This outlines the physical changes under gone through meditation. It is not a figment of the imagination but a
progressive strengthening of neural pathways that generates a better balanced
and even more clearly rational outlook on life and experience. In short, it is good for you.
It also states that daily practice reinforces the brain training. This needs to be taken to heart. I will go further. We need to define valuable brain skills we
want improved to our benefit and create effective drills we then practice daily
independent of content. Memory comes to
mind.
I try to grab small chunks of time to do a focused meditation every
day. This naturally subsides unwelcome
stress effects and emotions. This
consists of posing and then closing out the environment and quelling the mind
itself and holding it.
September 28, 2013
Rebecca Gladding, M.D.
I realized today that in all my posts regarding
the brain and
how to sculpt it with mindfulness, I’ve never actually
explained how and why meditation works.
Specifically, the science behind how your brain changes the longer you
meditate. I think this is important for many reasons, but one of the most
salient is that this information serves as a great motivator to keep up a daily
practice (or start one).
I’m sure you’ve heard people extol the virtues
of meditation. You may be skeptical of the claims that it helps with all
aspects of life. But, the truth is, it does. Sitting every day, for at least
15-30 minutes, makes a huge difference in how you approach life, how personally
you take things and how you interact with others. It enhances compassion,
allows you to see things more clearly (including yourself) and creates a sense
of calm and centeredness that is indescribable. There really is no substitute.
For those of you who are curious as to
how meditation changes the brain,
this is for you. Although this may be slightly technical, bear with me because
it’s really interesting. The brain, and how we are able to mold it, is
fascinating and nothing short of amazing. Here are the brain areas you need to
know:
·
Lateral prefrontal cortex: the part of the
brain that allows you to look at things from a more rational, logical and
balanced perspective. In the book, we call it the Assessment Center.
It is involved in modulating emotional responses (originating from the fear center or other
parts of the brain), overriding automatic behaviors/habits and decreasing the
brain’s tendency to take things personally (by modulating the Me Center of the
brain, see below).
·
Medial prefrontal cortex: the part of the
brain that constantly references back to you, your perspective and experiences.
Many people call this the “Me Center” of the brain because it processes
information related to you, including when you are daydreaming, thinking about
the future, reflecting on yourself, engaging in social interactions, inferring
other people’s state of mind or feeling empathy for
others. We call it the Self-Referencing Center.
·
The Brain Without Meditation – Stuck on Me
·
If you were to look at people’s brains before
they began a meditation practice, you would likely see strong neural connections within the Me Center
and between the Me
Center and the bodily sensation/fear centers of the brain. This means that
whenever you feel anxious, scared or have a sensation in your body (e.g., a
tingling, pain, itching, whatever), you are far more likely to assume that
there is a problem (related to you or your safety). This is precisely because
the Me Center is processing the bulk of the information. What’s more, this
over-reliance on the Me Center explains how it is that we often get stuck in
repeating loops of thought about our life, mistakes we made, how people feel
about us, our bodies (e.g., “I’ve had this pain before, does this mean
something serious is going on?) and so on.
·
Why is the Me Center allowed to process
information this way, essentially unabated? The reason this happens, in part,
is because the Assessment Center’s connection to the Me Center is relatively
weak. If the Assessment Center was working at a higher capacity, it would
modulate the excessive activity of the vmPFC (the part that takes things
personally) and enhance the activity of the dmPFC (the part involved in
understanding other’s thoughts and feelings). This would lead us to take in all
the relevant information, discard erroneous data (that the Me Center might want
to focus on exclusively) and view whatever is happening from a more balanced
perspective – essentially decreasing the overthinking, ruminating and worrying
that the Me Center is famous for promulgating. One helpful way to think of the
Assessment Center is as a sort of “brake” for the unhelpful parts of the Me
Center.
·
The Brain on Meditation – I Can See Clearly
Now
·
In contrast, if you meditate on a regular basis, several positive things happen. First,
the strong, tightly held connection between the Me Center (specifically the
unhelpful vmPFC) and the bodily sensation/fear centers begins to break down.
