We know meditation can change the brain, but can just one month of meditation really make a difference?
Surprisingly, the answer is yes.
Yi-Yuan Tang, PhD and his research team from Texas Tech University looked at the impact that short-term meditation has on the brain’s white matter.
White matter is fatty tissue that covers brain axons and helps neurons communicate with one another.
The better our neurons communicate, the better our brain functions.
Researchers randomly assigned college undergraduates to one of two groups: an integrative mind-body training group, and a relaxation group. Brain scans were taken before and after the training to measure the amount of white matter.
Integrative mind-body training is a type of meditation that involves body relaxation, guided imagery, mindfulness, and the use of background music to help promote a balanced state of calm awareness.
After 11 hours of training over a 4-week period, brain scans showed that the mind-body group had significantly more white matter in the neurons around the anterior cingulate cortex, the part of the brain responsible for self-regulation, compared to the relaxation group (who did not show any brain changes).
Not only did their brains change, but the mind-body participants also scored significantly lower on tests for anger and hostility, confusion, depression, fatigue, and total mood disturbance compared to the relaxation group.
This study presents interesting findings, but I see a potential problem with the research. Because the integrative mind-body training intervention involved so many elements – guided imagery, background music, and body relaxation – we can’t be sure exactly what made the difference.
Maybe the music alone caused the effect – or maybe some idiosyncratic combination of the different treatments worked together. We can’t know for sure.
So this study has limitations (in my view), but it presents a platform for further research to build on. For instance, I can imagine a stronger study that isolates the effect of meditation alone.
As we grow more and more familiar with the effectiveness of new styles of treatment, our patients can benefit from better health outcomes and have greater peace of mind.
Have you ever noticed results from short-term meditation? And if you’ve been meditating for a longer period of time, what’s the number one benefit you’ve received from meditating? Leave a comment below.
I am not at all surprised by the research you have described. I am very new to meditation and I have found it to be so powerful alongside chakhri healing, yoga, bowen therapy, aromatherapy, and relaxing music. After reading the book, ‘The brain that changes itself’ by Michael Dodge I am convinced that strengthening the connections between our brain neurons (i.e: changing the mind) is the way to combat depression etc and maintain emotional and physical well being. I am new to all this but researching thoroughly and trying to establish regular meditation sessions because this for me is a ‘happy’ pill .
Yes most definitely – but I find 45 minutes the best length of time for me, longer if possible – and mornings the best time. I find the effects of 45 minutes lasts the entire day – I am slower to respond to negativity and am able to control ‘shooting from the hip’, I am more content and simply happier. When difficulties arise I am able to step back (or ‘inhibit’ as we say in the Alexander world)… Alexander teachers have always promoted lying in semi-supline on the floor for 20 minutes. this works from a physical viewpoint very well and in training but eventually as we become more aware of our body in the vertical and daily living we become more self aware more often. With meditation there is a subtle difference because when I meditate I do not only periodically ‘think into my body’ to adjust and soften it, but during meditation I catch my mind wandering and for instance go back to the breath ie., attempt to ’empty’ it…(if one can areally do this with our ‘monkey minds’) . Sometimes I settle into a meditation easily but often I may take time or I never really quite find myself at peace. Howwever, the meditations become more subtle. Also during the day, my ‘inner world’ is larger and my ‘inner world’ is very important to me. Not sure if you would know what I mean by this – but that’s the best I can do for now.
Best wishes,
Shirley
What would the difference be if those who meditated reached a no thought state with awareness crystal clear.
Mindfulness or meditation differs greatly by the depth of your practice.
time tables are useless. It is a personal thing of doing and applying.
Application of your practice is what moves the bubble the most. Do not leave mindfulness on the chair or cushion.
in a word, yes, definitely less. it is an everyday practice of self awareness.
That is why my breathing track works quicker than any other tech inquest I have come across.
Think about counting your. Deaths as most prescribe. This is a high cognitive function.
In reality most people have no clue in a month or a year when they start a meditation practice.
You healers are dealing with clients as I see it, mostly refuse to take action, so it must be simple concrete and immediate in intention.
The Mind and Life Institute in conjunction with neuroscientists and the Dalai Lama plus Jon Kabat Zimm have plenty of studies re: the benefits of meditation on the brain. Years of research with the use of the MRI demonstrate how meditation impacts the brain and the life. I am an example of the changes that occur in the life of one who adopts this discipline.
