The Art and Science of Fitness | Demystifying mindfulness meditation

Meditation has been an integral part of Indian culture for millennia. The lead author of the study, Gabriel Riegner, a graduate student at the department of anesthesiology, University of California, San Diego, under the guidance of Fadel Zeidan, an associate professor of anesthesiology there and director of Brain Mechanisms of Pain Health and Mindfulness Laboratory, along with his colleagues studied the interplay between different areas of the brain that are engaged in pain sensation. The participants were divided into two groups: The first was the experiment group, which would do mindfulness meditation, and the second was the control group which would listen to an audiobook titled The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, which is known not to improve one's mood. Participants in mindfulness meditation groups reported having experienced a 32% reduction in pain intensity and a 33% reduction in pain unpleasantness. Their pain becomes a part of who they are as individuals — something they can’t escape — and this exacerbates their suffering.” More than two decades ago, my mentor in musculoskeletal medicine, Dr Roderic Macdonald, the then principal at London College of Osteopathic Medicine and also president of the British Institute of Musculo-Skeletal Medicine, used to repeatedly remind me: “Pain is only a messenger.