Alternative Therapies – Meditation 1 of 6 – BBC Health Documentary Series

Alternative Therapies – Meditation 1 of 6 – BBC Health Documentary Series Alternative Therapies Join Kathy Sykes on a personal journey of exploration into the controversial world of alternative therapies. Are there lessons for mainstream medicine to be learned from these increasingly popular therapies? In a journey that takes her from Buddhist monks in Nepal, to brain labs in America – via yogic flying – Kathy investigates what cutting edge research can tell us about the ancient practice of meditation. Having learnt some basic meditation for herself at a monastery in the foothills of the Himalayas, Kathy sets off to find out what science can tell her about the experiences she’s had. Her investigation takes her down two routes — can meditation improve your body, and can it improve your mind? In the US she learns how her body responds when she meditates, and hears from a patient who believes the practice has given him his life back. From there, she journeys deeper into America, to a unique city which gathers together twice a day to meditate. She hears their claims for meditation’s health benefits, and is given a rare demonstration of yogic flying. But can meditation really deliver what its advocates claim? Weighing up the evidence is a challenge, and Kathy discovers just how difficult it is to get any definitive answers. But, back in the UK, she finds a form of meditation that is gaining some acceptance as a treatment. It is used in a new therapy for depression – and is …

Alternative Therapies – Meditation 1 of 6 – BBC Health Documentary Series