Sharon Sebring
I am an example of how beneficial meditation has been for someone recovered from severe depression/anxiety phase of bipolar that went into psychosis. I was hospitalized in 2006 for 6 weeks and received ECT which got me out of the psychosis. But, back at home without any therapy except seeing my psychiatrist regularly, the depression took over with a vengance and I overdosed on a combination of my meds. I was on a ventilator for 2 days before being re-admitted to the psych unit at UCLA again. After discharge I participated in an intensive outpatient support program 3 days a week. One class a week was devoted to learning meditation, aroma therapy, sound therapy, etc. From there I was motivated to join a buddhist sangha where I was introduced to the Skillful Meditation Project led by Jason Siff. I am convinced that it saved my life and people are shocked when I tell them my story and how far I’ve come. I include art, exercise, meditation, & contempletive spirituality in my life on a daily basis. It’s a miracle I survived the suicide attempt but even beyond that; I am happier, healthier, and none the worse for wear, living life to it’s fullest. I recommend a meditation practice to all people who want to live in truth and awareness.
These last years I’ve been having a huge transformation and ive been changing a lot, this has cause me a lot of trouble.
I’m not the one that I used to be and I need to make a big change in order to be happy with my life and find myself again.
I’ve never meditated in my life but maybe it’s a good idea. I need to make a new life and be myself again. Stop listening to things that are not valuable that in the past affected me and make difficult life for me.
These last years I’ve been having a huge transformation and ive been changing a lot, this has cause me a lot of trouble.
I’m not the one that I used to be and I need to make a big change in order to be happy with my life and find myself again.
I’ve never meditated in my life but maybe it’s a good idea. I need to make a new life and be myself again. Stop listening to things that are not valuable that in the past affected me and make difficult life for me.
Before developing meditative skills I was highly reactive to unexpected situations. The perception that things are out of my control, would lead me to feel anxious and fearful about whatever was happening-even if it was a benign event. On the days I meditate for 30 minutes or more I find I am more responsive rather than reactive to these kinds of events. I can pause in the moment of immediate anxiety, recognize the feeling as a feeling rather the Truth of something that should not be and choose to settle into what is actually happening rather than what I think might happen.
Absolutely!!
I provide the imagery for guided imagery. We know that contemplating Nature heals-and images of Nature can bring the outdoors in-lowering blood pressure and increasing endorphins.
Would love to collaborate with more practitioners!! Paintings, affordable prints, mural design and more…
During my illness [cancer], the process of painting became a way to focus my mind on the healing harmony inherent in my subjects: reflections in a lake, the strength of an oak weathering a harsh season, the nonresistant flow of water. The act of creating, symbolic in itself, kept me in the now and allowed me to escape, moment by moment, from fear and anxiety. Since then I have been sharing my work with others as a resource for guided imagery and calming contemplation.
Meditations on Nature
HEALING ARTIST
I have been meditating daily for about 11/2 years and find I am calmer, my day flows with ease and a confidence I did not have before. It is very subtle to others but very powerful to your inner well being
I refer to meditation as “having saved my life” from a time of emotional suffering during my 30’s, 40’s. Steven and Ondrea Levine pointed the way. Wonderful to have them, and Ram Dass, part of your series. Now in my late 70’s with 30+ years of meditative experience it continues to enlighten and enrich my moment to moment experience…as well as being a treasured companion as I age.
I am a certified Rosen Method practitioner and began my training seeing the similarity between this bodywork and my meditation experience. I very much identify with Sir Tom Lucas’s experience as there is a “resonance” or entrainment that occurs when I use touch and rest in stillness with my clients. This is very powerful with hospice or end of life clients, resting in our shared humanness and the vastness of the stillness.
My focus for the past 7 years or so has been offering Rosen touch for women with cancer. I’ve volunteered at the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic in Oakland that gives women of low economic means alternative health care. Now for the past 18 months I’ve been teaching a small group of women at the Women’s Cancer Resource Center in Oakland mindfulness/meditation called “Opening the Heart.” It’s interesting … I’ve found both through my work at Charlotte Maxwell and at WCRC that these women have gone through so much with their cancer, they are so receptive to the meditative experience of a vaster perspective. As such they are quite evolved already, and it’s a joy to work with them. I encourage everyone who has this opportunity to try working with those who are experiencing cancer, and the possibility of end-of-life.
