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Mindfulness-Based Treatments |
Structural Changes in the Brain Attributed to Mindfulness-Based Interventions
The founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Training, Jon Kabat-Zinn, has defined mindfulness as “Paying attention, in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn, 1990).
The most researched and gold standard of mindfulness-based programs has been Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) as developed by Kabat-Zinn in 1979. The program, taught at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center (UMASS), has graduated over 17,000 people from his center alone. The MBSR course consists of 8 weekly 2 ½ to 3 hour sessions and includes daily meditation exercises such as the cornerstone 45 minute body scan. The meditation practice centers on using the breath to cultivate the ability to stay present with one’s mind. There are currently over 250 clinics that offer MBSR and countless other clinical programs utilizing mindfulness-based treatment techniques. In recent years additional programs that include mindfulness have flourished , such as Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).
No longer in its infancy, the research on mindfulness-based programs has exploded in the last several years. Mindfulness-based interventions have been shown to be beneficial in reducing a number of unwanted medical and psychological symptoms in various patient populations. For example, the outcome data on these programs reveals that the training leads to improvement in the physical and mental health of participants with regard to improved immune function, pain management, and decreased psychological symptoms of stress and anxiety. The research demonstrates that participants exhibit major changes in health, attitudes, and behavior. Concurrently, studies have shown changes in the brain’s grey matter in areas associated in emotional regulation (Holzel, 2011).
Most recently, lasting changes in the brain were noted in participants who attended an 8-week mindfulness-based program. Research published in Frontiers of Science established that the subjects showed decreased activity in the amygdala in response to images that would be expected to produce negative emotions. The amygdala is an area responsible for processing memory and emotions such as fear. This alteration in the emotional processing of the brain remained even outside of the meditative state. Ongoing study at major research centers across the world continues to investigate the underlying mechanisms involved in these brain changes (MassGeneral.org).
Thus, we are now seeing evidence that individuals’ sense of wellbeing after such training corresponds to structural changes in the brain. This is exciting news as there is increasing confirmtion that mindfulness-based meditation can have long lasting effects on emotional stability. With such profound findings, justification exists for adapting mindfulness programs based on clinical need to fit the unique circumstances of particular clinical populations.
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Biofeedback for Pain and Medical Diagnoses |
Overview: Several studies have shown that biofeedback based treatments, which successfully teaches people to control physiological processes, are effective in managing pain. People can learn to control abnormal spasms, blood flow, respiration and heart rate to reduce or eliminate cramping and burning pain
Who might benefit from Biofeedback?
People benefit from Biofeedback for a variety of physical and emotional disorders. Some types of conditions which can be helped with biofeedback include:
| Headaches | Neck, shoulder, and back pain |
| Myofascial pain | Repetitive Strain Injury, Carpal Tunnel |
| High blood pressure | Temporal Mandibular Joint Disorder (TMJ) |
| Cardiac Arrhythmias | Raynaud’s Syndrome |
| Diabetes | Post Traumatic Stress Disorder |
| Sleep Disorders | Rheumatoid Arthritis |
| Fibromyalgia | Other types of chronic pain |
| Anxiety and Panic |
How can biofeedback therapy, relaxation and muscle retraining help patients with documented medical disease?
Most chronic pain problems are aggravated or initiated by excessive muscular tension or improper muscle use. Once pain has continued beyond what we would expect to be the healing point from an injury or illness, it is normal to develop automatic habits of bracing and protecting the injured area. In time, these habits cause excessive pain to which individuals often respond by further limiting their daily activities and normal functioning. This begins the cycle of chronic pain and its exacerbation.
Many people cannot recognize the actual level of tension in painful muscles, because of postural problems while working, over-reactions by the muscles to stress, poor habits, etc. Studies have shown that cramping and twisting descriptions of pain are often caused by spasms in the major muscles of the body while burning or tingling descriptions of pain are often caused by too little blood flowing to the extremities. Even patients with known vascular disease can learn to increase blood flow to their extremities. Once a patient establishes negative bodily habits, and pathologizes normal physiological responses, medical treatment is unlikely to heal the problem without behavioral intervention. Psycho-physiological assessments are used to identify which muscles are not functioning correctly and what circumstances lead to the pathological patterns of tension. Biofeedback of muscle tension is used to train people to recognize actual levels of tension and to correct these levels in conjunction with relaxation training.
What does the actual treatment entail?
