Health + Fitness
The Science of Epigenetics – Learn from Rohit Sahoo on how Meditation can heal your body from the inside out
Are you nervous about that upcoming deadline? Are you worried about an assignment that is due this week? Havingmoney troubles?
All of that stress is taking a toll on your health. It may not be visibly apparent at the moment, but it can derail you when it reaches a certain threshold. Besides developing chronic diseases, you can start to age prematurely or add more stressors in your life and fall ill at a time when you cannot afford to take time off.
Having an experienced meditation teacher & spiritual guide by your side as you start your meditative journey can be a real blessing. Rohit Sahoo is one such highly sought after meditation teacher and spiritual guide who has been diligently offering free meditation and breathwork classes to people across India & the world.
Throughout his life, Rohit Sahoo has had a keen sense of curiosity and wonder about the extraordinary depth of life. His extensive insights into the human mind and his ability to blend eastern spiritual traditions with modern science offers his students a wholesome and powerful meditation experience.
He has also been volunteering for Science Divine for free for the past 10 years, a leading not for profit in India, which has been spearheading a noble cause of providing free education to disadvantaged children and spreading the joy of meditation across the world.
According to Rohit Sahoo, findings emerging from the evolving science of epigenetics is reaffirming the power of meditation in helping us favorably impact our genetic expression, thereby our health.
What is Epigenetics?
Our genes play an immense role in our health. However it is our environment and behavior that can mean the difference between a happy or stressed life. The science of epigenetics is the study of how these two elements alter our genes and affect the way they work.
We are not talking about sweeping genetic changes. Epigenetic changes can be reversed since they do not alter our DNA sequence. It only changes how the body reads a sequence. This is where gene expression comes into effect. It pertains to the number of times and instances when new proteins are created after receiving instruction from our genes.
However, while the process can change which proteins are manufactured, epigenetic alterations determine whether those genes can be turned on or off. The decision can go either way depending on the environment we are exposed to and the behavior with exhibit. For example, if we are prone to stress, our body develops proteins that are then passed down to future generations. So if you suffer from anxiety, chances are your children will be too whether they have cause to or not.
According to Rohit Sahoo, meditation is the key to keeping this effect at bay and ensuring our children and their children don’t inherit negative traits. The term ‘epigenetic’ literally translates into ‘in addition to changes in genetic sequence.’ Gene modifications are transferred to daughter cells.
The Power Of Meditation
Meditation practices which produce a state of relaxation have been known to promote well being that can prevent us from retaining negative tendencies. That’s because these practices silence the mind, a state that is characterized by the absence of recurring emotions, images and thoughts that can cause stress.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) inner silence can counteract the effect of these influences. These practices include a range of meditative practices both sitting and mobile all which share a common goal – to achieve a silent state of mind that can improve our health and help us manage emotions without allowing them to overcome us.
Here are some ways that meditation can epigenetically help us reduce stress and improve our health:
Reduces Harmful Inflammation
Chronic Inflammation can cause serious health conditions. For example, it can affect the way cells grow and divide which can lead to cancer, obesity, Alzheimer’s Disease etc.Meditation can reduce the effects of harmful inflammation epigenetically in the body.
Based on Buddhist practices, meditation makes us focus on the present without judgment, a practice that increases our awareness and calms both the mind and body. According to researchers, a steady stream of meditative practices have been linked to reduced levels of histone deaceylase genes, genes that are known for altering inflammatory pathways. They have also been discovered to reduce two genes that cause inflammation namely, COX2 and RIPK2.
In other words, with regular meditation, the body can recover faster from stress and reduce inflammation that may otherwise cause diseases.
Protects Chromosomes
Besides reducing inflammation, meditation can also protect chromosomes that are vital for gene expression. How? Byprotecting telomeres (the protective caps on chromosomes) and telomerase, an enzyme that increases the length of telomeres and also rebuilds it. The length in particular, has been linked to our mental and physical health.
Through meditation, the body can maintain telomere length and even increase the activity of telomerase. If telomere lengths shorten and the caps stop functioning, it can lead to debilitating conditions particularly bone, kidney, lung and bladder cancer. Additionally, people with a history of heart disease, chronic stress and diabetes are known for having shorter telomere. As you can see, all of those conditions are linked to higher stress levels.
Summing Up
Meditation not only relaxes the mind, it can actually reduce the harmful effects of stress on our genes and ensure future generations don’t inherit harmful traits. So the next time you feel overwhelmed, just breathe and meditate. You will be surprised at the results.
Rohit Sahoo encourages students to adopt meditation in their everyday life because he has firsthand experience of its benefits. From a very young age, he had started delving into the deeper dimensions of human existence & drew inspiration from great spiritual masters such as St. Francis, Kabir, Guru Nanak, Gurdjieff, Osho and many others.
Furthermore, Rohit Sahoo has been personally trained by a renowned spiritual master and he brings with himself an immense understanding into how ancient spiritual wisdom can be married with modern science, to make spirituality relevant for the contemporary human.
Through his volunteering association with Science Divine, a leading not for profit spiritual movement in India, his message of meditation has also reached tens of thousands of underprivileged children. Rohit Sahoo has made it his life’s mission to teach people what he learned from his spiritual master for free of cost.
If you’re looking to harness your complete potential, strengthen your spiritual self & live a more meaningful, healthy and prosperous life, reach out to him for guidance!