Rapid Cellular Changes Triggered by Yoga

by Ram

Grasses in the Rain by Melina Meza

Time and again, we have highlighted on our blog the benefits of yoga for both physical and mental health based on our collective experience and, in several cases, backed by empirical evidence. Evidence-based studies that we referred to in this blog included mechanistic understanding, anatomical changes, structural and functional studies, and molecular changes. But the answer to one question kept eluding researchers for long: How rapid are the yoga-associated changes at the cellular level? Do cellular changes occur over the short term or do these changes happen gradually? To understand this, let’s revisit certain sections of my earlier post on inflammation Chronic Inflammation and Yoga. 

Our body’s defense system aka immune system detects and protects the body from a wide variety of foreign agents, including bacteria, viruses, worms, and toxins. Multiple defense mechanisms involving various kinds of cells, chemicals, and proteins exist that recognize and neutralize these pathogens. Inflammation is the immune system’s “rapid response unit team” that is characterized by:

• the presence of specialized chemicals that create a suitable environment for the body’s defense molecules to act
• the release of an entire arsenal of specialized molecules/cells that fight the invaders

These special molecules include leukocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells, mast cells, bradykinin, histamine, and TNF, among others. The inflammatory process is a rapid process that occurs just as it should, releasing defense/pro-inflammatory molecules when needed and then turning them off when the threat has been sufficiently addressed. From the moment that the immune cell recognizes the presence of an invader and until it neutralizes the invader, several molecular and gene changes occur within the immune cell to facilitate the release of pro-inflammatory molecules to ward off the aggressor. Due to the rapidity with which these cells respond, scientists love to work with immune cells to understand multifarious effects.

If yoga were to trigger any rapid changes, obviously the immune cells would be the most attractive target to study. This is the approach taken by a group of researchers to understand changes happening at the cellular level through a yoga regimen (see Rapid gene expression changes in peripheral blood lymphocytes upon practice of a comprehensive yoga program). In a small study involving 10 participants, the researchers observed yoga’s impact on the immune system. The 10 participants, who also served as their own controls, practiced yoga (asanas, pranayama, and meditation) on days 1 and 2. Days 3 and 4 involved walking coupled with relaxing music. All the activities were performed at the same time of the day (6.30 am–8.30 am). Twenty ml of blood was drawn from each individual right before and after each activity. Blood cells were immediately isolated, and gene expression studies was conducted.

Music and walking changed the expression of only 38 genes. In contrast, just a two-day, 90 minutes yoga regimen changed the expression of 111 genes. Interestingly, 14 genes were commonly affected by yoga/music and walking, suggesting that these two regimens affected similar biochemical pathways to some degree. Since the work mostly involved understanding gene expression changes, the authors only identified two sets of genes and their roles. Yoga increased the expression of genes that were involved in blunting the stress response (not surprisingly), and yoga also increased the expression of genes involved in blood cell production and maturation (now we know why we feel energized after a one-hour yoga class). Though the number of participants was small and the study period was of a short duration, what impressed me about this study is:

1. the participants served as their own control, thus minimizing a lot of systemic errors
2. since participants served as their own control, it was possible to compare two different regimens within the same population
3. the rapid changes triggered by yoga 

Despite being a rapid practice (two hours) of a short duration (two days), the gene expression changes were significant and impressive, suggesting that yoga triggers changes at the molecular level that are initiated immediately during the practice. While walking/music and yoga may have overlapping benefits through the common set of genes, a yoga program may trigger additional effects over music/walking in inducing far greater health benefits. An ongoing practice of yoga may further sustain those changes, forming the basis for the long-term desirable effect. That’s one more reason to roll out the mat and do a yoga practice!

Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email ° Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook ° Join this site with Google Friend Connect

Read More

The Cellular Benefits of Meditation and Relaxation

by Ram

The Heart of a Tulip by Melina Meza

Articles on our blog by Baxter (Thoughts on Dyana), Timothy (Starting a Meditation Practice) Brad (Stress Mind, Stressed Cells), Nina (Meditation and Compassion) and yours truly (Achieving Stillness in Turbulent Situations; Memory Loss: Meditation to the Rescue), among others, have all provided lucid explanations of how to meditate and of the benefits of meditation on body and mind, along with empirical evidence of these benefits. Undoubtedly, meditation has been shown to: reduce fear, worry, anxiety, anger, and rage, reduce chronic pain, increase cognitive function, lower blood pressure, alleviate post-traumatic stress syndrome and slow down cellular aging. 