I agree with the person who commented that there are many “doorways,” “gateways” to experiencing, integrating the vastness, the ultimate with our daily, more relative experience. And whenever we slip thru those veils we are able to glimpse the magnificent luminosity of this life experience. In my class we do a little qigong, drop into stillness using a body scan, guided meditation, share, talk a bit about uncertainty, impermanence, life experiences and always end with loving kindness. Oh yes, we read a lot of peotry!
Thank you so much for this series, Ruth, and to all of you for your comments.
I encourage you to use touch in our work, AND as several of the presenters mentioned… develop and maintain your own practice whatever it may be. This really is number one.
i agree with Sarha Puyans- esp. in her statements that she believes there are many meditative doors
to inner stillness/ calmness/awareness. And I also find my meditative times to be a sort of companion!
I like to use favorite guided visualizations often, because they give me a kind of jump start into more regular practice and the very visualizations are so uplifting. Also, some can lead one moment by moment into a valuable body scanning and inner communication. (eg Tara Brach)
Even those with subliminal messages can be helpful for many.
I also practice Qi Gong – movement meditation. According to research, it is excellent for all modes of wellness and is accessible to people of all ages and conditions and leads to body-mind integration.
I would be interested in the details of that study, where it was done, when and by whom.
Please do not reference research without giving those details.
Yes, Mindfulness Meditation, a la Jon Kabat-Zinn’s method and research, has shown very positive results, and I note the difference in my own and family members’ levels of focus, calm and well being with regular mediation. I have a son who had dehydration induced epilepsy as a baby, with full seizures starting in his late teens, that were only moderately able to be controlled by medication.
At age 24, he underwent surgery to remove the sclerotic tissure fom the medial area of his right frontal lobe, and his seizures stopped, with no further need for medication after 4-5 years. He began meditating around the time of the surgery, with hopes it would help his recovery. He is now 36 years old, but I can often tell, after just being with him a few minutes, how much he has been meditating or not recently. He notices quite a shift in focus and calm as well from daily meditation of even 20 minutes a day.
Mary Leslie
I have practiced mediation pretty consistenly since my later teens and I am now 69. When I am able to sustain my practice, I notice that I am more calm, peaceful, and able to take things in stride. I have a sense that meditation provides a quiet backdrop to my life which creates a bigger perspective for me to ride the ups and downs of life. Because of this perspective, I am far less reactive, more patient and tolerant with myself and others and with ifficult or painful situations.
On the other hand, when my practice falls off the table due to intense busyness, eventually that perspective that usually sustains and centers me erodes and I find myself more reactive or impatient.
I have practiced meditation most of my adult life beginning in my later teens until now at 69. I have observed that when I sustain a daily practice I am more peaceful an calm, take things in stride, more tolerant and generally I am able to to see larger perspective in the ups and downs of life. However during intensely busy periods of my life when I found sustaining a practice difficult to fit in, I would eventually find myself becoming more easily stressed, anxious, impatient, and less spacious in my approach to life’s ups and downs. For me, meditation creates a calming backdrop with a bigger perspective to live my life.
Dear Ruth – Thank you as ever for your note.
You may be interested in my own findings:
As a (spiritual?) healer since my teens (and semi-retired engineer-physicist who once worked at the Large Quantum Collider in Switzerland), I have observed these days that my therapeutic interventions always benefit from an inital period of mutual meditation on the breath while I touch my patient and/or put my hands about 6 inches in front of their eyes. Laboratory tests using EEG set-ups record my brain waves going to the low-alpha Schumann band with my left/right brains synchronising within seconds; my patient normally entrains with me. I know that we are ready to go when my patient’s eyelashes start to tremble or flicker rapidly. I note that my female patients respond much quicker than heterosexual men. Whenever we have this strong eyelash flickering the patient experiences and reports a “shift”, sometimes within minutes, more often within 48 hours or 21 days at most. The healing/relaxation effect(s) seem to be quite independent of the environment, eg, music etc – in fact, almost the opposite! Excellent results have occured at my office, and in factories, railway stations, trains, on the beach, etc; they even include so-called incurable cases of frozen shoulder, loss of sense of smell, paranoic fear of flying, eyesight correction, and infants three weeks and under, all in 2-5 minutes.
