Does the Practice of DSM
(Dynamic Synergetic Meditation), Increase Focus and Transform Stress in Teenage
Boys?
An Action
Research Project
by
Aug 2003-June
2006
Introduction
There
has been a great deal of research on the effect of meditation on many
physiological variables (heart rate, respiration rate, blood pressure, change
in brain wave patterns etc.) as far back as 1960’s and as recently as 2006.
Studies have also been conducted on metaphysical aspects such as memory and
stress levels. A few of the many examples are Benson, H., Marzetta,
B.R., and Rosner, B.A., "Decreased Systolic
Blood Pressure in Hypertensive Subjects Who Practised Meditation". Journal
of Clinical Investigation, 52: 8a, 1973. and Goleman, D.J. and Schwartz, G.E., "Meditation as an
Intervention in Stress Reactivity". Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology, 44: 456-466, 1976. and recently an
article in Time Magazine, August 4, 2003, The Science of Meditation, which
cites the work of Dr, Gregg Jacobs,
Research Focus and Hypothesis for Phase 1
With
this steady scientific interest and yet relatively little use of this
meditation in schools I became interested in researching a slightly different aspect
of meditation with teenage boys at
·
Calming effect/felt
relaxed/calmed nerves/reduced stress
·
Increased ability to focus
mind/concentrate/awareness
·
Able to feel the energy or
chi moving/magnetism flowing/felt rejuvenated
·
Increase in ability to study
and retain information
DSM (Dynamic Synergetic Meditation) involves learning and practicing specific
movements, positions and forms. The speed, tempo and the interplay of tension,
compression, balance, focus on breathing and centre of gravity add multiple
levels, a synergy of synergies, which is at the foundation of the effectiveness
of this technique.
Methodology
for Phase 1
1. In Sept 2003 I briefly explained the hypothesis and program to thirty-four, 17 year old students in my IB Biology class and asked for volunteers. Twelve students responded with permission forms signed by their parents. The students received a randomly-numbered journal where they kept a regular record of their practice, feelings, impressions and effects for the period from October 20, 2003 until Dec 18, 2003.
2. Practice sessions were held during the normal 10-minute break in the middle of a 90 minute period. This worked out to an average of three 10-minute sessions per week, for 6 weeks. All of the 12 students continued the sessions on their own during the exam schedule, December 6 through December 18, 2003.
3. All journal entries were anonymous and confidential. They were collected, photocopied, read and analyzed at the end of Dec. 2003.
Data/Journal
Analysis
The students’ journals were analyzed and tallied under the 4 categories identified in the research question. If a student noted a particular affect more than once per journal entry (per day) it was counted only once. Several example quotes are included below to give perspective as to how the criteria were applied.
- Calming effect/felt relaxed/calmed nerves/reduced
stress:
· “After a few minutes it started to feel really good”
· “Just a week until exams, but the exercises are really great, they're the only reason
I'm not totally stressed out right now”.
· “Helped me relax but also energized me”
· “I practiced for 10 minutes...it felt comfortable and relaxing”
- Increased ability to focus
mind/concentrate/awareness:
· “I tried the technique for 10 minutes before starting to study…it really helped me concentrate.”
· “My mind stopped wandering after practice”
· “Information kept racing through my head, couldn't stop rehashing it....tried the technique to calm myself down ….it was very effective”
· “Very effective to avoid nervous friends and focus myself”
· “After the exercise I was much more alert and could concentrate better though I was no less tired”
· “I noticed a slight acuteness of awareness”
- Able to feel the energy or chi moving/magnetism
flowing/felt rejuvenated:
· “I definitely feel more energetic”
· “I feel rejuvenated”
· “I was tired going into it (the practice) but now I feel surprisingly awake”
· “Rotating of hands-feeling of magnetism”
· “It felt phenomenal...I had a cool shiver run down my spine, it felt really neat and I felt lighter ie less heavy”
- Increase in ability to study and retain
information:
· “I tried the technique for 10 minutes before starting to study…it really helped me concentrate.”
· “I can study without agitation now”
· “I've been having trouble concentrating on my exams……however the techniques have calmed my nerves more or less and I can study without agitation now.”
