What does neuroscience say about the best type of meditation for me?
Lauren Hodges, Ed. D.
Author - Speaker - Award Winning Learning Designer - Owner of Performance on Purpose, LLC
I think it’s safe to say that we all know by now the power of meditation to enhance our performance, decrease stress and mental clutter, help us focus, and energize us. But for the sake of being on the same page, here are some specific benefits to meditation that you might now know about:
Meditation can be thought of as focused, intentional breathing and directed thought or focus. And meditation is magic - anyone I work with knows that I highly recommend a daily meditation practice as much as I would recommend healthy nutrition habits, exercise, and healthy sleep. But there is so much variety to meditation in terms of the type, length, feelings you get, and intended outcomes that I have to be careful providing sweeping recommendations to simply “meditate often.” As I often unpack with my audience or clients, our stress personalities and experiences of stress vary widely - and so should our interventions (especially when it comes to how we “rest” our mind). For example, what if I told a Worrier stress personality type to “just don’t think about anything at all” as part of their daily practice....how do you think that would go??
There are a few types of meditation I want to cover today including the science behind each and the benefits. Let’s explore them together and, as you’re reading, think about how each type might benefit your stress personality type (or your experience of stress in a particular situation or moment):
Focused meditation (let’s use this synonymously with mindfulness for a moment) is the process of using guided, structured cues, thoughts, words, etc. to guide your meditation practice. For example, I could find a guided meditation on the Calm app and have someone walk me through a word or idea; focus on counting my breaths; focus on the sensations of my body; read a devotion and focus on 1-2 words or ideas in it.
Useful for: Worry, difficulty staying present, negative self-talk and uncertainty, feeling overwhelmed or discouraged, obsessive or stuck thought loops.
Why it works: When we’re struggling with feelings of anxiety, obsessive thoughts, worry, fears, or stuck thought loops, it’s often because our salience network is fatigued. The salience network is the meditator or task control switch between our mind-wandering state (Default Mode Network) and our focused state (Central Executive Network). When the salience network is fatigued, we tend to find ourselves overwhelmed or often stuck in the Default Mode or mind wandering place. This is a great place to be in normal circumstances because it’s the opposite of attentional control and focus and a place we can go to quiet the mind, be creative, innovative, or if we’re stuck on a problem (this is why we get our best ideas in the shower!). But, when we’re worried about something, for example, we can find ourselves stuck here and struggling to focus or stay present. Focused or guided meditation, then, can help us reconnect with the present and disrupt stuck thought loops. It’s a way to bring us back to the present moment and away from lingering negative thoughts.
2. Open-Monitoring Meditation
Open-monitoring meditation is the practice of not focusing on anything at all and allowing the mind to wander where it may go. This is a tough practice and at first the mind does truly wander back to our daily thoughts, to-do’s, worries or concerns, etc. For example, I might set a timer for 10:00 and lay on the floor in a comfortable position and close my eyes, trying not to think of anything at all. Or, I might take a walk outside with no intention, goal, or structure.?
Useful for: Cluttered, busy minds needing reset; overwhelm and anxiety
Why it works: For the same reason that focused meditation draws a person back to the present moment and to a focused state, open monitoring meditation does the opposite: it allows us to access the Default Mode, or mind wandering state, to rest the cluttered mind and disconnect. This can help us refocus, re-energize, and find calm when feeling overwhelmed or overworked.
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3. Panoramic Meditation
Similar to open-monitoring meditation, panoramic meditation is the practice of widening our vision’s aperture and taking in a wider field of vision of our environment, allowing every part of our environment in. Some people even allow their vision to blur a bit and sort of zone out here. Here is some a explanation and studies to support its positive impact on stress and anxiety by Stanford researcher Dr. Huberman.
Useful for: Cluttered minds, mental fatigue, racing thoughts, anxiety before a meeting or event, etc. (I actually recommend this to my clients who have ADHD or struggle with focus before an important call, meeting, test, etc…including my son who struggles with attention).
Why it works: Studies have found this useful to quickly reset focus and provide the central executive network (opposite of mind wandering state) a reset. It’s also been clinically shown to reduce anxiety and stress, for similar reasons as open-monitoring meditation.
4. Visualization: Daydreaming with a Purpose
Visualization is the practice of focusing on 1-2 images, thoughts, words, etc. and trying to embody that state with intention.
Useful for: Feeling disengaged, stuck, apathetic, angry or irritated, uncertain or insecure. Needing to feel inspired or focus on a goal, etc.
Why it works: Visualization is a commonplace practice in professional sports - why? Because mental imagery activates the same areas of the brain responsible for what you want to feel or do, just by visualizing it. For example, if you want to feel a certain way - confident, calm, focused - those regions of the brain will light up through visualization; if you want to work on a golf swing, the motor control areas of the brain responsible for your swing will activate through visualization. It works because of a process called selective attention: a cognitive process that involves the thalamus in our brain’s limbic system filtering out what it doesn’t need to focus on and zeroing in on 1 thought, image, etc. According to neuroscientist Dr. Tara Swart in this great article , studies show that visualization activates the emotions and behaviors desired to act - simply imagining something can deliver the physical and mental benefits of the action that you desire.?
So, what now?
How do you choose the best type of meditation for you? Here are four questions I’d ask:
From there, test and trial each of these types - some days you might want one type and others you might find another type is best. Try them all on! I switch these up on the regular, and love them all. For me, an unstructured, open-monitoring meditation works best for my Runner personality type…but visualization helps me feel more focused on my goals, values, and best self.?
Hope this helps you find a little more focus and calm in your day. Enjoy!