Effect of rosary prayer and yoga mantras on autonomic cardiovascular rhythms: comparative study
BMJ 2001; 323 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.323.7327.1446 (Published 22 December 2001) Cite this as: BMJ 2001;323:1446All rapid responses
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Much as I admire the splendid study by Bernardi et al. on the effects
of rosary prayer and yoga mantra, I wonder if the title is correct. Even
I as a dyed-in-the-wool Lutheran know that the rosary contains more than
just the Ave Maria. What about the paternoster and the gloria? If the
latter two were left out, it ain't a rosary ...
Claus A. Pierach, MD, FACP
Professor of Medicine
University of Minnesota
Competing interests: No competing interests
Thank you for an interesting paper. In the first part of the Ave
Maria it is "benedicta tu in mulieribus" not tui mulieribus.
Some altar boys don't easily forget latin learned 43years ago!
Competing interests: No competing interests
Dear Editor,
Our compliments to Bernardi and colleagues for their important and groundbreaking study of rosary prayer and yoga mantras.1 We have recently studied mantras and rosary-like prayers as part of a comprehensive nonsectarian eight point spiritual program that can be used by persons within any religious tradition, as well as by persons outside of all traditions, including atheists.2,3,4 Initial findings show that health professionals trained in this program demonstrated large and statistically significant increases in their self-efficacy (confidence) as caregivers, with effects mediated by greater calmness ('slowing down').3 Developed forty years ago in the United States, materials explaining this program have been published independently in translation by indigenous publishers in more than 20 countries that range from Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Israel, and Italy to Indonesia, Japan, Russia, and the People's Republic of China.5
Health effects of spirituality and religion are a topic of surging interest in the United States,6 where some researchers have long theorized reciprocal interactions between physiological and cognitive effects from spiritual practices.7 This perspective suggests that frequently repeated brief prayers may exert long-term effects in part by bringing to mind spiritual attitudes and ideals that promote effective coping with stressors, long-term personal integration, and sustained deep relaxation.8,9 We hope that Bernardi and colleagues will continue their important researches on the physiological effects of repeated brief prayer, and consider incorporating an expanded transcultural cognitive behavioral perspective, such as is reflected in the program that we have studied.2
Doug Oman, Ph.D., School of Public Health, University of California at Berkeley, USA (DougOman@post.Harvard.edu).
Carl E. Thoresen, Ph.D., Departments of Education, Psychology, Psychiatry/Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, USA (Thoresen@Stanford.edu)
REFERENCES
1. Bernardi L, Sleight P, Bandinelli G, et al. Effect of rosary prayer and yoga mantras on autonomic cardiovascular rhythms: Comparative study. British Medical Journal. 2001;323:1446-1449.
2. Easwaran E. Mantram handbook. 4th ed. Tomales, CA: Nilgiri Press (www.nilgiri.org); 1998/1977.
3. Oman D, Hedberg J, Downs D, Parsons D. A nonsectarian spiritually-based program to enhance caregiving self-efficacy: Findings of a pilot study. Complementary Health Practice Review. In press.
4. Oman D, Thoresen CE. Using intervention studies to unravel how religion affects health. (Paper presented at 109th Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA, August 25, 2001). 2001.
5. Hedberg J, Bowden J, Oman D. A comprehensive non-sectarian program for integrating spirituality into health practice. (Materials prepared for workshop at Conference on Spirituality, Culture and End-of-Life in Medical Education, sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges, Kansas City, MO, September 15). 2001. Available online (http://apha.confex.com/viewHandout.cgi?filename=29323_Eight%20Point%20Program%20Background.DOC).
6. Thoresen CE, Harris AHS. Spirituality and health : What's known and what's needed? Annals of Behavioral Medicine. In press.
7. Smith JC. Meditation, biofeedback, and the relaxation controversy: A cognitive-behavioral perspective. American Psychologist. 1986;41:1007-1009.
8. Pargament KI. The psychology of religion and coping : Theory, research, practice. New York: Guilford; 1997.
9. Oman D, Thoresen CE. Spiritual modeling : A key to spiritual and religious growth? The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion. In press.
Competing interests: No competing interests
Re: Not the whole rosary ...
Before reading the abstract, I read a news summary of the benefits of
mantra & Rosary and wondered about the Apostle's Creed as well as the
Our Father and Gloria omissions. Obviously, it is not the whole Rosary
without them, but historically, the Glory Bes and the Our Fathers were
added later. Nevertheless, since I only knew the first part of the Latin
Hail Mary: "Ave Maria, gratia plena," I began ending my night prayers with
just that portion of the Ave in rhythm with my breathing to fight
insomnia. After a few nights, it started working. Recently, I discovered
that simply starting the prayer, "Ave Maria...." put me to sleep. (I am
not a regulalr Rosary prayer, by the way, because even in English it seems
to make me drowsy, same as with Bach fugues.)
Congratulations on getting the Rosary in the news!
maresan@pe.net
Competing interests: No competing interests