Meditation and the Brain - Mindworks Meditation | What Meditation does to the Brain

People come to meditation for different reasons. Some are interested because of meditation’s calming effects; some are looking to gain understanding about how the mind functions; and some have heard that meditation can improve brain power. So what does meditation do to the brain? The brain is a phenomenally complex organ, but certain aspects of how the brain goes about its business are pretty straightforward and can give insight to how meditation changes the brain. We know that meditation does affect the brain by effectively rewiring it so that old, unhelpful patterns can actually be replaced by new, helpful ones.

What mindfulness meditation in particular does to the brain is create a habit of presence, attention, and focus, as recent scientific studies confirm. Meditation in general has been shown to actually beef up parts of the brain connected to happiness and shrink parts of the brain connected to stress and repetitive unpleasant emotions. It has also been found to increase feelings of kindness and empathy. This—in a tiny nutshell—is how meditation changes your brain—and your life.

To learn about the various types of meditation and how they affect your brain, we recommend our free ebook: Getting the Most out of Meditation.

Physical health and the mind-body connection

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What is the mind-body connection? The term “mind-body connection” refers to the understanding that our physical health involves more than just the body. Mind is what connects us and our physical body to the rest of the world. Mind connects us to our thoughts, attitudes, and emotions, as well as to our actions and behavior. [...]

How Meditation Changes the Brain

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We lead extremely busy lives - more often than not we have to devote our attention to many different tasks simultaneously. Meditation is an antidote to this scatteredness: when we practice, we train the mind to be fully aware of one thing at a time. The result is that our ability to concentrate increases. [...]

Does Meditation Improve Memory?

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The benefits of meditation are far-reaching, and researchers have already identified a number of patently positive effects that meditation can have on the human brain. So naturally, many of us wonder if improved memory is one of those fringe benefits. And the answer is… YES! A number of studies carried out by neuroscientists have confirmed [...]

Seeing White Light During Meditation

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