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How Meditation Changes Your Brain

meditate, meditationThere is growing evidence to show that meditation can make people healthier and happier. It may even increase lifespan, alter brain structure and change personality.

Now, mainstream medicine is beginning to take notice of meditation’s effects. For example, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), which is about 80 percent meditation, has been approved in Britain for use with people who have experienced three or more episodes of depression.

MRI scans of long-term meditators have shown greater activity in brain circuits involved in paying attention. Long-term meditation can also cause changes in the actual structure of your cortex, the outer layer of your brain. Brain regions associated with attention and sensory processing have been shown to be thicker in meditators.

Studies suggest that meditation can help you to train your attention and focus, even in the midst of distractions. For instance, when disturbing noises were played to a group of experienced meditators undergoing an MRI, they had little effect on the brain areas involved in emotion and decision-making.

About 10 million people meditate every day in the West, and many more in other parts of the world.

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Dr. Mercola''s Comments Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Before you brush off meditation as something only for Buddhist monks or hippies, it would serve you well to find out what you may be missing.

Meditation is the equivalent of giving your mind an escape valve to blow off steam.

This is such a necessary tool in today’s 24/7 society that many people naturally engage in some form of meditation whenever they feel stressed -- listening to music, journaling, prayer, soaking in a bath, all of these work similarly to meditation in that they focus your mind and help promote a state of calm.

In so doing, your pulse, breathing and heart rate are likely to slow down, and your muscles will begin to relax. Your mind, too, will begin to unwind and forget about its racing thoughts.

At its most basic level, meditation helps you take a deliberate break from the stream of thoughts that are constantly flowing in and out of your mind. Some people use it to promote spiritual growth or find inner peace, while others use it as a relaxation and stress-reduction tool.

And while it’s not unusual for the most experienced meditators to have spent decades, even a lifetime, perfecting this art, you can gain benefits just from meditating in your home for 20 minutes a day.                                                              

What Can 20 Minutes a Day do for You?

Meditation has been shown to alter the workings of your brain not only in the short-term, but quite possibly permanently. Meditating thickens the areas of your brain where memory and attention reside, according to a Harvard study, and although the aging process lightens the brain in certain sectors, 20 minutes of meditation a day slows that down a bit.

Meditation can also improve your attention span, even while you’re performing mundane tasks in the mid-afternoon, a time when people typically have problems concentrating. Interestingly enough, according to one study the benefits of meditation remained strong even after patients lost a night's sleep in follow-up research.

Meanwhile, because meditation works so well to relieve stress, it can benefit all types of stress-related illness … and as you regular newsletter readers know, just about every illness is stress-related. This may explain why meditation can help to relieve:
  • High blood pressure
  • Chronic pain, including headaches
  • Respiratory problems such as emphysema and asthma 
  • Sleep disturbances and fatigue
  • Gastrointestinal distress and irritable bowel syndrome
  • Skin disorders
  • Mild depression and premenstrual syndrome
Clearly, meditation ranks right up there with exercising and eating right when it comes to improving your health. And it’s something that just about everyone can carve out the time to do.

Simple Guidelines to Start Meditating

If you’d like to give meditation a try, sit quietly, perhaps with some soothing music, breathe rhythmically and focus on something such as your breathing, a flower, an image, a candle, a mantra or even just being in the moment. Some people prefer to close their eyes to block out visual stimulation. If you find that your mind starts to wander, direct it back to your focus point and continue from there.

Ideally, set aside 15-20 minutes a day to practice meditation. You can also try it in shorter segments, but ultimately try to work your way up to 20 minutes.

I’m also a major fan of brainwave entrainment technology, which is usually available in CD form. When you listen, you’re exposed to a combination of frequencies that induce powerful states of focused concentration or deep relaxing meditation while stimulating various parts of your brain to work together.

The benefit is that you can begin experiencing the deep frequencies right away, as opposed to having to work up to that level with traditional meditation.

However you choose to do it, just make sure you are giving your mind some down time to relax, regroup and recharge on a regular basis.


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Comment on This Article Community Comments (36)
 
 
Posted On Jun 21, 2008
While exercising is a time that I'm sure a lot of people find that they do a lot of meditating as well as quiet times set aside for this purpose.

 
Aaltrude
Moderator User Moderator User, Joined On 4/2007
Aaltrude  
Replied

JWRM42
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 2/2007
JWRM42  
 
Posted On Jun 24, 2008
This may be exactly why exercise ceases addiction, benefits diabetes, reduces your risk for cancers, and many other health benefits, since you are in a meditative state when you exercise.

42


Tina3
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 6/2006
Tina3  
 
Posted On Jul 12, 2008

I've pretty much worked out my entire life. For the past several years I've been a runner. Never been one for sitting still. I've always referred to my workouts or runs as "meditation in motion"...cuz that's exactly how they feel, and that's exactly what they are. The reason why is because it's hard, so your complete attention is required for this present moment activity.