The saga continues … I am in process of writing a ‘whitepaper’.
When I practice meditation I feel calmer and in better control of my emotions. It feel more centred and sleep better. I also notice Meditation and Prayer increases awareness and intuition. Thank you Ruth for sharing this information.
Interesting study. It would easy enough to isolate out individually, the variables/factors in different groups and compare them with groups utilizing say, for example, guided imagery and music for their synergistic effects.
After meditating daily each morning upon rising for 51 days, all systemic edema and pain were gone!
THERE IS A CURE FOR ARTHRITIS! This is no mistake!
Awarness of what’s going on in my mind. The result: acting upon a choice instead of reacting.
Calmer, more energy, more possitive, less depressed, connected.
I’ve practiced meditation for 20 years after learning of a form called Mental ataraxis or ‘stillness of mind’ developed by an eminent Australian Psychiatrist, Ainslie Meares. He was a man ahead of his time who made the mind body connection well before it was common thought, using meditation to help those with cancer and extreme anxiety.
Like many others, I had thought that meditation was not for me as my mind was way too busy. It’s the very reason it became so important to learn and I have developed a discipline of meditating at home for at least 15 minutes every day. Although I have my own independent business, I also work as the Life Coach at a centre in Melbourne that specialises in the use of Stillness Meditation to work with those suffering Anxiety disorders and the success rate is extremely high, even with those experiencing such intense anxiety that they find it difficult to leave their homes to attend the hour long session. Just as the effects of stress have a compound impact on our bodies and coping mechanisms, so too does the ‘antidote,’ meditation, have a compound effect, as it gradually, with discipline, allows the body and mind to rest and reduce levels of cortisol.
I am an advocate of meditation, thinking of it as ‘the discipline of ease’ as it has proven to be a powerful ally for me in times of intense stress yet I do not subscribe to there being only one form that suits everyone. Mindfulness, as an example, has become widely accepted as a therapeutic intervention, even though it was in the past thought to belong to Buddhists. I’m encouraged by the vast array of ‘meditation techniques’ because I’ve found that not everyone can come to a place of stillness and peace by sitting still in silence. Not being able to meditate in a particular way can cause great distress for some and this is not the ideal. Some people ‘need’ the distraction of a mantra, or to focus on the breath, or visualisations, perhaps until they have integrated the meditative experience. They are all doorways to the same place….stillness. I found great comfort in reading Sogyal Rinpoche’s ‘The Tibetan Book of living and dying’ as he explains so eloquently that the method by which you practice meditation is not ‘meditation’ it is the doorway, the ‘means’- “it is through practicing the method skillfully that you reach the perfection of that pure state of total presence which is the real meditation.” He speaks of how in the west, people tend to be absorbed by the ‘technology of meditation.” Yet I agree with him that the most important feature of meditation is not the practical formulae but the ‘spirit’ or ‘intention’ of the practice.
I find that by allowing myself a dedicated quiet time each day, I am, in effect, setting my intention to experience peace and honouring my body and mind in a way that can be difficult in these times of activity and ‘productivity.’ Paradoxically, meditation helps me to be far more productive, time expands as does my level of patience and creativity.
I have come to see in those businesses in which I work, that there is a desperate need for time out, away from computers and other stimuli. No matter what we call it, I know quiet time has a positive effect on individuals AND on organisations. Just ask someone you know who is stressed and anxious how often, if ever, they get time out alone just to ‘be’ or to do something that makes their spirit happy, and you’ll hear the deeply felt sigh of desperation – Oh I wish! But how??
Ease requires commitment, intention and discipline… it’s a life affirming ‘habit’ that requires a life long practice.
I have meditated on & off for the past 40 years, having initially learnt TM in my mid 20’s. Each & every time I come back to regular meditation, usually during a period of stress, indicision, upset or illness, I have reached a place of profound peace & calm. It is from this beautiful place of deep inner knowing that the answers & strength to move on have always come.
