Impressions from the 21st International Conference “Ayurveda&Psychology”

2017-05-22

Dr. Oleg Sorokin, leading developer of the VedaPulse™ system, returned from the 21st International Conference “Ayurveda&Psychology”, which was held at the Maharishi University of Management, Fairfield, Iowa, USA. He took part in the Conference at the invitation of the President of the Association of Ayurvedic Professionals of North America, Dr. Shekhar Annambhotla. The subject of the Dr. Sorokin’s lecture was “Heart Rate Variability – the Next Step in the Development of Pulse Analysis”, in which basal algorithms of HRV that allow detecting pathological state of Doshas were described.

We are going to tell about most interesting lectures, which anticipate main directions of Ayurveda and medicine of the future. Yes, it is so – Ayurveda, as much as other traditional medical systems, is not a complete set of knowledge. It is a dynamically developing medicine using modern scientific findings.
By the way, Dr. Sorokin’s lecture was following this trend of the modern development of Ayurveda. He told the audience about the possibility to integrate heart rate variability into practice of an Ayurvedic specialist, and showed master-class on a hardware pulse analysis.

During the master class, an experiment has been set up – a recording of the heart rhythm before and after transcendental meditation was made, which was performed by one of the random visitors from the audience – a student of Maharishi University. Surprisingly, not a single flower blossomed during meditation. VedaPulse™ software was launched in a Biofeedback mode and the amount of the blossomed flowers should have been reflecting the level of relaxation. A paradoxical situation was at hand: flowers were not blossoming during meditation, but Stress Index went down. This can be explained. The algorithm of “flowers” in the Biofeedback module of the VedaPulse™ software is closely related to the changes in the heart rate, which happens as a response of the breathing regimen change (diaphragm or abdominal breathing). In transcendental meditation (TM) emphasis is made of the state of mind, which is controlled by the awareness control. This is the main difference of these methods. There are different techniques of relaxation, and TM is more than just relaxation, which is the result of the TM. Increase of creativity, workability, successfulness, harmony in life – these are higher goals of the TM.

A hypothesis exists that if the amount of people doing TM on a regular basis will reach 1% of the total population on the planet, this 1% is able to influence the whole humanity as a whole. Even those people, who do not meditate will notice positive changes in their lives. In case this 1% will meditate on a certain territory, the changes will happen there. This hypothesis is called “The Maharishi Effect”. Maharishi community does group meditation very often, which is aimed at solving various social tasks, for example, decreasing the crime level. There are many statistical studies confirming the decreases in crime from 10% to 20% in the cities, where followers of TM are meditating. Another fascinating fact is that the technique of TM is accepted by the North-American Heart Association as a method of decreasing stress in patients with cardio-vascular diseases.

Besides evaluating the effect of transcendental meditation, the master-class confirmed the accuracy of the hardware method of detecting Vikruti once again. Results of the Dosha balance analysis by VedaPulse™ was completely matching the results received by Dr. Shekhar himself from palpatory analysis.

On a photo: the award goes to Dr. Oleg Sorokin

After the report on the Conference, the Board of Directors of AAPNA decided to award Dr. Sorokin with Veda Brahma – a highest award, which is handed out to scientists for an outstanding invention and contribution to the development of Ayurveda. Dr. Sorokin became the first scientist, who had received this award for the past 5 years and the first specialist from Russia receiving the award from AAPNA.
A full list of the nominees was published in our previous article.
You can see all the list of reports on the website of the Conference.
Next, we would like to tell about contributions, which, on one hand, grasped the attention of Dr. Sorokin, and, on the other hand, will be continued – there are certain agreements with the authors of these lectures to present them for a Russian-speaking audience in the form of the webinars.

Dr. Shekhar Annambhotla, (RMAS, Founder & Presiden of AAPNA), , Autism Spectrum Disorder — Ayurveda
Autism spectrum disorder is a general developmental disorder characterized by a persistent lack of ability to support and initiate social interaction and social connections. These disorders affect about 1% of people. Dr. Shekhar spoke about Ayurvedic approaches to the therapy of this condition. While maintaining the diet, it is recommended to exclude the following products:
Dairy products, tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes, citrus fruits, peanuts, as well as products containing preservatives, dyes, food additives, insecticides, pesticides and heavy metals.
At the same time, he noted the positive role of the following spices, which stimulate digestion: ginger, long pepper and black pepper. He elaborated on the following Ayurvedic remedies:
•Tinospora Cordifolia - Guduchi
•Emblica Officinalis - Amalaki
•Piper Longum - Pippali
•Trikatu – herbal mixture
•Astragalus
Dr. Shekhar also mentioned other treatment modalities: Marma therapy, Reiki, meditation, art-therapy, Yoga, Mantras, Gandharva Veda musical therapy.

