The sound of the 'OM' mesmerizes the dragon of our emotions. How is the yogi’s amygdala?
Yoga and the Brain - editorial by M. Elide
In the previous editorials we learnt how the practice of yoga is associated with an increase of brain volume in some specific areas. However, today we will talk about an area that is much smaller than the norm… Don't worry, actually this feature seems to be quite advantageous, but let's start with the necessary introductions.
Let’s welcome the amygdala, which is not only a beautiful name for a cat (true story!), as well as a fundamental agglomeration of nerve nuclei that functions as a real alarm system in the deepest depths of our brain, and more precisely in the limbic system.
She is the undisputed queen of emotions, she stands there like a dragon on the tower of the castle, to process all the information, to assess the danger and emotional salience, and basically… To spit fire. That is, she spits hormones and electrical signals, but the goal is the same: to warn us and defend ourselves. And she does it fast, without cognitive control. She’s blind and tyrannical, annoying and uncomfortable: she warns us even when it is not strictly necessary (a slimy thing on the leg while we swim in the sea is DEFINITELY a sea monster, and not some random seaweed!). But let's face it, she's looking over our backs.
Amygdala is shaped like an almond, and we’ve equipped with one for each cerebral hemisphere. The amygdala of the left hemisphere deals above all with the processing of pleasant emotions, the right one of unwelcome emotions, such as sadness, but above all fear. Does it ring a bell? Shall we revise a bit? Let’s go! According to the Approach-Avoidance model, each of us is mainly guided in his behavior by a motivation to approach, that is, a tendency to move towards a desired stimulus, or by a motivation to avoidance, which distances us from unwanted stimuli. Simply put, everyone acts either by looking for pleasant and positive stimuli for themselves, or by trying to avoid hassles, punishments, reproaches, flutters! Therefore, based on these personality features we will tend to have an emotional circuit more receptive than the other, either left or right. Try to think about it yourself: are you more approach or more avoidance? It is certainly not a clear distinction, as we move within a spectrum. You just have to pay attention to anger, because it is a false friend: despite being an emotion with a "negative" value, it is part of the circuit linked to approach behaviors.
It may be defined, in fact, as a reaction that gets triggered whenever an obstacle interrupts our race towards a desired goal, which could consist, for example, in experiencing happiness (even if only half!).
All very nice and intriguing, but let's get to the point. How is the yogi’s amygdala? As I mentioned before, several studies have shown that the amygdala of people who practice yoga has a decidedly smaller size. The interesting thing is that this does not happen for the left amygdala, but only for the right amygdala, related to the processing of unwanted stimuli. Researchers interpreted this figure in relation to a (presumed) greater ability to cope with stressful events for those who practice yoga . They do not say it, but I assume it: there is probably a greater tendency to observe, welcome and let go, compared to a mode of response that implies immediate impulsive reactions.
But it’s not over yet: the best is yet to come! In an experiment by an Indian research group, it emerged that the amygdala can also be "trained" with the simple singing of the 'OM', almost in magic piper style. Let me explain: the researchers subjected volunteers to functional magnetic resonance imaging while singing the 'OM' or the simple sound 'sss', and only in the first case the activity of the amygdala was significantly decreased. This means that chanting of the mantra is able to somehow deactivate the responsiveness of the limbic system. The researchers explained this phenomenon by relating the vibration at face level, and in particular around the area of the ears, with the stimulation of the vagus nerve. This is the longest of the autonomic nervous system and regulates the parasympathetic activity of the organism, that is, the one linked to rest, with a function of maintaining homeostasis.
So next time you are stuck in a traffic jam and everyone is being loud with their horns, or when you bang your toes in the door, or when at breakfast the slice falls inevitably on the side of the jam, or when your friends, parents, children drive you mad, when you come home and the cats have made a mess, when you are at work and you can not more than the usual speeches ...
Train your inner beast, chant the 'OM'. Ooooommmmm...
For nerds and geeks:
The Yoga and the Brain column is related to the practice of Yoga from the point of view of neuroscience research. We will talk about the mind-body relationship, the effects of yoga and movement on the brain, the boundaries between science and spirituality and much more, from a perspective that is anything but reductionist, but rather of research and integration. After all, "Yoga" means "Union"...
M. Elide graduated at Hari-Om in 2020. She is a trained psychologist and has been involved in neuroscientific research for years. She juggles between the study of Mind and Body, finding the true strength of practice and self-knowledge in the awareness of their encounter.