Meditation and Seizures

[Endless]

What's your experience with meditation? Ever tried it? I know several people in here do yoga.


The literature on meditation and its effect on seizures is mixed.

• Some say it decreases seizures due to relaxation and the ability to slow brain waves, and is a good alternative therapy to medication.
• Some says it increases seizures due to neuronal hypersynchrony (neurons firing at once).

Here's a link to some of the studies of the effects of meditation on seizures.


Meditation helps prevent seizures:

• http://www.neurologyindia.com/articl...4;aulast=Kumar
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16722786
• http://www.springerlink.com/content/lt0461l1635hu3tr/

Meditation makes seizures worse:

• http://www.ionchannels.org/citations...persynchronous
• More about hypersynchrony: http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/epilep...yID=EP-nh1-01b
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1718035/

I've been meditating twice daily for about the last 20 years. Personally, I don't know for sure the effect on my seizures since I've been meditating for so long, and my seizures began before I began meditating. I've never had more seizures than usual during meditation. I think it has at least helped my overall health. I still have no idea about this topic at all.

Got an opinion on meditation?

[epileric]

I used to meditate & it did help my seizures.

What makes me curious is how these studies define meditation. Some meditate by emptying your mind of thoughts, others define meditation as focusing on a specific thought, problem, image, incident etc.

I would think that one method can increase relaxation & parasympathetic while the other possibly do the opposite.

[Cint]

Two weeks ago I had several complex partial seizures in one day and 1 just happened to be in front of my epileptologist. After I had recovered and was able to understand her again, she said that since I was having trouble sleeping at the time and that contributed to the seizures, to meditate. Her explanation of meditation was emptying my mind and focus on something pleasant, like smooth sounding ocean waves. It calms the brain waves and helps one sleep or helps with relaxation. I used to do meditation and am trying to get back in the habit again.

[Loopy Lou]

I used to meditate a lot and it invoked a calm sort of feeling, perhaps slight euphoria.

I also get euphoria sometimes during partials though, so i don't know if i was causing them or not through the deep breathing exercises. It did used to relax me a lot.

I've been contemplating taking up yoga or pilates or something.

[huskymom]

I have tried it on a couple of occasions, but my mind always wanders off. If I try to think of one thing to focus on, or to empty my mind, then it just takes off on its own!! Maybe its just me

[epileric]

I have tried it on a couple of occasions, but my mind always wanders off. If I try to think of one thing to focus on, or to empty my mind, then it just takes off on its own!! Maybe its just me

No it's not just you, it's me too. Even the person who taught me how to meditate said that after 20 years of meditating his mind still wanders though not as much as at first.

[Endless]

If you are new to meditating, a good place to start is to simply relax, concentrate on your breathingl, and count your breaths in and out. If your mind wanders that's okay, just bring it back and keep on counting.

[knothing]

Once a day I use the mp3 player and turn on some music, slow down my breathing, and let my mind disappear into nothingness. The music is the opposite of calm but it works. I don't stay there for long because after a certain amount of time in that state I have had partials. Not sure about the connection yet.

[travel bug]

I tried on numerous occasions in the past to meditate by concentrating on breathing. No disrespect to those who suggest that method because I'm sure it works for many, but I always ended up gasping for breath or hyperventilating, and then giving up in frustration. But then I stumbled across The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret of Happiness by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, a Tibetan monk. His approach is so accessible He explains his journey to understand modern neuroscience and physics in relation to Buddhism and meditation; it's so fascinating! And he is such a patient, understanding teacher that he makes meditation far less intimidating.

He suggests starting with just a few seconds and building up slowly. He explains several approaches and says you should do what works for you; and what works may change over time or with different circumstances.

Anyway, with the help of this book, I was able to deal with all the stress that accompanies brain surgery. I remember sitting in my neurosurgeon's office, shivering with fear, then remembering some of the Rimpoche's meditation techniques and within minutes feeling perfectly calm. I've also used his techniques to deal with pain, nausea, and even itching etc. So I wouldn't be at all surprised that it could help with seizures. I don't know why I got out of the practice Because it was so helpful. I'm going to have to find the book again and get back into the habit