During my degree in chiropractic I broke the golden rule of quitting meditating due to pressure of work – I went from bad to worse – feeling very stressed/depressed, unhappy, and dysfunctional…. When the whole degree was over I collected myself and found very quickly I was able to return to a better way of being… the first thing I noticed within a week is just slower to anger and being less inwardly stressed – less ‘self talk’ and guilt and this after years of relapse… I was so grateful…:)! I do think that once the neruons have once been formed then it is easier to climb back (a bit like riding a bike!)…:)
Have you ever noticed results from short-term meditation? YES
And if you’ve been meditating for a longer period of time, what’s the number one benefit you’ve received from meditating? THE LONGER TERM BENEFITS ARE THE ABILITY TO STAY FOCUSED IN THE HERE AND NOW: MINDFULLY LIVING IN THE PRESENT MOMENT AND MORE EASILY ABLE TO RETURN IF LIFE CHANGES THROW ME OFF BALANCE.
I took a 24 hour course in mindfulness training earlier this year that ran over 8 weeks. Whilst I find it difficult to set aside time to practice, I frequently practice whilst waiting for the train, or having to hang around for some other reason.
I feel that I am more relaxed than I used to be. I do not get uptight so readily. I am more tolerant. I do not see faults so quickly. I am more accepting of both people and things, I have more patience.
Amazing results indeed ! As you suggest, further studies to make a multifactorial analysis would be most welcome !
I’ve been doing a little research on the researchers lately and can refer colleagues to three other centers (among several) that have been doing research on meditation as it relates to compassion:
The Center for Compassion and Altruism research, founded by Dr. Jim Doty, a neurosurgeon.
A center at Brown University that researches “the effects of contemplative practices on cognitive, emotional, and physiological aspects of affective disturbances in the interest of the cultivation of greater well-being.” Director is Willoughby Britton PhD.
The Lab for Affective Neuroscience, a center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, directed by Dr. Richard Davidson who has authored several books. I’m sure many in your audience know of his work.
And, here’s a list of researchers in the field who were presenters at the Science of Compassion Conference in July.
Look forward to your next series, Ruth. They’ve all been great!
Really, this study presents interesting findings. I am also very fond of it.
Meditation helps me stay calm and focused in all kinds of situations. It helps me to keep perspective (able to distinguish what’s going on all around me, while staying deeply in calm and peace). It also has helped me to increase vivid, lucid dreaming and planning for my future.
Thanks, Ruth, for pointing us to the research and findings by Dr. Tang et.al.
Tang YY, Lu Q, Geng X, Stein EA, Yang Y, Posner MI. Short-term meditation induces white matter changes in the anterior cingulate. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 2010, 107(35): 15649-52
How many were in the study, and in each group?
Hi Susan,
The study included 45 subjects, randomized into an integrative mind-body training group of 22 subjects and a relaxation group of 23 subjects.
I hope that answers your question.
John
Ruth, I do hope Tara Brach, is one of those selected from your list be a speaker in your future series on meditation/mindfulness.
She has such practical wisdom for how tools related/ within “m/m”, helps to release us from the culturally conditioned trance that we are caught in: namely the illusion that WE ARE whatever thoughts or feelings that we habitually experience …
This is a link to a recent blog where she shares one of these tools as well as the tltle, etc.
of her recent book.
I have a significantly more calm approach to problems and conflicts. I no longer have a struggle with weight control and wise food choices. I am more assertive without any aggression. For six years when I first began meditating I did not consume alcohol. I now do,and sometimes, socially, I do consume more than is necessary.I am addressing this aspect with a more direct approach to this actual area of my life.
Thank you
Frances
I have been meditating for 20 years and find that it helps bring me into the moment as well as opens my awareness both internally and externally. I am more conscious of others as well as myself.
really enjoy the programs.thanks
these days it tried few times to breathe with half cloesd eyes and while inhaling it felt like my awareness was automatically pulled inside and up to the center of my brain i felt it might be fine to breathe there, even if one does not hit exactly the right spots of the amygdala !? somehow i wanted to avoid to start some kind of imagination what it looks like inside there but it was always very relaxing and if i stay there long enough only watching and breathing, the area of the 3rd eye starts itching a bit and thoughts slowly cool down
I began having epileptic seizures a little over 10 years ago. After a thorough investigation into the side effects of the various drug therapies, I choose to care for my epilepsy using natureopathic methods. This includes many things from diet to exercise to sleep habits, but one of the most effective forms of care I engage in is meditation. Meditating was extremely hard for me in the beginning of my efforts, my mind/body was hyper-active and could not relax and be still for even 10- minutes. However, with patience and discipline, I learned to meditate, and now deeply enjoy this practice as part of my total self-care. It also gives me a regular place in my days for cultivating a spiritual life that includes both “no mind” and prayer. It grounds me and makes me healthier in so many ways. My seizures have decreased and my relationship to my illness has changed significantly. I will never stop meditating. I describe this process in a book I’m writing about my experience with chronic illness in the USA called SEIZED. It’s a great book and just needs a publisher.
