii) Learn to return. As taking slow, deep breaths induces the parasympathetic system & slows our heart rate, practice it often to schedule stillness, in a favourite spot, listen to soft music, repeat calming phrases [3,4]. Over time, practicing mindfulness through meditation can improve concentration, clarity, and help us process our emotions more effectively. A recent study has found an increase in grey matter in the brain’s hippocampus, the areas associated with memory, emotional regulation, self-processing, and perspective taking, with regular meditation. Most studies point 1 to 8-weeks of meditation practice to see results. One study found improvements to memory, emotional regulation, and mood with 8 weeks of 13 minutes of meditation a day. But there isn’t a magic number [5]. If someone doesn’t like seated, start walking meditation.

Walking meditation (WM): Walking meditation promotes mindfulness in motion. It is neither brisk walking, nor about strolling in the park. It involves cultivating mindfulness in each step we take. It creates a state of peace and helps to reduce stress while also improving our mood and quality of our sleep. It involves slow, deliberate walking and deep awareness of movement, breath, and environment. Efforts for 10 minutes daily for at least a week, of mindfulness practice that helps to reduce stress, improve mood and sleep quality. Derived from Buddhist traditions, it involves taking slow and intentional steps, observing the movement of each foot, like lifting the foot, stepping, and putting it down. The rhythm of breathing is synchronised with the walk, leading to relaxation and concentration. Contrary to ordinary walking, which allows the mind to wander, walking while meditating encourages attention to the moment, reducing stress that promotes physical, mental, & emotional health. This walking exercise can be adapted for wheelchair users. Basic steps are:
i. Find a path that allows you to move back and forth for around 20-40 feet, which is relatively peaceful, either indoors or outside in nature, where nobody observes (since a slow, formal walking meditation looks strange to people) or disturbs you.
ii. Walk or wheel yourself for 20-40 feet along the path then pause and breathe for as long as you like. Then turn and move back in the opposite direction to the other end of the path, where you must pause and breathe again. When you’re ready, repeat such walks as much as you enjoy.
iii. Try to notice at least these four basic components:
a. Standing first lift of one foot.
b. then move the foot a bit forward.
c. placing of the foot on the floor, heel first.
d. then shifting of the weight of the body onto the forward leg, and observe as the back heel lifts, toes of that foot remain touching the floor or the ground.
e. You can clasp hands behind the back or in front of you or just let them hang at the side.
i. Wheelchair, users might try to notice:
a) placing of the hands on the hand rims.
b) the pressure of pushing your hands and arms forward and down.
c) the releasing of your hands off the hand rims.
d) the rolling and direction of the chair.
e) Move your hands and arms as you normally would. Do whatever feels most comfortable.

One can move at any speed, making it feel natural, not exaggerated or stylized.

As one moves, try to focus attention on one or more sensations that we normally take for granted, such as our breath coming in and out; the movement of our feet, legs, and arms; the contact of our body or wheelchair with the floor; our head balanced on our neck and shoulders; natural sounds nearby or those caused by our movements; or whatever our eyes see as they focus on the world in front [6]. No matter how much we try to focus our attention on any of these sensations, our mind is bound to wander. That’s OK-it’s perfectly natural. But, when you notice mind wandering, reorient your attention towards those sensations. One can bring mindfulness to movement at any speed in our everyday life, and even to running, though of course, the pace of our steps and breath will change. In fact, over time, one can try to bring the same level of awareness to any everyday activity, experiencing the sense of presence that is available to us at every moment as our lives unfold [7].

The benefits of Walking Meditation include

1) Reduces stress: Be it responsibilities at home or tasks in professional lives, they cause significant amounts of stress. Walking meditation can regulate our body’s stress response by focusing on slow, deliberate motions. When we walk with mindfulness, our brain transitions from hyperactivity to tranquillity, lowering cortisol, the stress hormone. A 2019 study, published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine, reported reduction in stress among participants who did walking meditation for four weeks.
2) Improves heart health: Walking meditation encourages slow, rhythmic breathing, which stabilises our blood pressure & heart rate. Mindful movement exercises enhance circulation, lower cholesterol levels, and the risk of heart-related illnesses.”
3) Good for the gut: Following a meal, our body needs adequate circulation to facilitate digestion, and gentle movement increases this function. As walking meditation promotes gentle movement, which assists gut motility, of the food through the digestive system.
4) Improves cognitive function: Walking Meditation trains our mind to concentrate by making each step conscious, which supports the development of healthy brain ageing and improve cognition in elderly people, resulting in improved cognitive function, enhancing memory, concentration, and problem-solving skills.
5) Supports joint and muscle health: Walking meditation is a low-impact exercise that improve muscle coordination and balance, minimising the risk of falls among older adults.
6) Boosts mood: Through attention to the present moment, walking meditation triggers, dopamine and serotonin, which enhance mood & counter feelings of sadness, promoting emotional stability and resilience.
7) Promotes better sleep: Practicing walking meditation outdoors can reduce mood disturbances and improve sleep quality, as it prepares the body and mind for sleep by decreasing mental chatter and physical tension. As it induces slow, aware breathing, it helps to relax.” As Insomnia and disturbed sleep are frequent health issues, associated with stress and an overactive mind, A 2022 study, published in Explore, showed that improved sleep facilitated by a regular sleep schedule, a sleep-conducive pre-sleep routine, restricting screen time, being mindful, and optimising the sleep environment enhance sleep quality.

Though walking meditation is safe and effective, following people should avoid walking meditation:
a) People with significant mobility impairments, due to surgery, fractures, or arthritis.
b) People with balancing difficulties, as even slow movements, increase falling risk.
c) People with heart disease with restriction on physical activity.
d) Individuals with severe anxiety or trauma disorders.

Summary

Involving in any work that nourishes our Mind, Body and Soul like any artistic skilled tasks, mindful meditation, Walking & meditation together lets us to be in the moment instead of getting distracted by various events in our life. It reduces stress & improves our sleep quality. Pick the right place & start slowly to practice Meditation or walking meditation.

References

1. Hui Shen, Meijuan Chen, Donghong Cui (2020) Biological mechanism study of meditation and its application in mental disorders. Gen Psychiatr 33(4): e100214.
2. Work that Nourishes Mind, Body & Soul, Narayani Ganesh.
3. Meditation: Going Beyond Logic.
4. When science meets mindfulness- how-mindfulness-may-change-the-brain-in-depressed-patients
5. Sacha Haudry, Anne-Laure T, Brigitte L, Florence M, Marion D, et.al (2024) Decoding meditation mechanisms underlying brain preservation and psycho-affective health in older expert meditators and older meditation-naive participants. Sci Rep 14: 29521.
6. How long you need to meditate to see results for your body and brain, Alexa Mikhail.
7. Walking Meditation- Turn an everyday action into a tool for mindfulness and stress reduction.