1. The analysis of the results in Table 1
show that all 12 subjects (100% of the subjects) experienced and reported an
effect in at least 2 of the 4 areas; 4 students (33%) experienced improvement
in 3 of the areas: and 1 student (8%) experienced effects in all 4 areas.
2. Graph 3 shows that all 12 students
(100%) experienced effects in calming and relaxing, while 75% of the students
found that they experienced effects in energy, 42% in increased focus and 33%
found that their ability to study improved.
3. Graphs 1 and 2 on the next page show
the effects per student per category.
Conclusions for Phase 1
Although this was the first study done on the DSM method, I was extremely encouraged by the results. The data clearly shows the efficacy of the method to these teenage boys, albeit to a different degree for different boys. But there is no doubt that all boys benefited to some degree.
The journal entries, however, showed more than a simple tally of the number of entries in a particular category. From the quotes cited above one can see and even feel a great deal of excitement, enthusiasm and new insights as to what is possible. Casual conversations with, and daily working and teaching the technique to the boys has made it clear to me that they benefited greatly from this method and the data substantiates this.
Phase 2
As in most things, one discovery
often leads to further discoveries. The results from Phase 1 and my interest in
energy and the synergy of Eastern and Western science, led to Phase 2 of this
Action Research. In Phase 2, which began in June 2005, I focused on the
integration of DSM with Acupuncture and Energy Field Resonance with the intent
of investigating the effects on increasing energy, strength, and endurance in
addition to the calming, stress transforming, improved
focus effects already shown. I also expanded the study to include male and
female adults.
Methodology for Phase 2
The DSM technique with its unique
interplay of tension was continued but augmented by the addition of the
employment of physical pressure and thoughtful attention and finally with the
placement of magnets on specific acupuncture points. The intention was to
increase focus, energy, strength and endurance.
The effects were tested on groups
of students ranging from grade 8 to grade 12 as well as male and female adults
from their early 20’s to 60 year olds.
Data from groups of students was gathered
as part of a school club session or as part of a presentation, workshop or
weekend retreat.
1. Participants were asked to perform
their maximum number of push-ups and then record their results.
2. The group was then randomly divided
in half with one group remaining with me (the experimental group) and the other
half (control group) was escorted to another room where they were asked to sit
and wait.
3. In the interval I instructed the
experimental group in the DSM techniques (2-3 minutes). Another 2-3 minutes
were spent performing the techniques but with addition of focusing the
attention on 2 specific acupuncture points. The next 2-3 minutes they were
asked to apply pressure with their thumbs on the same 2 points while focusing
and visualizing on the points. A total of 9-10 minutes were spent on this
method.
4. The control group was then brought
back into the room and both groups were then asked to do their maximum push-ups
in the same manner and speed as they did the first time and record their
results. They were then asked to reflect on the before and after experience.
The results of one group of 22
students from
Feedback
and Reflection Entries
From a Grade 9 student
“It was very soothing and it gave me a lot of energy. It completely relaxed me.”
From a Grade 9 student
“After meditation I felt much more calm and stable. I felt more determined to do more push-ups and was able to do more. During the meditation I quite relaxed and I enjoyed the soothing experience.”
From a Grade 9 student
“Not tired at all, headache a lot better.”
From a Grade 9 student
“Calmer. Performance was good, I feel good about myself.”
From a 44 year old female teacher., July 23, 2005
“Feeling more energized. Felt quiet and connected.”
From a 55 year old female teacher, July 19, 2005
“Calmer but more alert (awake).”
From a 47 year old female teacher, July 9, 2005
“I felt a force between my hands with the circle hands technique. Feeling more capable.”
From a 44 year old female, July 9, 2005
“After the energy meditation …feeling more energized…pulse stronger…felt quiet and connected.” Increase from 30 push-ups to 42 after (an increase of 40% )
From a 53 year old male, July 9, 2005
“I felt
stronger as I began the pushups…a sense of ease, quietness, a purposefulness
“lost” in myself during the meditation.” Increase from 12 to 18 (increase of
50%)
From a 15 year old boy…November 2005
“After studying for quite some time, I found
myself not working well at all, I did the meditation and feel completely refreshed.
