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How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

well.blogs.nytimes.com

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Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#151

Post by draven »

ruraljuror wrote: post #87
yoodenvranx wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you happen to have a good link to a jump-start article about meditation. I am in a sinilar situation as you, life is gray, anxiety problems, ... How should I start doing this today (and the next 4 weeks) without doing too much initial research?

If you get an audio guide you can essentially start right away. If you have a streaming service, search for 'mindfulness'. On Google play there is one from Oxford. They used to have several albums from Kabatt-Zinn but they seem to have disappeared. I would recommend those. In any case, make sure to purchase so you are not interrupted by ads. If you want to do a bit of research there is a YouTube video of a Kabatt-Zin…

There's also The Healing Power of Mindfulness by Kabatt-Zinn at Dartmouth. There's a session at about 50mn in. https://youtu.be/_If4a-gHg_I

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#152

Post by neves »

EC1 wrote: post #136
hotcool wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to meditate for 20 minutes daily, but my mind still acted like a spoiled petulant child, so I upped it to two hours first thing in the morning (in one sitting). I use one of these meditation posters as a focal point: http://zenpusher.com The results have been profound. My mind is quiet and obedient now. I experience equanimity throughout the day.

I need this. I just about have a breakdown at work every single day because I work in an extremely loud open office setup with no escape to a place of solitude. Everyone on the floor sees me as a wretched asshole, because it's true. Where should I start with meditation?

Read the book "Search inside your Self" from the googler Chade-Meng Tan. I've read some books about meditation and this one was the one that really resonated with me (a technical person).

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#153

Post by peterwwillis »

EC1 wrote: post #136
hotcool wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to meditate for 20 minutes daily, but my mind still acted like a spoiled petulant child, so I upped it to two hours first thing in the morning (in one sitting). I use one of these meditation posters as a focal point: http://zenpusher.com The results have been profound. My mind is quiet and obedient now. I experience equanimity throughout the day.

I need this. I just about have a breakdown at work every single day because I work in an extremely loud open office setup with no escape to a place of solitude. Everyone on the floor sees me as a wretched asshole, because it's true. Where should I start with meditation?

Off-topic, but might I recommend quitting your job? I'm sure you've considered it already, but I think it might be a better solution than meditation

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#154

Post by mclovinit »

kristiandupont wrote: post #108
hotcool wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to meditate for 20 minutes daily, but my mind still acted like a spoiled petulant child, so I upped it to two hours first thing in the morning (in one sitting). I use one of these meditation posters as a focal point: http://zenpusher.com The results have been profound. My mind is quiet and obedient now. I experience equanimity throughout the day.

That's a lot of meditation! I am doing 20 minutes at the moment and I feel similar to you: I still have serious trouble staying focused on anything. Did you keep it up or was there a lasting effect?

What worked for me was basic yoga asanas to loosen up and then closing my eyes and focusing on relaxing every area of my body from my forehead, eyes, jaw and so on. I would do this thing where I wouls stretch my arms up as high as possible and tense up and much as I could and then relax my body as if to touch my toes. Works great if you have a tight neck or back.

I never saw a need to go beyond 30 minutes. In my opinion there is no right way. The breathe is key. Irregular breathing is a problem for many of us if we spend most of our day sitting in front a monitor tightening up.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#155

Post by mrpetrick »

_ihqt wrote: post #54
westoncb wrote: post #13

I've had serious anxiety issues and meditation has been the only thing to help significantly. I've spent ~1.5 hours/day meditating for the past six months or so, and I've studied meditation literature pretty seriously for about the past year. At least in my case—and I think this isn't so unusual—there is a steep learning curve: for most people there's just not enough reason to stick with it. That said, at this point…

1.5 hours per day is a very impressive accomplishment. Even some serious gurus don't pull that off on a daily basis. I've read about legendary artists who considered meditation a key to their sanity, and they often couldn't do it for more than 15-20 minutes in a day. You are actually able to do proper meditation -- the removal of all focus on thoughts -- for 1.5 hours at a time? Or do you mean several times a day, a…

I posit that no one is really able to achieve, 'the removal of all focus on thoughts -- for 1.5 hours at a time' every day. Even serious gurus. This is not at all my own observation, this is what I've heard directly from longtime teachers from several different traditions.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#156

Post by raldu »

It is very surprising that researchers could measure changes just after three days!

