Wellness
Mindfulness and Meditation
Recent studies with CKD patients have shown that safe, noninvasive and potential therapies such as mindfulness meditation and yoga can alleviate some of the biological body responses produced by CKD patients.
Mindfulness meditation is a stress-reduction technique which involves a focused awareness from patients on internal and external sensory stimuli in the present moment without judgement or cognitive elaboration. Prior studies have supported this form of meditation due to its reduction in anxiety, inflammation, and even blood pressure in various CKD patient groups.
How Mindfulness meditation works
Patients will listen to 10+ min of prerecorded guided mindfulness meditation using an MP3 player and headphones. The standard guided mediation recording, includes several basic components of mindfulness: breathing awareness, mini body scan, and brief self-compassion. The core goal of mindfulness meditation is to provide the patient with the tools necessary, for them to destress, and to bring positive sensation to one self, embracing a form of “loving kindness” towards one’s body.
Mindfulness meditation has been shown to reduced BP, HR, inflammation, anxiety and improve quality of life in normotensive individuals.
Effect of yoga on patients with CKD
The anatomical overview of postural exercises in yoga suggests that yoga is centered toward stretching and strengthening the muscles and increasing blood supply throughout the body. Some yoga exercises implement breathing practices of which stretch the lung tissue producing inhibitory signals from action of slowly adapting receptors and hyper polarizing currents. Breathing exercises modifies various inflators and deflatory lung reflexes and interact with the central neural element to bring homeostasis to the body. Thus breathing exercises can help reduce sympathetic tone and improve parasympathetic tone thereby reducing pulse rate, SBP, DBP, and metabolic rate. Moreover, supportive studies have shown the significant role of yoga in its ability to control renal dysfunction as assessed by blood urea and serum creatinine values. Thus, more studies focused on CKD patients should consider pairing conventional treatment with yoga exercises.
In a study, it was found that 30 min of hath yoga practice daily for 4 months showed a significant reduction in oxidative stress and an increase in antioxidant activity in patients with CKD who were on hemodialysis.
Disclaimer: The UCLA Health System cannot guarantee the accuracy of such information. The information is provided without warranty or guarantee of any kind. Please speak to your Physician before making any changes.