Is meditation the push-up for the brain?
(Medical Xpress) -- Two years ago, researchers at UCLA found that specific regions in the brains of long-term meditators were larger and had more gray matter than the brains of individuals in a control group. This suggested that meditation may indeed be good for all of us since, alas, our brains shrink naturally with age. Now, a follow-up study suggests that people who meditate also have stronger connections between brain regions and show less age-related brain atrophy. Having stronger connections influences the ability to rapidly relay electrical signals in the brain. And significantly, these effects are evident throughout the entire brain, not just in specific areas. Eileen Luders, a visiting assistant professor at the UCLA Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, and colleagues used a type of brain imaging known as diffusion tensor imaging, or DTI, a relatively new imaging mode that provides insights into the structural connectivity of the brain. But there is a "but."
Science Explores Meditation's Effect on the Brain
Meditations: The Inner Science
If you want to live a more fulfilled life, first you will want to know your potential, who you really are. Meditation is the route to that knowing. It is the methodology of the science of awareness. The beauty of the inner science is that it enables whoever wants to explore and to experiment within, to do so alone. Many meditative techniques require one to sit still and silent. Osho Active Meditations have been scientifically designed by Osho over a period of time to enable us to consciously express and experience repressed feelings and emotions, and learn the knack of watching our habitual patterns in a new way. But what is meditation exactly?
The Science of Meditation
In the highlands of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, people look at life differently. Upon entering the local Buddhist monastery, there is a spectacular sculpture the size of a large oak. The intricate carving of clouds and patterns are painted in powerful colors. And life here is not easy. When villagers cook, sew or plow the fields, they do so in a tranquil state. To explore exactly what part of the brain meditation acts on, researchers at Harvard Medical School used MRI technology on participants to monitor brain activity while they meditated. Aside from determining its physiological effects, defining the actual act of meditation can be as elusive as imagining the sound of one hand clapping. The physical act of meditation generally consists of simply sitting quietly, focusing on one's breath, a word or phrase. There are many traditions and countless ways to practice meditation, and perhaps because of its polymorphous nature new meditators wonder whether they are doing it correctly.
Spirit Vaults : Meditation - Essay - StumbleUpon
It seems everyone is interested in meditation...talking about the wonderful benefits, recommending classes and discussing the different ways to "do it". But, for a beginner, just what is "it"? And how do you do "it"? Our busy, hectic, lifestyles may seem to prohibit this peaceful practice, or provide a convenient "excuse" not to begin, or continue, to meditate...but, the happy news is, you CAN successfully benefit even if you practice for short periods. Sit comfortably, preferably upright and alert. To sit on a mat, cushion or pillow, sit cross-legged, half or full lotus, depending on your ability. You may close your eyes (unless this causes you to fall asleep) or gaze with almost-closed eyes as if looking downward and inward. Traditionally, the best times to practice are upon arising and in the evening or before bedtime. Meditation is a cultivation process --- be patient and natural, enjoy each moment, do not "try hard"...just allow and everything will naturally fall-into-place.
Buddhist monk is the world's happiest man
Tibetan monk and molecular geneticist Matthieu Ricard is the happiest man in the world according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin. The 66-year-old’s brain produces a level of gamma waves - those linked to consciousness, attention, learning and memory - never before reported in neuroscience. As he grins serenely and his burgundy robes billow in the fresh Himalayan wind, it is not difficult to see why scientists declared Matthieu Ricard the happiest man they had ever tested. The monk, molecular geneticist and confidant of the Dalai Lama, is passionately setting out why meditation can alter the brain and improve people's happiness in the same way that lifting weights puts on muscle. "It's a wonderful area of research because it shows that meditation is not just blissing out under a mango tree but it completely changes your brain and therefore changes what you are," the Frenchman told AFP. But he has not always been on the path to enlightenment. Copyright (2012) AFP.