"AAAhhhh...how wonderful the feeling of motion that lies at the heart of athletic devotion":)



LReavis
Novice User Novice User Joined On 4/2008
LReavis  
 
Posted On Jul 12, 2008

In 1970, I was an atheist, working as a college prof. Disillusioned with my research in social psychology (our expensive studies in poverty didn't seem to be benefitting the poor), I resigned from most of my research projects, cancelled some 33 journal subscriptions, and sat in my Dallas backyard every night from 7pm 'til 2am. After a few months, my mind calmed down and I realized that sometimes I could hear my friends talking, friends who were a mile or more away - an unsettling observation for a skeptical atheist, especially when next day sometimes I could confirm the details of what I had heard. One thing lead to another (too many weird events to convey here), and in 1973 I decided I should learn some proper meditation techniques. I went to the campus bookstore and picked up seven promising books. On the way to the cashiere, I saw Autobiography of a Yogi, by Paramahansa Yogananda, in a stack on the floor - not on the shelves. But I passed it by - I didn't want to spend money on a story; I wanted how-to-do-it techniques. While standing in the check-out line, I kept hearing a little voice saying "false economy, false economy." So I went back and got it. When I got home, I found that I was literally unable to read the book on Sufism that I had thought promising. I'd get to the end of the first sentence, but couldn't remember how it began. So I picked up the Autobiography; and soon subscribed to his SRF Lessons. Since the mid-70s I've practiced Yoganandaji's exercises & meditated at least a couple of hours per day. Now I understand why St. Teresa of Avila said in her book, The Interior Castle, "Oh, sisters! How shall I ever be able to tell you of the riches and treasures and the delights . . . no one can describe them . . . and no comparisons will avail to explain them. . ." Yoganandaji says, "If you could feel even a particle of divine love, so great would be your joy - so overpowering - you could not contain it." If you are curious, check out www.yogananda-srf.org


 
 
 
Posted On Jun 23, 2008
anyone use a binaural beat meditation cd?

 
Rurouni Kenshin
Novice User Novice User, Joined On 6/2006
Rurouni Kenshin  
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JWRM42
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 2/2007
JWRM42  
 
Posted On Jun 24, 2008
No, I don't. But I have a cd that gets you into the "alpha" level of mind which is probably similar, it's by Jose Silva. I'll check it out.

42


BobbyLee
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 6/2006
BobbyLee  
 
Posted On Jun 24, 2008
Yes, I do.  There are some for active thinking, and some for full out relaxation. The ones I have for full relaxation get your brain to go to theta state (deeply relaxing).  I usually fall asleep. 

For those unaware, this has nothing to to with subliminal. This is a specific technology to get your brain to think slightly differently on the opposite sides of the brain.

Papa :Lee



Lightia
Novice User Novice User Joined On 7/2008
Lightia  
 
Posted On Jul 12, 2008

Yes, I do. I have been using a meditation program in CD that I feel has helped me be able to meditate deeper and more efficiently... highly recommend it.


 
 
 
Posted On Jul 13, 2008

I am curious, how can someone who has trouble focusing participate in TM?  I have tried, and almost always end in frusturation.  I would appreciate learning about how others with ADD have acomplished a successful meditation practice.  Thanks!


 
happyhippy
Novice User Novice User, Joined On 7/2007
happyhippy  
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pace4ever
Novice User Novice User Joined On 12/2006
pace4ever  
 
Posted On Jul 15, 2008

Hey happyhippy,to your post from july 13: i would personally refer to your TM teacher first and tell her/him how you fell. I've been practising TM for almost a year and cannot say I dont end in frusturation sometimes. But I believe it's 100 per cent OK coz it means your nervous system is cleansing itself from all the "crap". ..same with me. During TM I fell how my organism is getting rid of all the harms the nervous system experienced in the past or still is experiencing in the present. This feeling is quite unpleasant. But you will eventually work your way out and reach that undescriptive feeling of PEACE that I have already experienced so many times! Just give it a time and your ADD will vanish with all other distractions. :)

Hope this helps you a little. Bye, Jan


 
 
 
Posted On Jul 12, 2008

I meditate daily as part of my Buddhist tradition.  I wrote a narrative to help me meditate. Perhaps someone will find it helpful.

www.hologramthoughts.com/.../a-meditation-on-chenrezig

Matt


 
MattW
Novice User Novice User, Joined On 7/2008
MattW  
 
 
 
Posted On Jul 12, 2008

From what I've experienced, there are all kinds of purposes for all kinds of meditation.  In general, when done correctly, meditation does connect you to your higher consciousness.  Since we're at Dr. Mercola's site, we can talk about meditation for health and well being.  Specifically, I would point out internal martial arts meditation like Tai Chi Qigong, Kuji Kiri, or Tridaya Tenega Delam.

In martial arts, the idea of exercise is collect energy in the limbs and flesh while meditation takes that collected energy and focuses it along pathes of circulation such as the extraordinary vessels and meridians to increase elements of health attached with those particular pathes of energy.  Coincidently, small circulation meditation increases focus and concentration while creating new neural pathways for inner control such as that of the autonomic nervous system.

Deep breathe control is key to proper meditation of any kind.  Remember to relax your focus as if looking into the distant horizon of an ocean and relax your jaw by letting it drop slightly.  These actions relax the 1st through 5th cranial nerves which allows you to induce instant relaxation.


 
HealingMindN
Apprentice User Apprentice User, Joined On 5/2007
HealingMindN  
 
 
 
 
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