The second study from the SP was just posted (here) in the "in press" section of Psychneuroendocrinology yesterday. The scientific team includes Elizabeth Blackburn, who recently won the Nobel Prize, and is the first study to show a link between meditation and positive psychological change with telomerase activity.
Telomerase regulates telomeres in cells, which play a role in two important areas: aging and cancer. At the risk of jumping ahead of what Western science has validated: it's hard not to wonder if there is a real link between meditation and slowing down aging. Spend time in the presence of long-time practitioners (His Holiness the Dalai Lama, at 76 years old, is good example) and one can't help but be struck by their youthfulness - both in spirit and body. Phillip Shaver, a senior investigator on the Shamatha Project, notes (in this article): “Some of our research results even suggest that meditation also has desirable physiological effects that might increase a person’s lifespan.”
We quite literally gave our blood (and in some cases sweat and tears) for this one - happy to see the study come to fruition ...
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