Meditation is one of several ways to trigger the Relaxation Response. Other ways that yoga provides include: breath awareness, supported inverted poses, restorative yoga poses, Savasana (with a focus for the mind), and guided relaxation, such as yoga nidra. See The Relaxation Response and Yoga and Conscious Relaxation vs. Sleep for more information on the Relaxation Response and how to trigger it.

Now, in a new collaborative study Relaxation response induces temporal transcriptome changes in energy metabolism, insulin secretion and inflammatory pathways., a group of researchers reports that meditation and other forms of relaxation trigger very important genetic, molecular, and physiological changes in the human body. Specifically, the study shows that meditation enhanced the expression of genes associated with energy metabolism, mitochondrial function, insulin secretion, and telomere maintenance (all of which are beneficial to the individual), and reduced the expression of genes associated with inflammation and stress-related pathways. (For information on inflammation see Chronic Inflammation and Yoga.)

Unlike previous studies, the latest study measured physiological changes in greater detail using techniques like neuro-imaging and genomics technology. Furthermore, the study featured both a prospective and cross-sectional component. The prospective aspect of the study featured 26 healthy subjects who were novices in the meditation and relaxation aspects (the researchers used the term N1 to denote this group). The novice group underwent weekly sessions of Relaxation Response-eliciting training for eight weeks (RR-N2) that included diaphragmatic breathing, body scan, mantra repetition, and mindfulness meditation. Additionally, a 20-minute audio CD with similar guided instructions was given to all the participants to listen to at home once a day. Thus, the trained novices (N2) served as their own untrained controls (N1). The cross-sectional arm of the study featured 26 healthy subjects who had several years of meditation and relaxation practice (M). This group was compared with the novices either before or after their training. Blood samples were collected from all the individuals at various study intervals for measurement of various parameters and for measuring gene expression changes. 

The conclusions from the study were: 

1. Both trained novices (N2) and long-term practitioners (M) showed significant temporal gene expression changes (changes that are time dependent) compared to novices (N1). Comparison between groups showed that long-term practitioners exhibit more pronounced transcriptional changes compared to short-term practitioners. Most of these genes are significantly linked to immune response and cell degeneration.
2. While some genes were modified only in long-term practitioners, there was another class of genes that were modified in both the trained short-term individuals and long-term practitioners, with a greater intensity in the latter group. 
3. Rapid changes in certain beneficial genes that provide health benefits and alleviate the stress response were induced in long-term and short-term-trained practitioners. 
4. Gene sets that were down regulated (suppressed) in both long-term and short-term-trained practitioners, though most notably in the long-term individuals, were those that were involved in inflammatory response, cellular stress, and cell death pathways. This may explain the clinical and health benefits of meditation-relaxation through dampening inflammation and stress reduction.
5. Long-term Relaxation Response practice was also associated with genomic stability and telomere length, that is, these participants had longer telomeres, an indicator of longer cell life and, by extension, longer overall lifespan (see Aging, Telomeres and Yoga).
6. The data from long-term practitioners and short-term trained practitioners suggest that meditation-relaxation practice promotes health benefits by affecting several cellular pathways simultaneously that ultimately modulate the immune and stress responses that counter stress-induced gene changes.

Chronic stress together with inflammation exacerbates everything from hypertension and infertility to depression and even accelerates the aging process. These conditions account for 60 to 90 percent of doctor’s visits in the U.S., and the World Health Organization estimates stress costs U.S. companies at least $300 billion a year. The health benefits from meditation-relaxation techniques are so strong that researchers are swearing by it and more doctors are recommending the practice to their patients to combat a myriad of modern ailments. Additionally, these lifestyle practices are easy to follow with hardly any noticeable side effects and are much better than most pharmaceutical-based treatment plans. 

I know if I have to choose between anti-stress/anti-inflammatory drugs or meditation-relaxation practices to curb stress and inflammation, I would choose the latter. How about you? 

Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email ° Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook ° Join this site with Google Friend Connect

Read More