Meditation can be conceptualised as a family of complex emotional
and attentional regulatory training practices developed for various ends.
Recently, the therapeutic use of meditation, including mindfulness based techniques, has become increasingly important in the treatment
of physiological and psychological conditions.
A convergent line of neuro scientific evidence suggests that meditation alters the functional and structural plasticity of distributed neural processes underlying attention and emotion. Here are a few ways in which meditation affects the brain :
- Gyrification – MRI scans have shown that meditation increases Gyrification, or cortical folding, which allows the brain to process information faster. The extent of gyrification is highly implicated as being positively related to intelligence.
- Brain Function – Meditation increases whole brain function, by synchronising the right and left hemispheres of the brain while increasing balance and amplitude in alpha, theta and delta brain-wave patterns.
- Focus – Meditation improves focus by causing an increase in cortical thickness in regions of the brain responsible for attention.
- Mood – Meditation increases dopamine and serotonin levels by stimulating regions of the brain which are associated with happiness and positivity.
- Stress Reduction – Meditation decreases stress and anxiety by down regulating cortisol and adrenaline creating a state of deep relaxation in which our breathing, pulse rate, blood pressure, and metabolism are decreased.
- Cognition – Meditation improves cognitive function, mindfulness and the ability to sustain focus by increasing grey matter, brain volume and cerebral blood flow.
In conclusion, mindfulness has the potential to facilitate trainee and therapists’ development, as well as affect change mechanisms known to contribute to successful psychotherapy. The field of psychology could benefit from future research examining cause and effect relationships in addition to meditational models in order to better understand the benefits
of mindfulness and mindfulness meditation practice.
Be Inspired..!! 
Nice post !!! Can you also teach how to do mediation??? I would really like to try 😊😊
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Sure Smita. Let me write a post on that soon.
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There’s some interesting angles to this. I find meditation by focusing on breathing very hard, because i am unable to focus on my breathing without consciously breathing and controlling it. For me the best thing has been to focus on something external to me, either with eyes open staring at some distant point, or listening to relaxing meditation music. I think this is related to a kind of OCD (somatic), which also leads into the subject of some mental health conditions making meditation more difficult. Anyways i think the key point, is to not be afraid of experimentation with it.
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Everything is okay as long as it helps you to focus. Focus is a state of nothingness where the mind is silenced.
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Great article! Thanks.
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Glad you liked it Megala.
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Another great, helpful and informative post. Truly appreciate your blog. On another note 📝. I have nominated you for the Special Blogger Award. It will be posted today. Thank You!
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Thank you. What is the special blogger award about?
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I ahve to admit that I’ve never tried true meditation, it sounds very therapeutic.
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Hey Mark, you should try it sometime. The way you see, smell, hear, and taste could be altered due to meditation. According to the 2017 study, many participants saw visions, hallucinations, illusions, or lights that weren’t there. Some reported increased sensitivity to light and noise and a distortion in time and space.
According to Psychology Today, some people go into meditation with the hope that they’ll experience such visions as the ones listed above, a mindset that is unproductive and can lead to frustration. Thank you for stopping by.
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meditation is so important. I fall into and out of the habit but need to develop it into a life long practice – I am inspired to after reading your post.
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I understand where you are coming from. I have been through it. Here’s what I Did. Do it anywhere and everywhere
Unlike exercising your body, you don’t get sweaty exercising your mind. So you can do it in your normal clothes, wherever you happen to be, and move on to the rest of your day. Hope you find this useful. Thank you for stopping by.
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Thankyou! Yes that’s so funny I have begin to do this and it helps – I try to return to the breath as often as possible throughout the day. It’s helping
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Breath is most helpful. Good Luck.
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Great read!
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Glad you liked it. We give so little importance to meditation while we should give more.
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I tried meditation but my concentration shatters. Thank u for the post
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Don’t give up. Concentration comes when we do meditation consistently. It improves seconds by seconds each day.
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Seconds by seconds.. Omg
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Hahahhahahha yes well it is a slow process. But being mindful in everything we do also helps.
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🙂
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All your post’s are great. A wonderful blog page. 💗💜🧡
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Thank you Prashanti. I am glad you liked my posts. Thank you again for stopping by.
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What a nice description about mindfulness!
Have a read of this book – The Heartfulness Way: Heart-Based Meditations for Spiritual Transformation. This will give you a deeper sense of meditation.
Nice blog and wonderful profession you have Dr. God bless!
Small gift. It fulfills me everyday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P59sBpb3xg
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Thank you Aditya for the suggestions. I will definitely check them out.
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