For Holley – don’t give up on your book – it’s invaluable. So few people have managed to do what you have. If you don’t find a publisher in next 6mths, consider self-publishing or doing it in e-book form for Kobo etc. Best of luck to you and I hope I will see your book somewhere SOON!
Yogis have the physical relaxed focus of attention to change body structures. Ordinary people, like myself, have found the fastest way to change:
1. Breath-attention relaxed awareness training to tap into autonomic nervous system and thus any given body part, babies-already doing it, teens-1 week, adults-1 month, elderly-find what concept inspires them. The result is involuntary yogic movement from the autonomic nervous system. The movement is tailor-made at any given moment to the body’s needs. It is the original source of all yoga, the autonomic nervous system. I used to teach the latter.
2. Crainio-Sacral Therapy took 3 years for me to dump enough stored traumas to reach self realization. However, this is fastest and most permanent way to clear to smoked lenses of past trauma from the eyes of the soul. I have been getting the latter treatments for about 5 years.
NOTE: This is not a mental process of willpower, but an emotional-physical energy releasing process of removing stored traumas(energy blockages) from a person. in retrospect, it amazes me how people can even function with all the stored traumatic blockages and false belief systems we perpetually around. False belief systems naturally undergo permanent change after the body releases traumatic blockages.
Thanks for sharing this information. I would love to see the study too, especially to know what music, relaxation techniques and visualizations were used. Seems this type of meditation would help to balance all 4 sensory types: visual, tonal, kinesthetic, and digital. And determining which sensory type was primary/ secondary would be a clue as to which aspect of the meditation could most easily benefit a person for whom meditation can been a challenge.
Ruth,
Thank you for pointing out this study. One interesting aspect of it for me is what they use to measure improvement. I would love someone to use John Thomas Shaefer’s Transformational Fantasy, a form of self directed mental imagery, as a treatment to achieve the same kind of change. As a person with Parkinson’s, the description of this kind of improvement is useful to me as I use John’s method myself on my white matter.
I look forward to your future series. Lynne
Hi
Always good to hear about new studies. I believe the meditation studies have been amply done by the Dalai Lamas Mind research programme-maybe this could be shown?
best, annegret
I would be very interested to know what the 11 hours of training entailed. Could you provide the citation? I agree, Ruth, with the limitations of the study due to using multiple interventions within the same study group. Further study involving a control group doing relaxation then one group per intervention with follow up scans would be useful to help identify whether one intervention had more impact that another or if it was the synchronicity of the interventions from this study. At any rate this bodes well for recommending different options to our patients depending on what they have an infinity for ie guided imagery is often a very simple way to start with and my patients have found this to be an easy method to feel successful at given that they are busy listening to the imagery and visualizing so they less frequently find themselves writing the grocery list. All are good options and bring benefits to all of us. Thank you so much for these “newsletters”, webinars etc. They really help me personally and also my clients.
I wonder if the fact that the study involved an integrative approach is an asset rather than a weakness. What if it was the integration of the music, imagery, body relaxation and mindfulness that did it? The whole is much more than the parts, certainly more powerful. Maybe none of those aspects alone would have had that same growth in white matter in a month. Thank you Ruth for keeping us updated!
I have been meditating regularly for several years. I’m a recovering Type-A and also a stubborn scientist underneath this cool highly-white-mattered cerebral cortex. I have a standing promise to myself to meditate every morning before I even look at my phone or computer, and sometimes I keep my promise and sometimes I don’t. When I’m in a good weeks-long stretch where I practice daily, I’m calm and centered and I know that whatever is happening to me is the *right* thing — a gift from the Universe (even when it doesn’t exactly SEEEEEM like something I want to be happening right then!)
