Root Crown Connection: Epigenetics and Ancestral Healing

Science is making a leap forward in a way that it is actually uncovering ancient truths or beliefs.  One such field making its imprint in today’s world of medicine is the field of epigenetics. It’s really a new name for an ancient concept. Also called ancestral healing, many ancient cultures hold a tradition of honoring their ancestors through various rituals. It is a way of acknowledging their pains and struggles and in the bargain understanding our own history/lineage and where we come from, both physiologically as well as emotionally.  So what has honoring our ancestors got to do with our illness and healing? Let’s find out. 

Beginning at the root of the issue, pun intended, let’s take a look at a little bit of cell biology. After the fertilization of the egg with the sperm, there is a stage during early cell division in-utero when cells in the inner cell mass of the zygote are pluripotent, meaning they can eventually turn into the cells of any body tissue (muscle, brain, bone, etc). In yogic philosophy we would see this fascinating feat as the Mahat or innate intelligence (in this case cellular intelligence) at play. Mahat exists across all forms in nature (prakriti). An acorn contains the information for a full grown oak tree. 

We inherit genes from our parents. But it is through the process of gene expression that the cells decide to become ear cells or liver cells. DNA methylation, an epigenetic mechanism regulates gene expression by recruiting proteins involved in gene repression or by inhibiting the binding of transcription factor(s) to DNA. There is evidence that shows that DNA Methylation plays a role in the creation of memory storage of our samskaras. Samskaras are habits created when thoughts and actions become impressions on the mind. These repetitive behaviors strengthen neural pathways which can unconsciously affect our reactions to stimuli which becomes our actions or karma.

Genetics is the study of heritable changes in gene activity or function due to the direct alteration of the DNA sequence such as point mutations, deletions, insertions, and translocation. In contrast, epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene activity or function that is not associated with any change of the DNA sequence itself.

Epigenetic information is influenced by the environment and is passed on by parents to their offspring. Can parents pass on their environmental responses to their offsprings? A study carried out on mice who smelled cherry flowers while they received electric shocks and later on responded to just the smell of the cherry flower with fear. Interestingly, their offspring who were born and who did not receive electrical shocks in their lifetime showed the same fear responses to the smell of cherry flowers.

Here is the article if you would like to learn more about this study and experiment.

A genetic trait is not just a product of genes but also a product of the environment. A person’s genome is decided by any number of decisions that their ancestors made. 

Thus we see that the memory or smriti of our ancestors formed mental waves/disturbance or vrittis due to their response to stimulus. This lead to the creation of neural pathways or samskaras which in turn lead to an action/emotion of fear which is karma. This is the cycle of vritti-samskara-karma. This is our cycle of bondage not just to many lifetimes but our bondage (to our emotions or kleshas and illnesses) within this lifetime and that of our offsprings. 

So when we talk about ancestors and genes and acquiring samskaras and karma, do we surrender to our fate and blame our family? Again the sutras are here to offer us guidance. It is through detachment (vairagya)  that we transcend the mind (patterns of choice and reaction) and come out of the cycles of karma. When the repeated karmas or actions are controlled, we will stop the accumulation of samskaras leading us to moksha or freedom from bondage. We may still be far away from this goal, but knowing the power our choices carry, all we have to do is take it one step at a time.

Patanjali beautifully in his Yoga Sutras gives us an answer to ancestral trauma healing or our own trauma healing: 

Yoga Chitta Vritti Nirodha. 

When there is a cessation of vritti, there is no samskaras and hence no karma.. We are healed. We are free!

I have attached some great articles below which were the source of reference for my article:

Article on DNA Methylation and Memory Formation

Article on Yoga and inflammation and gene expression