"Meditate" for Brain Optimization!
Original Article: Dec. 15, 2017; Updated Article: Jan. 14, 2018.
Why should we meditate? According to Daniel Goleman (psychologist), along with Richard J. Davidson (neuroscientist), new book, "Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body," shows, meditation can soften the "symptoms of depression and anxiety." A specific practice, known as the "loving-kindness meditation," it can promote "compassion" and "positive changes to our brains." Meditation is all about Mindfulness.
Key elements of meditation: Its primarily focus is "to retrain attention," - similar to physical-fitness, but for mental-fitness. Half-the-time, we lose concentration. We can use, however, meditation to bring discipline to our mind. Every time, we recall our mind back, we are getting our "neural circuity in our brain stronger" - similar to lifting weights for getting our muscle stronger. There are many benefits to meditation. One is the mind-related function - Attention. As it strengthens, concentration, memory, and learning, all improve. Another but equally important benefit is the increased "efficiency" of the amygdala - as in becoming less anxious, upset, or depressed. The neural circuitry in the brain that controls "Attention," is the same one that manages the "Amygdala." In response, we are less likely to be upset and more likely to recover quickly when faced with unpleasant events.
Main Types of Meditation: First, there is concentration, as in maintaining focus on one point, such as breath. Transcendental meditation is one such concentration in which we use a mantra - as our "point of focus." Visualization is when we use a pleasant image or event. Movement meditation is considered while walking or doing Tai chi. Meditation is to not control what's going through your mind. Rather, it is about trying not to "get caught up in it."
Use Meditation in therapy for Depression: Studies show that meditation reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression. Others report that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) decreases the relapse frequency of chronic depression. Cognitive therapy, by itself, might encourages us "to counter negative thoughts," but doesn't provide us with methods "to recognizing these negative thoughts." For mindfulness, it help us recognize and categorize our thoughts while happening. It is like a radar, e.g., recognizing and challenging our negative thoughts.
Use Meditation in Therapy for Weight- Loss & Control: With no other changes to your routine, studies have shown that individuals could lose weight. And, with meditation maintenance, those individuals were able to maintain that loss - helping them "looking more serene and younger." Many were pleasantly surprised with their physical and mental transformation. Meditation for weight loss and control was "studied and validated" by a number of medical institutions worldwide. In those studies, participants were "subjected to sleep studies, blood tests, and brain scans" to assess meditation's impacts on their bodies. The findings support its value for better health, including achieving "healthy weight." A number of peer-reviewed analyses concluded that meditation (a form of mindfulness-based interventions) do "address eating behaviors related to weight gain - including overeating, binge eating, and emotional eating. Benefits such as attaining weight-related goals were shown in 86% of the participants (Cruikshank, 2016).
Approaches to Meditation: One approach is to seek a specialist near you. Another one is to explore and download a number of applications. In this case, it is important to evaluate the instructor or specialist. "How long have they being doing this? What is their reputation" How serious are they?" A third option is to meditate on your own. Start first with your breath; Find a place with no distraction. Sit upright. Close your eyes, relax, and bring your full focus to your breath. Don't try to control it - just focus on your natural inhales and exhales - for at least 10 minutes ...
Use Meditation in therapy for Compassion: Wish well to those "kind" people you met over time. Then, substitute the negative feelings, in order to wish yourself well. These efforts will activate the Dopamine circuitry in your brain, which in turn will strengthen the Regulatory circuits. As a result, you are better at managing stress, due to lowering of stress hormones. This lessens activity for self-focus, helping us becoming more compassionate, as we notice other people's needs.
Effects of Meditation: In the "Mindfulness" form of meditation, we don't control the flow of negative thoughts coming into our mind. In other words, we don't internalize or "get caught up in" these thoughts, but rather we facilitate their passage through our mind. In return, our mind can become more quiet. This type of meditation is about being cognizant of our wandering mind, so we could "rein it back in." It is important to take "our mind off those troubling thoughts." No need to judge ourselves, but think of those negative thoughts as distractions.