When I don’t meditate, I can slip into feeling like IT is HAPPENING to me (rather than that yummy peaceful sense of being At Cause of it), and I can walk around feeling like a victim and blaming and judging lots of people for lots of stuff.
The FUNNYest thing about it all– even though I KNOW this (with my silly brain), I still often choose to not give myself that few minutes of meditation as my powerful starting point. “Give myself” is a great phrase too — makes me think that when I don’t, that maybe I’m unwilling that day to receive the best gift I can give me (the answer to which would be so much more centered and easy if I’d meditated.. HA!)
I’m most grateful for 30-day challenges (from the Chopra Center and such great outreachings), as that gives me just a tad of accountability enough to follow-through. I think that more simple programs like this would be huge contribution.
Om Shanti, peace peace. Namaste.
Very well said Tom–you also seem to have learned compassion (and humor) for yourself in your practice! Namaste.
I echo the sentiments of others wanting to know more about the specifics of the study. There are so many options out there. I like what Alee Barr has to say (below), as I am familiar with Eden Energy Medicine as well. Many clients get discouraged when meditation is suggested. It would help us as practitioners to know which method works best for which type of client, so that our suggestions might be more on target, and therefore more effective for our clients. I have meditated off/on for years, developing a more regular practice in the last 3 years, because if we really are divine beings having a human experience, then we really need to plug into that energy at least once a day!
Can you direct us to the reference? I’d love to know more about the activities of both groups especially the control group. This is indeed very promising. Thanks.
Hi Pat,
The study can be found at on this site, although you may need a journal subscription or institutional affiliation to view it for free – thanks to folks on the comment board who have already pointed the citation out.
John
Yes, Ruth. Please cite the research so we can read it. Thanks so much for this — very similar findings to much other research, and supportive of mindfulness benefits, but specific in its design. So, we want to read it in its entirety! (Thanks for your summary.)
from my teaching experience, I have noticed shifts even just after one session of meditation… the most profound being, when using the breath with guidance.. instant calmness of mind, relaxation of body, better sleep, better bowel function, increased awareness for the body and thoughts and feelings. Release in emotions that were held in, giving a letting go affect and no longer to carry around, or suppressing…
After my first breath meditation experience, when I got in my car to drive home, I was aware I was driving differently, slower, not in a rush, and enjoying the journey. When I arrived home, past hurtful events entered my mind, with a different view point of compassion for self and others. the next day I experienced feeling jopyful for no apparent reason, and was calmer and more relaxed in all my interactions with others and myself.
Long term benefits are, numerous….number one benefit, is individual according to what the person is requiring at that moment in time, meditation has the miraculous affect of giving you what is needed… the benefits can alter according to the current overall state of the mediator. So there is no one specific benefit, however I feel that the inner peace, connected to ones centre, and knowing of ones own actions, and intuitive guidance, is probably the most persisitent reward of long term meditators. Physical health improves when life style patterns change to support a more balanced way of living… mediation helps the individual to be more aware of what they are actually doing to themself, with regards to how they are living… Levels of awareness increase drastically on all levels, more awareness for self, others and surroundings… which leads to response changes in behaviour, which supports the individual to understand them self better and take care of them self more.
Ruth, can you direct us to the research study itself please?
Hi Kori,
The study can be found at at this site, although you may need a journal subscription or institutional affiliation to view it for free.
John
I have even meditating over 30 years. I used to be depressed, fearful, low self esteem. Now, never depressed, mostly calm, rarely angry.
Author of WRINKLES DON’t HURT, DAILY MEDITATIONS ON THE JOY OF AGING MINDFULLY and
TIME FOR JOY
and more
I have practiced for many years, and the biggest and obvious difference is how slow I am to get angry, upset, nervous, etc. It seems I am almost unnaturally cool. I was once a competitive athlete and coach who thrived on the adrenaline rush of the game or training. All that shifted. Not only do I never see myself yelling at anyone (kids, family, stranger, athlete, etc.), but I also simply NEVER react. I respond appropriately to things, but never react.
What did the relaxation group do?
Hi Virginia,
The relaxation group participated in an amount of training equivalent to the integrative mind-body training group – 11 hours over the course of a month. Their training involved the relaxation of different muscle groups over the face, head, shoulders, legs, and back, guided by a tutor and a compact disc.
I hope that answers your question.
John