How HIV-AIDS can be helped by Meditation

Therefore I have put together another page, linked to this one, where I give you a complete but easy to understand overview about HIV-AIDS.

To go to that page, then click HERE to take you directly to it.

Similarly, we will be talking quite a lot about The IMMUNE SYSTEM on this page, so I have similarly attached another separate page to this one that explains the Immune System to you.

To check out that one, click HERE


Recent research, in the last couple of years, has focused extensively on the powerful interactions going on between your conscious and subconscious mind and your physical body, about which you are consciously completely unaware.

This has given rise to a new scientific specialty – that has the name Psychoneuroimmunology, or Neuroimmunomodulation.

This new field of investigation is concerned with careful and accurate research into these powerful interactions between your conscious and subconscious mind and your physical body.

As a result, there is a lot of new information that involves elements of psychiatry, immunology, neurosciences and endocrinology, and with some surprising results.

For example, it has been proved….” that the immune system is extremely sensitive to environmental changes and certain stress factors - among them noise - that have been observed to produce effects on this system. Animals housed under stressful conditions thus manifest a higher susceptibility to infection. Several studies have demonstrated effects of stress factors on the immune system…”

Or putting it in a simpler way - The immune system is enhanced by sleep and rest, and is impaired by stress.

Some interesting studies have been part of this.For example, one study from the University of Wisconsin that was reported in the magazine Psychosomatic Medicine showed that Meditation can actually improve the ability of the Immune System to produce antibodies.

In this study the researchers measured the brain electrical activity of the 48 study subjects at various points throughout the study, while at the same time all the subjects were told to write down the most positive - and also the most negative – things that had happened to them in their life.

All of the subjects were given a ’Flu’ Vaccine, and half of then only were given training in Meditation once a week, and given audio Guided Meditation tapes to listen to daily.

The researchers measured antibody levels twice from all of the volunteers, to measure the responses of their Immune Systems to the ‘Flu’ Shots.

The results were surprising –

It was found that the 50 percent that had received the Meditation training, and had been listening to Daily Guided Meditation recordings, had increased brain activity in that part of the brain that is linked with positive emotion.

And more importantly, they were all found to have noticeably higher levels of ‘flu’ antibodies than those in the non-meditating group.

How can that help with HIV-AIDS ?

The CD4 T cells are almost like the conductors or controllers of the Immune System, but are in effect attacked and killed by the AIDS virus.

The rapidity with which the AIDS virus kills the CD4 T cells is partly a function of the overall health of the Immune System, and therefore is affected by any positive or negative influences on the Immune System as a whole.

So obviously any positive influence on the Immune System will also tend to slow the progression of HIV-AIDS.

A similar study in UCLA used actual HIV POSITIVE volunteers, who were randomly selected into two groups – and one of these groups was taught meditation daily for eight weeks.

At the end of the eight week period it was found that the group of those volunteers who completed the meditation course consistently had higher CD4 T cell counts than those in the non-meditator group!

The author of this study stated that meditation seemed to have an effect of preventing HIV-AIDS progression, both by reducing stress, and by strengthening the Immune System of these HIV positive adults, and thereby slowing the progression of the disease.

In addition, other recent studies, using different types of meditations, have shown without doubt that HIV-AIDS can certainly be slowed by using meditation.

To date there have been more than 3000 studies around the world looking into the benefits of meditation.

Many of these have been involved recently with the effects that meditation has on the Immune System – and they have all shown beneficial effects.

For example, apart from the studies above - -

An earlier study reported in the British Journal of Sports Medicine showed that runners who meditated for six months had less suppression of the Immune System than non-meditators. (Strenuous exercise tends to have a suppressive effect on the Immune System).

And an even earlier study reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed that an experienced meditator was able to control and improve her Immune System response to the chickenpox virus.

So, given that the Immune System is the body’s major defense against infections of all kinds – including HIV-AIDS.

And given, (as many studies have proved), that the Immune System is strengthened by meditation.

Then it follows that…

Any infection of any kind, including HIV-AIDS, will be helped by practicing meditation.

Of course, I am not suggesting to you that Meditation is the “be all and end all” as regards health, but research shows that it certainly can boost your Immune System – and therefore make your body more efficient in its fight against all kinds of infections and also help with many other diseases.

In fact studies of large numbers of long-term meditators in the general population have shown that their medical bills were significantly lower than non-meditators – amazingly their medical costs for long-term heart disease were reduced by more than 80 percent !

I am sure that you will agree that all of this confirms and underlines the tremendous benefits that meditation can bring to our lives in many respects, with improved health being one of the most important.

And with especial relevance to those many millions who are affected with HIV-AIDS, and as a result have impaired Immune Systems.

Boosting your Immune System and thereby helping control HIV-AIDS may be as simple as putting “mind over matter”….by meditating !

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