Brain Waves and Practicing Yoga & Meditation
There are four wave length patterns generated by the human brain:
1.
Delta is characterized as 0-3 CPS (cycles per second) and is generally associated with
unconsciousness to deep sleeping.
2.
Theta is characterized as 4-8 CPS and is associated with sleep or a very deep relaxed state.
3.
Alpha is characterized as 8-13 CPS and is associated with unfocused attention or a relaxed
mental and physical state.
4.
Beta is characterized as above 13 CPS and is associated with mental and physical activity
(otherwise known as: task orientation)
Research programs consistently show that; Yoga-controlled breathing affects brain wave patterning as
measured on EEG.
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For instance, when a person is active, physically or mentally, such as when involved in
any kind of task orientation, the brain evokes an electrical patterning of more than 12 cycles per
second and is known as beta or task orientation.
However,
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when a person is in a relaxed and quiet, eyes closed, sitting or lying down position and
Focusing on a single object, be it music, a candle flame, or one’s own breath, the brain slows its
electrical patterning down to about 8-12 cycles per second. Which is known as “alpha.” and an
alpha state is associated with meditation.
EEG shows that meditation is always enhanced (deepened) when the relaxed subject is also doing
controlled yogic breathing. Therefore when a subject is in a meditative state, the brain produces alpha
waves.
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When a subject goes from a closed eyes, relaxed state to an eyes open, cognitively
demanding condition (or and outwardly focused action), Brain waves speed up and increase in
beta activity, which is clearly associated with “task orientation” Physical exercise, such as sports
and other goal-oriented activities are focused cognitive actives and place the brain clearly into
beta orientation.
You would think that the physical exercises of yoga; especially demanding exercises that require
profound balance and concentration or that require moving the body into and out of “postures”
would be considered forms of focused cognitive activity. And as such, they would be expected
to produce brain waves largely in the beta range.
But they don’t,
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Under laboratory conditions, even newly trained yoga practitioners are able to evoke an
alpha state when correctly doing slow and methodical eyes closed yoga exercises. This might
not be too impressive given the nature of yoga and especially, when subjects do these exercises
with eyes closed. However, a most interesting phenomenon takes place when experienced yoga
practitioners execute physically complicated and demanding yoga exercises with eyes open.
The more experienced the practitioner, the quicker and more congruent alpha is generated. In
other words the more experienced the practitioner, the quieter the brain becomes and as
documented by EEG, when a yoga practitioner adds the component of controller yogic
breathing, meditation becomes deeper. Continue reading…