Dr. Vasant Lad, BAM & S, MASc., Director, The Ayurveda Institute, New Mexico, USA
The Ayurvedic Concept of Manovaha Srotas and its Disorders

Manovaha Srotas are the channels that carry thoughts. It is a psychic system (mind).

Dr. Lad is an old-school lecturer and did not use any ready presentation, preferring to draw the schemes on the blackboard.

Dr. Sorokin made a recording of Dr. Lad’s lecture on his smartphone.

The topic touched upon by Dr. Vasant Lad is very important, as the present state of society can be characterized as accelerating, avalanche-like changes in the way of life. People do not have time to adapt to them and therefore the diseases caused by the disorders of Manovaha Srotas come to the fore. Each epoch is characterized by its own, inherent challenges in the first place and, accordingly, characteristic of this era of disease. If, for example, in the Middle Ages, the main problem of mankind were epidemics and infectious diseases, and these problems were largely solved with the help of science, then the scourge of modern mankind is stress. Today there is a great need for flexibility of mind in order to maintain health in today's changing living conditions. Therefore, knowledge about the disorders caused by the violation of the flow of energy in Manovaha Srotas is very important for modern specialists of Ayurveda. Questions of consciousness step forward.

Robert Keith Wallace, PhD, Founding President,
Maharishi University of Management, Iowa, USA
The Microbiome and You

• How does our microflora influence on physiological and psychological processes, predisposition to diseases;
• How Ayurveda (diet, herbal therapy, lifestyle) and Transcendental meditation can influence the microbiome.

It is known that 1 to 2.5 kg of microorganisms live in a human. Their main habitats are the digestive system, mucous membranes, skin, blood and even the brain. If initially the modern science discovered the harmful influence of microorganisms, in particular the term "bacterium" practically became a synonym for the word "harm", now it is well known that without microorganisms, our life is impossible, microflora is an integral part of ourselves. Microorganisms living in humans actively participate in many physiological processes, they are associated with the immune system and even affect the psychological processes - the imbalance in the microbiome can lead to the development of mental illnesses.

Another important direction of microbiome research is the influence of microflora genes on human genetics. From the standpoint of Ayurveda, the microbiome is associated with Agni and Ama, Vikruti and Prakruti (tastes and vipak, food preferences – all of this is largely determined by the composition of the microflora). The fact is that the composition of microorganisms in people with Vata, Pitta and Kapha constitution is very different and to correct the pathological state of Vikruti, microbiome should be influenced. The main idea of the speech of Dr. Wales is when you treat with herbs, always think about the way how this will affect microbiome. Since the intake of many drugs can be disastrous for microflora, any treatment should preferably be combined with prebiotics (friendly bacteria) and probiotics (promote the growth of normal bacteria).

It is known that about a quadrillion (1015) of bacteria are living inside us, this is more than the amount of our own cells. Thus, the issue of caring for the microflora that inhabits us is perhaps one of the most important issues of our health and one of the most promising areas of future medicine. So, it is time to stop thinking about yourself as a single being. It will be more correct to imagine yourself as a huge kingdom, inhabited by a quadrillion of tiny workers, who care about us and at the same time depend on us. In this light, there is a new perspective coming from the thought mentioned in the report - the influence of Transcendental meditation on the microflora of the body.

By the way, this topic intersects with a new project, which Dr. Oleg Sorokin is launching – “VedaGenetics”. The module for VedaPulse ™ with a similar name is also in the development stage. It will allow analyzing the genetic predisposition to diseases in people with different imbalances of Doshas.

Unusual application of the “Music of the Heart” module

Antonio Andrade, user of the VedaPulse™ came to the Conference as well. He uses it very ingeniously in his work. Antonio works in a hospice, where there are many cancer patients, and in order to help them deal with depression, he uses musical improvisation. He records the rhythm of the heart of patients and converts it into a musical piece using the “Music of the Heart” module. Then, after listening to the recording of the music of the patient's heart, Antonio Andrade, in return, creates another piece of music - he improvises and immediately performs. The module "Music of the Heart" for Antonio Andrade plays the role of a creative diagnostic tool. Antonio perceives the pain and fear of man as a musical work, performed by his heart, and immediately composes his “healing music” in response.

On the photo: Antonio Andrade is playing jazz improvisation during a break to greet Dr. Oleg Sorokin

In addition, preliminary agreements were reached to include products of leading American companies, manufacturers of Ayurvedic medicines - vpk by Maharishi, Charak USA, Harmony, Banyan Botanicals - into the database of the dietary supplements module.

Photoimpressions

Biokvant Company Team