As this connection withers, you will no longer assume that a bodily sensation
or momentary feeling of fear means something is wrong with you or that you are
the problem! This explains, in part, why anxiety decreases the more you
meditate – it’s because the neural paths that link those upsetting sensations
to the Me Center are decreasing. Said another way, your ability to
ignore sensations of anxiety is
enhanced as you begin to break that connection between the unhelpful parts of
the Me Center and the bodily sensation/fear centers. As a result, you are more
readily able to see those sensations for what they are and not respond as
strongly to them (thanks to your strengthened Assessment Center).
·
Second, a heftier, healthier connection
forms between the Assessment Center and bodily sensation/fear centers. This
means that when you experience a bodily sensation or something potentially
dangerous or upsetting, you are able to look at it from a more rational
perspective (rather than automatically reacting and assuming it has something
to do with you). For example, when you experience pain, rather than becoming
anxious and assuming it means something is wrong with you, you can watch the
pain rise and fall without becoming ensnared in a story about what it might
mean.
·
Finally, an added bonus of meditating is that the
connection between the helpful aspects of the Me Center (i.e. dorsomedial
prefrontal cortex) – the part involved in processing information related to
people we perceive as being not
like us – and the bodily sensation center – involved in empathy
– becomes stronger. This healthy connection enhances your capacity to
understand where another person is coming from, especially those who you cannot
intuitively understand because you think or perceive things differently from
them (i.e., dissimilar others). This increased connection explains why
meditation enhances empathy – it helps us use the part of the brain that
infers other people’s states of mind, their motivations, desires, dreams and so on, while
simultaneously activating the part of the brain involved in the actual
experience of empathy (insula). The end result is
that we are more able to put ourselves in another person’s shoes (especially
those not like us), thereby increasing our ability to feel empathy and
compassion for everyone.
·
Daily Practice is Important
·
Essentially, the science “proves” what we know to be true
from the actual experience of meditating. What the data demonstrate is that
meditation facilitates strengthening the Assessment Center, weakening the
unhelpful aspects of the Me Center (that can cause you to take things
personally), strengthening the helpful parts of the Me Center (involved with
empathy and understanding others) and changing the connections to/from the
bodily sensation/fear centers such that you experience sensations in a less
reactive, more balanced and holistic way. In a very real way, you literally
are changing your brain for the better when you meditate.
·
In the end, this means that you are able to see yourself
and everyone around you from a clearer perspective, while simultaneously being more
present, compassionate and empathetic with people no matter the
situation. With time and practice, people do truly become calmer, have a
greater capacity for empathy and find they tend to respond in a more balanced
way to things, people or events in their lives.
·
However, to maintain your gains, you have to keep
meditating. Why? Because the brain can very easily revert back to its old ways
if you are not vigilant (I’m referencing the idea of neuroplasticity here).
This means you have to keep meditating to ensure that the new neural pathways you worked so
hard to form stay strong.
·
To me, this amazing brain science and the very real rewards gained from meditation combine to form
a compelling argument for developing and/or maintaining a daily practice. It
definitely motivates me on those days I don’t “feel” like sitting. So, try to
remind yourself that meditating every day, even if it’s only 15 minutes, will
keep those newly formed connections strong and those unhelpful ones of the past
at bay.
·
Addendum:
For those wanting to start a meditation practice or who might be experiencing
emotional issues, memories, etc. when meditating, please seek out an experienced
medtiation teacher. I have received some comments from people stating they do
not believe meditation works (which is likely true for some people) or that it
could be harmful if done incorrectly. Obviously, meditation has been very
positive for me, but I have always worked with a meditation teacher or mentor
and I would suggest you do the same, as a teacher can help you figure out what
is right for you and guide you through any difficulties you may be having.
·
About the Author
·
Rebecca Gladding, M.D., is an author
of the book, You Are Not Your Brain, co-written with Jeffrey M. Schwartz, M.D. Dr. Gladding
served as a clinical instructor and attending psychiatrist at UCLA and was
featured in A&E’s critically acclaimed series Obsessed. She
is an expert in anxiety, depression, mindfulness and the Four Steps. More of
Dr. Gladding’s excellent articles can be read on her blog Use
Your Mind to Change Your Brain on PsychologyToday.com.
1 comment:
I couldn't agree more - when I started meditating (almost) daily I found my anxiety decrease and control over my emotions increase. If you don't have a meditation teacher nearby, yogaglo.com is fantastic. (I'm not affiliated with them but I am a subscriber.)
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