Meditation - Brain Wave Changes
Legends have grown around Eastern Yogis who become so adept in the practice that they appear impervious to cold weather. These individuals survive most notably in the higher elevations as the legend goes in sub-zero weather with nothing but a light covering.
Among the most notable of these was Milarepa a Tibetan Buddhist monk whose name derives from this exact ability. Born Mila, meaning "good news", his mentor adds the "repa" meaning cotton. Milarepa had the ability ? which seems amazing to many Westerners ? of keeping his body at a fixed temperature that he only needed a cotton cloth even in the coldest of times.
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Of course, Western science has always been skeptical of such claims, but recently, technology has been able to get a good picture of what happens to the brain when it engages in meditation.
The brain is, science now knows, an electrochemical organ and it uses electromagnetic energy to work. It appears that as a person engages in the practice of meditation, the wave activity of the brain is altered.
When we are awake and going about our business, our brainwaves are in the beta cycle. The waves can be measured at anywhere from 13 to 30 cycles per second. This category of wave is associated with a waking awareness, normal wakeful concentration and logical thinking. The more excited a person is, or the more fully she is engaged in a conversation or a debate, the higher the beta cycle of the brainwave.
The next category of frequency is called the alpha wave. The very moment you close your eyes ? even if you're not meditating or sleeping ? your brain waves are slowed to the theta cycle. The waves in this class indicate that the mind is in a relaxed state of non-arousal. It's also the frequency of the wave that's association not only with meditation, but also hypnosis. Alpha waves are measured from seven to 13 cycles per second.
The next class of brainwaves is those that are the second slowest. Measured between four to seven cycles per second, this frequency is associated with greater levels of meditation, bouts of day dreaming, dreaming during sleep, as well as periods of creativity. Curiously, it's also measured in those individuals who are experiencing out of body experiences, those engaging in extrasensory perception and shamanic journeys.
The slowest of the brain waves is called the delta wave and its frequency is from 1.5 to 4 cycles per second. The only time the mind goes into this state is when you're sleeping in a very deep, dreamless sleep.
[Source: http://www.clarityseminars.com/stress_clinical_research.html]
