Hello again and welcome to this discussion about spiritual fitness for dementia prevention.
Spiritual fitness is really the defining element of the Alzheimer's research and prevention foundations four pillars of prevention because it goes beyond what people might already guess that they could be doing for better brain longevity.
Many of the modifiable risk factors for dementia that were outlined in part one of this series can be addressed starting today through stress management,
Physical and mental exercise,
And choosing a beneficial diet with supplements that improve nutritional deficiencies.
ARPF believes that spiritual fitness is no less important than any of those other three pillars of prevention.
It is just not as frequently discussed,
Perhaps because spirituality has been considered unscientific.
That is changing as researchers investigate the influence of spirituality on overall health and on brain health in particular.
For one thing,
People who describe themselves as religious or spiritual have been shown to have greater life expectancy.
In the book Resilience and Aging Research and Practice by Dr.
Helen Levretsky,
The author devotes a chapter to spirituality and aging and cites a study of 20,
000 adults in the United States which found that religious involvement can prolong life by about seven years.
Other studies link spirituality with better surgical outcomes and reduced hospitalization.
Those who are spiritually fit are less likely to develop complications from heart disease,
Which is a major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.
And there is also an inverse relationship between people with religious commitment and stroke and hypertension.
But it's not only quality of life that is improved,
It's quality too.
Spirituality is associated with reduced anxiety and depression,
Also risk factors for dementia.
Whatever its origin and whether it's associated with a particular religion or not,
Spiritual practice can decrease feelings of loneliness and it can lessen the impact of Alzheimer's disease on people living with dementia,
Both those diagnosed as well as their care partners.
Why should this be so?
Because spiritual practice can help people to cope with and become more resilient to life's many stressors.
ARPF's definition of spiritual fitness includes six elements of psychological well-being.
Acceptance of oneself and others,
Self-confidence,
Independence,
Personal growth,
Positive relationships,
And having a sense of purpose in life.
The concept of spiritual fitness associates these attributes with four main features,
Patience,
Awareness,
Compassion,
And surrender.
Together these elements foster the energy and resilience that help the brain and body protect themselves from sickness,
Sadness,
And cognitive impairment.
This talk will be an introduction to one specific meditation technique for brain longevity,
Kirtan kriya.
In Sanskrit,
Kirtan means song and kriya refers to a set of actions that bring the body,
Mind,
And emotions into balance to enable healing.
So this type of meditation from the kundalini yoga tradition is sometimes called a singing exercise.
It has been practiced for thousands of years and is not religious.
It is a gadget-free technology that can be used almost anywhere by anyone for greater well-being.
True well-being depends on a lot of different physical,
Mental,
Emotional,
And spiritual factors and kirtan kriya affects each of them.
Some of the outcomes of practicing kirtan kriya include better sleep,
Reduced inflammation,
Greater executive function,
And even improved memory in the presence of subjective cognitive decline,
Mild cognitive impairment,
And early Alzheimer's disease.
The latest studies indicate that it is effective not only as a therapy for those already experiencing cognitive challenges,
But as prevention for people looking to avoid developing dementia.
In pioneering research,
The founder of the Alzheimer's Research and Prevention Foundation,
Dr.
Dharma Singh Khalsa,
And his colleagues have shown that kirtan kriya has positive effects on energy,
Immune function,
And even epigenetics,
Which is another fascinating topic that deserves a long talk of its own.
Within the brain,
The technique increases synaptic function,
Grey matter volume,
And cerebral blood flow.
Importantly,
It has also been shown to reduce multiple risk factors for Alzheimer's disease.
To learn about kirtan kriya from a more detailed scientific perspective,
I can refer you to Dr.
Khalsa's review paper that appeared in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease in May 2015.
The article is freely available online by searching for its title,
Stress,
Meditation,
And Alzheimer's Disease,
Where the Evidence Stands.
A major focus of ARPF's work is that behaviors that can prevent or delay dementia about 40% of the time,
Because they address modifiable risk factors,
Are accessible by just about anyone.
Kirtan kriya is meant to be practiced for just 12 minutes a day.
It involves a four-syllable mantra that is repeated while performing mudras,
Or hand gestures,
With the fingertips,
And at the same time,
A simple visualization is used to concentrate attention.
