Mindfulness meditation: An alternative to pain-relieving drugs!

Zee Media Bureau/Shruti Mishra

Mindfulness meditation is the new solution for the chronic pain.

A new research highlighted that mindfulness meditation is a perfect solution to the usual drug-based pain relieving pill.

This meditation has its roots in Buddhists tradition and it is also practiced in Contemplative Psychotherapy training.

Mindfulness meditation is practiced sitting comfortably with eyes closed and focusing on the rate of breathing. It involves bringing your attention to the present moment. This meditation is an excellent stress relieving method and also increases one's concentration.

The researchers claims that it provides opiod-free pain relief.

The study, published in Journal of Neuroscience, points out that mindfulness meditation does not employ the endogenous addictive opioid system to reduce pain, rather it uses the body's naturally made opioids as an alternative therapy.

It is especially useful for those who have built up a tolerance to opiate-based drugs and are looking for a non-addictive way to reduce their pain.

The study conducted on 78 volunteers showed that even when the body opioid receptors were chemically blocked, meditation still was able to considerably reduce pain. Pain ratings were reduced by 21% in the meditation group that received palcebo-saline injection.

(With IANS inputs)