Chanting to reduce stress

I get lots of emails about health-realted topics, but it’s rare to get two emails related to mantra-based meditation — or chanting —  in a span of a few days. 

In case you’re curious: Researchers from a Philadelphia hospital system found that mantra-based meditation can ease stress, fatigue and anxiety in adults with memory problems, according to a press release.

In the small study, researchers from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital had 15 older adults with memory problems do 12 minutes a day of Kirtan Kriya, a mantra-based kind of meditation, for eight weeks and compared their responses to a control group of people who listened to classical music for 12 minutes a day.

“Study participants who performed the mantra-based meditation reported some improvement in tension, fatigue, depression, anger and confusion, with observed significance in tension and fatigue over the control group,” the press release said.

You can read more at jeffersonhospital.org/News/2012/February/jefferson-researchers-discover-meditation-has-positive-effects-on-mood-in-patients-with-memory-loss.aspx

Locally, a mantra workshop will be held April 7, offering “three hours of transformational chanting and meditation,” according to a flyer about the event. It will be held from 1-4 p.m. at Healing Arts Yoga Center at 2300 Fall Hill Avenue in  Fredericksburg. Cost to register: $30. More information is available at fredtherapies.com or by emailing mantra instructor Ralph Davis at ralphdavis@gmail.com.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine offers information about meditation on its website: http://nccam.nih.gov/

Permalink: http://news.fredericksburg.com/inmoderation/2012/03/20/chanting-to-reduce-stress/