You are able to enumerate your problems. Think of it as your neurons muscles are as taut as violin strings, indicating a lack of limberness, responsible for the growing list of woes - making or body dangerously inflexible. Throgh meditation, you are able to regain your mental former flexibility - almost in need of flexibility tune-up. from a physical perspective, "as you age, the composition of your muscles changes, and you tend to replace the pliable elastin with stiffer tissue that has less give." and that is only the beginning. Tendons, which attach muscle to bone, and fascia, the thin web of connective tissue that encloses and seperates the muscles and organs, also stiffen up as they lose fluid with age. Injuries compound the proble by creating sticky scar tissue that prevents normal movement in parts of the muscle and fascia, making both less mobile. For both gender, as estrogen, which bolsters muscles' suppleness, declines, so does the ability to. for regaining some of your flexibility, exercise (like walking, running, cycling or swimming) causes muscles to conteract the repetitive contractions. if you don't make an effort to stay limber, your muscles may become so tight they throw your alignment - it is important to incorporate stretching into their routines. Stretching "it's helped with everything - the back pain, the shoulder problems, and my posture.' According to Deidre Macdonald, from British Columbia, Stretching & strengthening can provide relief from musculosketal-related pain - can be as effective for releiving back, neck, and hip pain.(Graves, 2016).
As you stretch, breathe deeply to keep your body relaxed, Under your skin, the fibers in your hamstring and the layers of fascia surrounding it are lengthening ever so slightly. My muscle spindles, a type of muscle fiber, register the change in length and send that information via nerves to my spinal cord, triggering the stretch refle 0 whichc contrary to how it sounds, actually causes my stretched muscle to contract. The slight discomfort I feel is a warning from the nerves. As I hold the lengthened position, however, the muscle spindles get use to the stretch. After 30 seconds - the minimum length of time it takes to get the greatest benefit, I release my leg, rest for a few seconds, then repeat the move. This time, I can push myself a little further, Teh first stretch warmed up the viscous, fluidlike component of my muscle, adn now it is offering less resistance. Over time, you start having a greater range of motion making a meaninful difference. Over time, my hip, back, and neck pain is nearly gone, and my hamstrings and knees flare up less. Equally surprising, the daily flexibility training, is a great stress reliever (Graves, 2016).
Compassion studies show net positive effect of meditation within seven minutes, short-lived though. Nevertheless, the longer and the more we meditate, the stronger the benefits are. Then, those lasting positive effect turn into traits. Whenever we meditate, the neural circuits used are strengthened. This is a gradual process, leading to brain optimization. In this case, the more hours we meditate, the stronger and lasting the effect is - just like the effects of workouts on muscles. At a certain point, the trait is of lasting effect, as in the "Altered Traits."
Biological Effects: Many of the readers might not believe in the impact of meditations on our actual biology. The philosophical ills predisposing the need of thereapy might be unproven to the likes of cancer, for example. Cancer is medically-proven, tangible disease - a reality. A physician, diagnosing lung cancer, can provide concrete proof - e.g. a biopsy to support his findings. But psychiatric/psychological diagnoses must be seen as constructs, rather than tangible realities. For sure, a mental health professional diagnosing a client is unable to offer such concrete evidence, in the form of biological traces. "No research has ever proven that any ... behavior problem is inherited or caused by faulty biology ... such as biochemical imbalances." Are the symptoms - short attention, span, impulsivity, etc. - constitute a proof? "Is genetic testing done to verify heritability? "Have the genes been identified?" "Are the chemicals in their kids' central nervous systems out of balance?" Was any physical testing done to support this claim?" "No research has ever quantified such imbalance?" Such "biochemical imbalance canard" might be useful in offering therapy, over prescribed drugs (Rosemond, 2018).
References:
Bernstein, Elizabeth. (2017, Dec. 5). Life&Arts: A Daily Workout for the Brain. WSJ, p. A13
Cruikshank, Tiffany. (2016, October). Meditate to Lose Weight. Prevention, p. 88 - 93
Graves, Ginny. (2016, October). Flexibility After 40. Prevention. p. 42 - 51 - www.prevention.com
Interlandi, Jeneen. (2018, Jan. 14). Why Are Our Most Important Teachers Paid the Least?. The New York Times Magazine. p. 30, 35, 48, 49, 51
Rosemond, John. (2018, Jan, 14). Proof lacking for mental health disorders. The State, p. 8C