If you
are trying to improve memory or offset the risk for developing memory loss or
Alzheimer’s disease, regular practice of yoga and meditation could be a simple,
safe and low-cost solution to improving brain fitness. A three month course of
Kundalini Yoga and Kirtan Kriya meditation practice helped minimize the
cognitive and emotional problems that often precede Alzheimer’s disease and
other forms of dementia.
Kirtan
Kriya, which involves chanting, hand movements and visualization of light, has
been practised for hundreds of years in India as a way to prevent cognitive
decline in older adults. Yoga and meditation were more effective than the memory-enhancement
exercises that have been considered the gold standard for managing mild
cognitive impairment, the findings showed.
Memory
training was comparable to yoga with meditation in terms of improving memory,
nut yoga provided a broader benefit than memory training because it also helped
with mood, anxiety and coping skills. The study of 25 participants, all over
the age of 55, measured changes not just in behavior but also in brain
activity. Eleven participants received one hour a week of memory enhancement
training and spent 20 minutes – verbal and visual association and other
practical strategies for improving memory.
The
other 14 participants took a one-hour class once a week in Kundalini Yoga and
practised Kirtan Kriya meditation at home for 20 minutes. After 12 weeks, the
researchers saw similar improvements among participants in both group in verbal
memory skills – which come into play for remembering names and lists of words.
But
those who had practised Yoga and meditation had better improvements than the
other participants in visual-spatial memory skills, which come into play for
recalling locations and navigating while walking or driving. The
yoga-meditation group also had better results in terms of reducing depression
and anxiety.
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