One alarming detail about the article, however is the mention of "dose", which I think reflects the general Western, mainstream attitude to meditation. Mindfulness and meditation is being perceived as a tool of "relaxation", "reducing stress", dealing with anxiety, and so on. And it might be because of being "marketed" as such.

However, although meditation can in fact help you deal with stress and make you more relaxed, reducing it just to "benefits" is missing the point. After all, it is actually "you" who is dealing with stress, being more relaxed, etc.

Meditation is about paying attention to your thoughts without any judgment, experiencing your immediate thoughts and feelings directly, facing yourself, gently watching your unpleasant feelings, thoughts, memories and embracing them with all their both unpleasantness and pleasant joy. In the end, you get more and more in touch with yourself and the reality, and become more alert, observant, thoughtful, compassionate, etc.

And that actually makes it a practice of not running away from stress, anxiety, sorrow, but in contrast, facing all that with a gentle attitude.

Finally, it is a constant and long-term practice, not something like a "pill" with "doses" to deal with whatever "symptoms".

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#157

Post by lettergram »

westoncb wrote: post #13

I've had serious anxiety issues and meditation has been the only thing to help significantly. I've spent ~1.5 hours/day meditating for the past six months or so, and I've studied meditation literature pretty seriously for about the past year. At least in my case—and I think this isn't so unusual—there is a steep learning curve: for most people there's just not enough reason to stick with it. That said, at this point…

My startup is actually building something that's helps people learn to essentially meditate:

http://synaptitude.me/

Basically, it should improve control over the brain, very similar to meditation:

http://synaptitude.me/blog/neurofeedback-in-200-words/

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#158

Post by criddell »

hotcool wrote: post #145
EC1 wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I need this. I just about have a breakdown at work every single day because I work in an extremely loud open office setup with no escape to a place of solitude. Everyone on the floor sees me as a wretched asshole, because it's true. Where should I start with meditation?

You don't need anything to get started. No app, poster, book or garb. Just sit.

Technically you are right, but I think most beginners benefit from more guidance than that. It's like telling someone that all there is to golf is to hit the ball into the cup.

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#159

Post by lettergram »

None of this really surprises, a lot of what meditation is, is controlling stress and focus. By learning to control those, everything from the different chemicals released in your body to the actual neural structures can change.

My startup is actually working on something very similar called neurofeedback[1]. Which is very similar to meditation, in that we help users better control the subprocess of their mind. It's not perfect, but it actually helps significantly with people with epilepsy manage seizures (by helping them realize when it is going to happen)[2].

Other conditions, specifically ADHD and anxiety have also been shown to be treatable (to a degree) using this treatment[2]. Treatment using neurofeedback for depression has also been shown to be better than placebo[3].

Unfortunately, there is limited research funds to study this, and there really should be more. My startup is gearing up to do trials shortly, hopefully to make this treatment more available.

http://synaptitude.me/

[1] http://synaptitude.me/blog/neurofeedback-in-200-words/

[2] http://synaptitude.me/blog/literature-overview-of-using-neur...

[3] http://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/322290

Re: How Meditation Changes the Brain and Body

#160

Post by ZeroFries »

Scarblac wrote: post #40
personjerry wrote: post #14

For those of you who consider meditation a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, I get it, for I felt (and sometimes still feel) the same way. But let me try to phrase meditation in the terms I understand it as. We often find ourselves in stressful or difficult situations, we are constantly bombarded by external worries, and we think it is difficult to deal with our problems. However, no matter how big external issues are, the way t…

I don't consider it mumbo-jumbo. But I feel it doesn't fit well with my Western mindset: it costs a lot of time, and is that really the best way to spend that time? I'd rather go out and walk, and think about problems I want to solve. Or use the time to get something done.

You could say the same about sleep.
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