I think without the meditation I would never had been
able to do all of it.”
From an 18 year old student, Volleyball Player
during the OFSSAA championships, November 2005.
“After the energy meditation, during the match,
I jumped higher, hit harder and read every play on the other side. I was in the
right place at the right time.”
One of the properties of synergetics describes the phenomenon that the behaviour of whole systems is unpredictable from the behaviour of the parts taken separately.
Two examples of unpredicted, but not unexpected, results are below.
"Anyone who plays a musical instrument
knows that playing under testing or performance conditions is
one of the most nervewracking experiences one can face. I was forced to
confront such a situation in my practical piano exam. In previous exams, I was
overcome by anxiety which often lead to mistakes and sometimes a more
superficial treatement of the music. However, my experience in the SYRF Systems
dynamic synergetic meditiation club changed this. Before this piano exam I
underwent a slow meditation process using DSM, slowing my breathing, and
calming my body. This calmed my nerves as I went into the examination room.
This initial meditation, coupled with several short meditations preceding each
piece, drastically changed the overall effect of my exam. I found myself much
more engaged in the music, and hence, played the pieces with a greater passion
that up to that point I did not know I possessed."
IB1 (grade 11) student
“I practiced DSM before my English oral exam this past December (I often get nervous before presentations and I found that the meditation relaxed me and improved the quality of my presentation because it was more continuous and less chopped up by pauses). In general meditating has worked well for me as a way to relax before important events.”
IB2 (grade 12) student.
Conclusion
The data strongly suggests that the practice of DSM on its own and in conjunction with Energy Field Resonance has a positive effect in improving focus, energy, strength and endurance while transforming stress and increasing relaxation specifically in teenage boys and in the wider population. To understand precisely why it has these effects will require further research but the preliminary indications and the teachings of Buckminster Fuller lead me to the following possible explanation:
1. Nature/Universe has had billion of years evolving and co-evolving. It has used this time to experiment with different designs and properties, keeping and advancing those that are functional, adaptable and sustainable and discarding those that are not.
2. Nature/Universe operates on a variety of General Principles, that have been discovered by humanity but are generally revealed and understood by only a relatively few individuals.
3. These individuals are in most cases specialists who have a myopic view of Universe.
4. One of the fundamental general principles of Universe is Synergy. Synergy by definition discloses that the behaviour of whole systems is unpredictable from the behaviour of the parts taken separately. It therefore puts the role of the specialist and the generalist in a new perspective.
5. Nature/Universe constructs structures and systems most efficiently by utilizing the tetrahedron and continuous tension. Humanity, in most parts, has ignored this principle and builds its structures based on the cube and on continuous compression. We are therefore operating far below maximum efficiency.
6. By employing the General principles of Nature and the Universe, namely, synergy, continuous tension, leverage and energy fields we can more efficiently and effectively utilise our energy.
7. At maximum exertion, under normal conditions, our muscles only use at most 20% of the muscle fibres during a contraction.
8. By employing a synergy of continuous tensional techniques along with energy field resonance and acupuncture points we can increase the flow of energy to the muscles and cause a greater percentage of muscle fibres to fire in a given event. This kind of resonance can be likened to the resonance that occurs when pushing a car out of a ditch. Small pushes, at the correct frequency and timing, will produce a large effect. The pressure and visualization on the specific acupuncture points are similar to the small pushes, the resonance produce when pushing the car.
9. This will result in greater number of fibres contracting and therefore greater strength and endurance.
Phase
1
Data
Collection and Analysis for DSM
October
20- December 18, 2003
Category of effect Number of Responses per Student per Category
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#6 |
#2 |
#13 |
#7 |
#4 |
#11 |
#25 |
#14 |
#9 |
#14 |
18 |
#5 |
Total |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Calming effect/felt
relaxed/calmed nerves/reduced stress |
1 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
34 |
|
|
Increased ability to
focus mind/concentrate/awareness |
1 |
3 |
|
|
4 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
10 |
|
|
Able to feel the
energy or chi moving/magnetism flowing/felt rejuvenated |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
2 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
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