Ashley Scott

Professor Dorette Nysewander

Unit 8 Assignment

1. Using the internet or library, locate an article that discusses the benefits of
meditation. Summarize the article and why you have found it beneficial.
Include a link to the article.
2. List each of the ten principles outlined by the White House commission on
complementary and alternative medicine. In your own words, briefly
explain each principle. Summarize why these concepts are important for
professionals in the health and wellness profession.

An article that I have found about meditation and its benefits is called What
Happens to the Brain When You Meditate (And how it benefits you). In this
article it explains what meditation is and how it affects your brain. Using
modern technology like fMRI scans, scientists have developed a more
thorough understanding of whats taking place in our brains when we
meditate. The overall difference is that our brains stop processing
information as actively as they normally would. We start to show a decrease
in beta waves, which indicate that our brains are processing information,
even after a single 20-minute meditation session if weve never tried it
before.

Frontal lobe
This is the most highly evolved part of the brain, responsible for reasoning,
planning, emotions and self-conscious awareness. During meditation, the
frontal cortex tends to go offline.
Parietal lobe
This part of the brain processes sensory information about the surrounding
world, orienting you in time and space. During meditation, activity in the
parietal lobe slows down.
Thalamus
The gatekeeper for the senses, this organ focuses your attention by funneling
some sensory data deeper into the brain and stopping other signals in their
tracks. Meditation reduces the flow of incoming information to a trickle
Reticular formation

As the brains sentry, this structure receives incoming stimuli and puts the
brain on alert, ready to respond. Meditating dials back the arousal signal.

The ten principles outlined by the White House commission are:

1. A wholeness orientation in health care- health care must support the care
of a whole person which includes all aspects of life-mind, body, spirit, and
environment
2. Evidence of safety and efficacy- promotes the use of science and methods
to identify safe and effective CAM services
3. The healing capacity of the person- support to speed up the recovery for
an injured person
4. Respect for individuality- letting people choose the right kind of health
care for him/her
5. The right to choose treatment- right to choose freely among safe and
effective care or approaches

6. An emphasis on health promotion and self-care- maintains and promotes

health by emphasizing self-care
7. Partnerships as essential to integrated health care- having a team
committed to creating optimal healing environments and respecting others
8. Education as a fundamental health care service- health care professional
should be well educated on different healthy lifestyles for all ages
9. Dissemination of Comprehensive and timely information- To examine the
evidence on which CAM systems, practices, and products
10. Integral public involvement- The input of informed consumers and other
members of the public must be incorporated in setting priorities for health
care

Reference
Cooper, Belle. 8/26/2013. What Happens to the Brain When You Meditate.
Retrieved from http://lifehacker.com/what-happens-to-the-brainwhen-you-meditate-and-how-it-1202533314
March 2002. White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative
Medicine Policy. Retrieved from
http://www.whccamp.hhs.gov/finalreport.html