{"id":5594,"date":"2017-09-21T11:07:43","date_gmt":"2017-09-21T15:07:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tambulimedia.com\/?p=5594"},"modified":"2024-01-09T09:34:34","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T14:34:34","slug":"harvard-meditation-really-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tambulimedia.com\/harvard-meditation-really-works\/","title":{"rendered":"Harvard: Meditation Really Works!"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Dr. Mark Wiley<\/p>\n

Meditative practices were developed thousands of years ago, in countries like Tibet, China, and India. The various practices made their way West and eventually grabbed the interest of mind-body enthusiasts and psychologists.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, there are enough people practicing meditation, and enough researchers and big institutions doing trials, that meditation is gaining ground as perhaps the best overall non-medical practice for self-development and promotion of well-being.<\/span><\/p>\n

8 Weeks to a Better Brain<\/strong><\/p>\n

Recent research from<\/span> Harvard<\/a> shows that practicing meditation regularly for as little as eight weeks can cause beneficial physiological structural changes in the brain\u2019s grey matter. This is important because most of the brain\u2019s neural cell bodies are found within grey matter, which itself encompasses regions of the brain that effect sensory perception (sight and sound), muscle control, memory, emotions, auditory functions and how we make decisions and apply self-control. In other words, this is amazing proof of the power of meditation to positively affect almost every aspect of your well-being.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>For the study the researchers utilized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to gain images of participants\u2019 brains two weeks before and then right after the meditation study period. For eight weeks participants (meditation experts and novices) meditated using the MBSR (mindfulness based stress reduction) method for 27 minutes per day using guided meditation recordings.<\/span><\/p>\n

All participants self-reported feeling less stressed. Importantly, the MRIs showed a clear decrease of the grey matter in the parts of the brain known as the amygdalae (which help us deal with stress, anxiety and controls the \u2018fight or flight\u2019 response). Additionally, the MRI showed an increase of gray matter in the hippocampus (the area that controls memory, learning, self-awareness, compassion).<\/span><\/p>\n

This is objective proof that meditation changes our brains in a positive way that helps us reduce our stress response while increasing our concentration, decision making, and compassion toward others.<\/span><\/p>\n

Improved Cardiovascular and Neurological Changes<\/strong><\/p>\n

A recent study published in<\/span> Frontiers of Human Neuroscience<\/em><\/a> shows the benefits that long-term meditation practice has on the heart and nervous system. For the study, researchers used wireless sensor technology to examine variations between novice and experienced participants while meditating, through continuous monitoring of vital signs (via EEG, blood pressure, heart rate variability).<\/span><\/p>\n

Forty participants (half with experience and half novice) took part in a one week wellness retreat where their meditation sessions were monitored on their first and last days to compare changes in vital signs readings. Changes in EEG, BP and HRV showed that meditation does, objectively, produce improved physiologic responses in the body.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many Ways to Meditate<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are many ways to meditate, and most have in common the practice of single-point focus with controlled breathing. In other words, they contain a mindfulness component, even if they are not strictly \u201cmindfulness meditation.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With the above studies showing how meditation can directly affect positive physiological changes in our brain, body, senses and emotions I wanted to share a bit about Daoist meditation practice. Daoist meditation is among the very old forms of meditation and also contains elements of what the ancient Chinese refer to as \u201cinternal alchemy\u201d or \u201cinternal elixir\u201d development practices for improving and prolonging life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Daoist Meditation<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The great sage Laozi (Lao Tzu) said, <\/span>\u201cConsider how empty and full exist in each other, difficulty and ease change into each other, long and short are elements of each other, top and bottom rest on each other, sound and noise blend together, back and front chase each other.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

He is referring here to the Daoist concept of yin\/yang or the complimentary forces of seemingly opposites. In Daoist meditation the body and mind are still (yin) yet the body energy (physiology) is changing (yang). Along these lines, RJ Coons in his book, Internal Elixir Cultivation<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/span>, writes, \u201cDaoism as a practice is fundamentally rooted in creating something from nothing \u2014 or more exactly, the focus on the soft and feminine in order to create the strong and dynamic. Daoism views the ultimate outcome of concentration on the yin aspect of our being as being the birth and growth of the dynamic yang nature which we are trying to become.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s jump out of the philosophical (yin) and into the physical (yang) with the basic techniques of Daoist meditation practice.<\/span><\/p>\n

Basic Meditation Practice<\/strong><\/p>\n

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