The involvement of the breath,
The sounds,
The hands,
And the visualization corresponds to the synchronization of the sometimes abstract concepts of spirit,
Body,
And mind.
Here are the steps involved in the 12-minute practice.
Your breath.
Your breath will flow naturally during the practice and will naturally slow down as tension is released.
For your posture,
You can be seated upright in a chair with your feet on the floor or cross-legged on the floor or cushion.
For the sound or mantra,
There are four syllables to the mantra.
Sa-ta-na-ma.
The melody is the first four notes of Mary Had a Little Lamb.
Sa-ta-na-ma.
Like that,
But your singing voice is probably better than mine.
These primal sounds come from the Sanskrit satnam,
Which can be translated as my true essence.
If it helps,
You can also remember the meaning of each individual syllable.
Sa is birth.
Ta is life.
Na is death or transformation.
And ma is rebirth.
So sa-ta-na-ma is birth,
Life,
Death,
And rebirth.
For the mudras,
Both hands are engaged separately.
You will touch your thumbs to the tips of each finger of the same hand in sequence.
First the thumbs and index fingers,
Then the thumbs and middle fingers,
Followed by the thumbs and ring fingers,
And finally the thumbs and little fingers.
The hands and fingertips have a lot of so-called real estate in the brain's sensory and motor cortices,
So engaging these parts of the body while also singing or chanting the mantra increases cerebral blood flow.
As a side note,
If you want to see just how much territory is dedicated to the hands and mouth and why this practice generates greater blood flow in the brain,
Take a moment sometime to look up the cortical homunculus.
For the visualization,
You may find it easiest to close your eyes while imagining the sound of the mantra coming down from the top of the head and out through the middle of the forehead or third eye.
In the shape of the capital letter L.
So to recap,
We have a natural flowing breath,
A relaxed but upright posture,
The four syllable mantra,
Sa,
Ta,
Na,
Ma,
A mudra that engages the thumbs and fingertips,
And the visualization of the sound entering the top of the head and exiting through the center of your forehead.
For the first two minutes,
You'll sing out loud in your normal voice.
You simply repeat the mantra aloud until the two minutes are up.
For the next two minutes,
You will sing in a stage whisper,
Not too soft because you want to engage the tip of the tongue with the roof of the mouth,
Which stimulates specific points on the upper palate.
For the next four minutes,
You'll silently repeat the mantra to yourself.
Then,
For the following two minutes,
You will sing again in that stage whisper.
The last two minutes will have you singing out loud again to complete the 12-minute sequence.
When outside thoughts intrude,
Simply return your focus to the fingertips.
And when the 12 minutes have ended,
You breathe deeply through your nose,
Stretch your hands above your head,
And bring them down slowly as you exhale.
That's it.
You're done for the day.
There are several resources available that will guide you in practicing kirtankriya on your own.
If you would prefer to chant along with a teacher,
There are plenty of YouTube videos,
And a search for kirtankriya here on Insight Timer generated several guided meditations by my fellow teachers.
Some people like to practice to music,
While others need silence in order to not be distracted while performing the simultaneous actions of chanting,
Finger tapping,
And the visualization.
In that case,
You may choose to set up your own customized timer here on the Insight Timer app with bells to mark each two or four-minute interval.
I want to thank you for joining me in this series of talks about brain longevity for dementia prevention.
I hope you learned something new about some of the surprising risk factors for Alzheimer's disease such as hearing loss and social isolation,
And that you are empowered by knowing that many causes of dementia are modifiable.
Our brains benefit whenever we pay a little closer attention to what we put into our bodies,
How we move them to stay active,
And when we tend to our psychological well-being by staying involved with others and practicing patience,
Awareness,
Compassion,
And my favorite,
Surrender.
Whether you are currently living with cognitive impairment or are more concerned about preventing it,
I share this teaching with love and gratitude as a witness to the renewed vitality that comes from compassionate connection.
Many future cases of dementia may be preventable.
Meanwhile,
There are millions of families who live with dementia today.
And let us not forget those individuals who are isolated from others who also deserve to be seen,
Heard,
And supported.
Thank you for your willingness to not look away.
Namaste.
