Effects Of Meditation On The Gut Microbiome And Human Health and Disease

Meditation and other mind-body interventions (MBIs) have been shown to have a range of health benefits, including an improved stress response, a reduction in inflammatory processes, and an enhanced innate immune response. While several studies on MBIs have been carried out to assess metabolomic, transcriptomic, epigenomic, or physiological outcomes, comprehensive studies including all of these components have not been reported. In addition, most studies have been small, comprised of less than 100 research subjects.

One particular area of meditation research that remains largely unexplored is the gut. A bi-directional communication occurs between the gut and the brain, thus, the gut microbiota can influence behavior, resulting in psychosocial stress and negatively impacting the microbiome. One would predict, then, that meditation-based reductions in stress would have positive effects on gut microbial makeup. Importantly, diseased states are characterized by specific gut microbiome profiles, thus, one can use the microbiome to assay for meditation-induced changes in these states.

In this study, a comprehensive multi-omic analysis will be carried out to determine the effect of an immersive 7-day meditation experience in a retreat setting in a large 2000+ person cohort. Metagenomic analysis will be performed on the gut microbiome, including healthy and clinical populations, to assess disease-specific improvements (Phase 1). In addition, Garmin wearable technology will be used to collect biometric health data, including heart rate, sleep, stress, and activity, for up to 10 months after the meditation retreat (Phase 1). In Phase 2 of this study, the biological analyses will be expanded to include blood and urine. Taken together, these data will be coupled with self-report surveys of physical and emotional health and integrated into a machine-learning platform to assess microbiome shifts tied with epigenetics, proteomics, metabolomics, transformational language, and improvements in health.

The advanced week-long meditation retreat will include approximately 25 hours of instruction and 35 hours of meditation. The meditations will include elements of focused attention, non-dual awareness, and loving kindness compassion techniques. While these meditations are unique to this meditation teacher, they are centered around Kundalini and Vipassana techniques. The meditations will be carried out seated, standing, lying down, and walking. The retreat setting allows for controlling many variables, including sleep schedule, meditation schedule, and diet.