Power of Meditation: Brain Health, Happiness, and Tips for Every Meditator

Meditation has a profound impact on people who practice it.  The act of being mindful, through mindfulness meditation or mindfulness activities, has the power to elicit change both mentally and physically(and spiritually).  From happiness to physical changes in the brain, the practice of meditation has the ability to enhance so many different aspects of life. Mindfulness and meditation are techniques that everyone should find a way to incorporate in their lives.  

Brain Health

After an 8-week mindfulness program, beginner meditators were seen to have better brain health.  Particular improvements in the posterior change(mind wandering, self-relevance), left hippocampus(learning, cognition, emotional control, and memory), pons(production site of regulatory neurotransmitters), temporoparietal junction(TPJ - compassion, empathy), and the amygdala(fight or flight reaction, stress reaction).   

Long term meditators appear to have younger brains.  More gray matter was found in both sensory and auditory, and the frontal cortex, this leads to improved senses and better decision and memory function.   

Meditation Benefits

Pain Reduction: After only four days of meditation, there was less of a reaction to discomfort and pain from heat.  This could also be true when it comes to pain of any kind, as meditation helps you to focus more on your body and breathing but also be less reactive.  

Self Awareness: Meditation changes the way you look at the world and yourself.  When you are more in sync with your body and aware of your thoughts, you cultivate a better way of looking at the world.  

Sleep: Meditation for sleep, like body scans and relaxation practices, can help in calming you down and in falling asleep.  The easier it is for you to relax at the end of the day, the easier it will be to fall asleep.

Emotional Regulation: Because of the awareness that meditation brings, it allows you to better “see” your emotions and recognize them.  Without getting caught up in them. Meditation can be especially helpful for anxiety.

Focus: It was found that, although meditation didn’t help people multitask better, it did help them to stay focused on one task for long.  Meditation trains your ability to focus and that focus can be seen in areas outside of meditation.

Happiness: It is suggested that the moments in which a person is the happiest, are the ones where they are the most present.  Meditation teaches how to embrace the present moment and not get distracted by thoughts and worries.

Decreased Stress: Along with the changes in your brain from meditation, having the ability to focus on your breath and body helps to slow the flow of thoughts.  Because of this, you are more able to relax in stressful situations.

Well Being: Meditation, not only decreases stress, but it also lowers depression, insomnia, and can help increase your overall quality of life.  Having a better functioning brain is important for a lot of areas of life.

For your Meditation Practice - Meditation Tips

Sit or lay with a straight back, don’t slouch or let your shoulders roll forwards but be comfortable.

Always bring your attention back to your breath.  Don’t judge thoughts that come up, just let them go.  Learn to come back to your body or breath.

Don’t beat yourself up when you inevitably lose focus.  You will question your ability to focus. Let that feeling be and come back to your breath.  Don’t get too caught up in needing to focus, this will make meditation feel like work and it won’t have the same effect.

A commitment to a meditation practice is key.  It doesn’t have to be daily, just consistent. Aim for 3 plus times a week, 10-15 minutes and increase it over time.

The more you do it the more benefits you will see.  With consistency and regular practice, you will notice more benefits and it will become easier to let go of your thoughts.  

The “in the moment” presentness of meditation should spill out into the rest of your day.  You want to be more mindful and connected in everything you do. Meditation just teaches you how to do that.  

Adding Intention

By adding intention to your meditation practice, you can get more out of it.  When you create an intention, you can help to deflect some of your doubts about meditation.  You stop looking for a goal and instead are open to whatever you are given.

To set an intention(for one meditation practice or more), come up with a positive statement about what you want to have answers to or work on. “I will feel calm and centered.”

Write it down or say it over in your mind a few times before or after(Was there something that came up while you were meditating that may be important for the rest of your day?) you meditate, let it really sink in.  Then surrender to the experience of meditation or the rest of your day and allow yourself to let go. Be open to whatever comes to you and if it doesn’t feel right, allow yourself to let it go as well.

When You Feel like You just can’t Meditate

Maybe you’ve never meditated before, or you are just finding reasons to skip your meditation practice.  Whatever the reason, these tips should help you feel more ready to meditate.

You don’t have to be good.  Meditation is a practice and your goal is not to do it perfectly, its just to do it.  

You can’t focus.  Meditation helps teach focus and so it’s perfectly okay if you feel like you are having a hard time not engaging with your thoughts.  Just relax and come back to your breath. Different kinds of meditation promote different ideas, some have nothing to do with focus. Trying new kinds of meditation can help you find what works best for you.  

You don’t like meditation.  There are so many different types of meditation.  If you don’t enjoy a certain type of meditation, there are plenty of other types and other forms of practice.  

If you don’t want to meditate, it probably means you need to.  If you are avoiding meditation for any reason, it most likely means that there is something going.  Whether its just stress or you don’t feel like you have enough time, practicing meditation will help you quell that feeling.  

The ability to slow down and be in the moment is something that everyone needs to embrace.  Meditation should inspire you to be more aware and apart of the world around you. When mindfulness moments are welcomed and embraced(especially outside of your meditation practice), you start to value your time in the present moment more.  

Everyone needs to slow down a little and keep themselves and their brain healthy.  Meditation and mindfulness can do all of that. This practice is beneficial for everyone.  I hope this gave you the inspiration to improve your health with meditation.