Meditation may protect brain. For thousands of years, Buddhist meditators have claimed that the simple act of sitting down and following their breath while letting go of intrusive thoughts can free one from the entanglements of neurotic suffering. Now, scientists are using cutting-edge scanning technology to watch the meditating mind at work. They are finding that regular meditation has a measurable effect on a variety of brain structures related to attention — an example of what is known as neuroplasticity, where the brain physically changes in response to an intentional exercise.
A team of Emory University scientists reported in early September that experienced Zen meditators were much better than control subjects at dropping extraneous thoughts and returning to the breath. The same researchers reported last year that longtime meditators don’t lose gray matter in their brains with age the way most people do, suggesting that meditation may have a neuro-protective effect. Where does all this lead? Meditation alters brain structure. All of the Dalai Lama's guests peered intently at the brain scan projected onto screens at either end of the room, but what different guests they were. On one side sat five neuroscientists, united in their belief that physical processes in the brain can explain all the wonders of the mind, without appeal to anything spiritual or nonphysical. Facing them sat dozens of Tibetan Buddhist monks in burgundy-and-saffron robes, convinced that one round-faced young man in their midst is the reincarnation of one of the Dalai Lama's late teachers, that another is the reincarnation of a 12th-century monk, and that the entity we call "mind" is not, as neuroscience says, just a manifestation of the brain.
It was not, in other words, your typical science meeting. The term refers to the brain's recently discovered ability to change its structure and function, in particular by expanding or strengthening circuits that are used and by shrinking or weakening those that are rarely engaged. Meditation - brain imaging. Public release date: 5-Apr-2011 [ Print | E-mail Share ] [ Close Window ] Contact: Marguerite Beckmarbeck@wakehealth.edu 336-716-2415Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – April 5, 2011 – Meditation produces powerful pain-relieving effects in the brain, according to new research published in the April 6 edition of the Journal of Neuroscience. "This is the first study to show that only a little over an hour of meditation training can dramatically reduce both the experience of pain and pain-related brain activation," said Fadel Zeidan, Ph.D., lead author of the study and post-doctoral research fellow at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
"We found a big effect – about a 40 percent reduction in pain intensity and a 57 percent reduction in pain unpleasantness. For the study, 15 healthy volunteers who had never meditated attended four, 20-minute classes to learn a meditation technique known as focused attention. . [ Print | E-mail AAAS and EurekAlert! How to meditate. Meditation changes brain structure. Participating in an 8-week mindfulness meditation program appears to make measurable changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. In a study that will appear in the January 30 issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, a team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers report the results of their study, the first to document meditation-produced changes over time in the brain's grey matter.
"Although the practice of meditation is associated with a sense of peacefulness and physical relaxation, practitioners have long claimed that meditation also provides cognitive and psychological benefits that persist throughout the day," says Sara Lazar, PhD, of the MGH Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program, the study's senior author. "This study demonstrates that changes in brain structure may underlie some of these reported improvements and that people are not just feeling better because they are spending time relaxing. " Body meditation to dissolve fears. Morning “Check In” — What is present and what is arising? Steve Goodheart Essay When I awake in the morning, the first thing I do is “check in” to myself to see what’s going on.
I consciously breathe in and out, center myself, and just listen and watch to see what arises. I try not to get snagged by anything, but just be open to the whole experience that I identify as “I” or “me.” This morning what arose, as I got quiet enough to see, was an oppressive sense of fear and unease. Looking deeper, I saw that there were nameless fears about my body, fear about the struggles of friends and loved ones, and fear about the problems of the world. Often, my response to such feelings is to begin metta—loving-kindness meditation—for myself, for the loved ones, and for the world. But today, instead of doing metta, I felt the need to look more deeply into the fears, individually.
Looking into fears with mindfulness and interest Do you feel a tightness in the stomach? Smiling helps you let go. Like this: Meditation myths. 1. Meditation has to be done sitting – with legs crossed and eyes closed: Nothing could be further from the truth, meditation is the act of concentration and focusing on one specific object with the conscious exclusion of all else, typically experienced as an altered state of consciousness. This can be done while you are walking down the street, staring at your computer, brushing your teeth, etc. In fact, many millions of people frequently practice a non-conscious type of meditation for many hours each day, it’s called watching TV.
As an example of a non-sitting meditation, I was working with somebody who has a much slower pace than me and as a result I was starting to become agitated and wanting to rush him. Not only would this not work, it would certainly aggravate him thereby making the situation worse. Solution – I did a quick mental visualization to become more patient. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Investigating the mind. Breathing our feelings. Meditation articles. Photo credit: mariskar For thousands and thousands of years meditation has been helping people achieve good health, a long life and lasting happiness. But just as little as 200 years ago you had to travel to India, China or Japan to learn anything about this wonderful practice.
Now, however, with the help of scientists and engineers we can study meditation on the internet and meet Tibetan lamas in our own towns! For those of you interested in meditation I have put together a list of 13 articles that could help you change your life. Karmapa teaches a Buddhist text for lay people At the Kagyu Monlam the 17th Karmapa taught a text called Nagajurna’s Letter to a Friend which is a letter that the author sent to his friend, the king. As such it has been a wonderful guide book for lay people who are interested in meditation and applying Buddhist philosophy to everyday life. The Dalai Lama teaches us how to meditate Here is a wonderful teaching by the Dalai Lama on how to meditate. Conclusion. Howto. Meditation makes you nicer. Tip of the day.
Wildmind.