We utilize state of the art wireless biofeedback equipment that allows for dynamic movement assessment and training. For example, when muscular assessment and training is conducted, we attach surface EMG electrodes to specific muscles or muscle areas designed to measure the amount of muscle contraction that is occurring. Then, we have the patient undergo a series of movements during which we monitor muscle activity. Once we have identified abnormal muscular tension, the visual feedback assists the patient with their muscle retraining protocol. With the use of assistive devices a patient then practices the newly learned body use patterns in their normal life for generalization. Patient graphs and numerical data are used to track progress.
How long does it take?
This varies for each individual and their special pain concern, but people can learn what they need to control pain in 8-10 sessions. The time may vary based on the variety of modalities used (respiration, thermal, EMG, heart rate biofeedback), and the ability of the subject to actually learn and incorporate the techniques into his/her lifestyle. Though the majority of people find that they begin to notice initial results faster, it takes home practice to engage more permanent effects.
What results can the patient expect?
- Patients report less distress and greater physical comfort.
- Patients can reduce their medication use.
- Patients demonstrate an improved level of functioning, as reduced tension will make activity less painful and less difficult.
- Patients become more independent of their treatment team.
Integrative treatment
The good news is that the patient learns to have progressively more control over their progress by practicing the techniques and completing assignments between sessions. Treatment goals are unique to the particular problem and patients goals. Some people aspire to get more relief from their health problems than they’ve had with other treatments. Others simply want to rely less on medications. Whatever the goal is, the patient will undergo an initial evaluation in order to facilitate the development of an individualized treatment program, which may be developed in consultation with your multidisciplinary team. When the patient is referred by their physician or attending a physical therapy program, biofeedback is coordinated with the patient’s treatment team. Working with the multidisciplinary treatment team enables timely communication of the patients’ needs and progress for a more efficient and cost- effective outcome.
Dr. Klich is a board certified clinical psychologist who has developed the technique of Mindfulness-Based Biofeedback and specializes in using dynamic biofeedback training geared toward the management of physical and emotional pain. To contact Dr. Klich for additional information please call (678) 310-8228.
Wow, with results like that maybe in the future we can start applying this into the school programs/activities! I would like to see one school using this and compare the grades and disciplinary actions. I bet the grades would go up and there would be less kids in trouble (fights,skipping,sick days used…)!!!
Kevin, I hope so. There have actually been research studies of mindfulness in school systems and they do just that. They have piloted them in inner city schools and had promising results with reductions in violence. There have even been programs in prisons! Lots of possibilities.
I thought that it was very interesting how the program was able to help people relieve their anxiety and stress, along with strengthen their immune system through teaching meditation based exercises. My mother has carpal tunnel, so I thought that the fact that meditation could treat this type of disorder was captivating. The fact that meditation can not only control brain activity while in practice, but also while not in practice was intriguing to me. As I was reading through these articles, I began to wonder if age had anything to do with meditation. This raised the question “Can children meditate?”
The fact that meditation helps with the ability to cope with pain is amazing. i Guess you can say the whole pain, emotions, and stress part are all kind of connected, because once you are able to control and alter your bodies responses to certain stressors you can use that base in other areas dealing with the mind. The main thing people should get from meditation is that you are able to have better control of mind and body than you had before. People have different ways of interpreting things in this world, and going about doing things. My question is, “what exactly qualifies as meditation?”
It’s cool that we are capable of these things. It makes me wish I had known and been able to undergo the biofeedback therapy after I broke my leg while in the recovery process. This seems like the therapies for chronic pain would work well in conjunction with the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, and Mindful-Attention and Compassion Meditations. Has this been done, and if so, did it actually help more? Or do combinations of these methods become harmful?
I have been amazed with the meditation process. After reading through these articles, and experimenting a little with meditation myself, I have found that it is a very powerful technique. One thing that I found interesting was that meditation continues to benefit the body even when one is not actually performing meditation. I feel that most people in society would not consider meditation a therapy until they did the research themselves! So, how many practices does it usually take a patient to connect with their body? When do they usually see the benefit themselves?
After reviewing the various articles, I have come to the conclusion that meditation is a reliable method for stress relief. The studies shown in the article reveal how meditation helps people deal with stress and pain in everyday life situations. Also by meditating you can improve your . It is amazing that such a small process can have such a positive affect on so many elements of the human body. With that being said, to see great results from the meditation process, how often would you need to do it?
That’s a good question. Most of the studies that demonstrate changes in the brain as the result of meditation are based on expectations for daily meditation. However, we know that people may skip days. I recommend frequency over length of time. so 10-20 minutes daily or even twice daily is likely to be more useful than an hour every few days.
I can actually validate a lot of the success shown with meditation and biofeedback. Doing meditation in class and at home help plenty with my bad sleeping habits and I felt a lot more successful in my classes throughout the semester. The benefits of meditation don’t come right away which is why I think some people may find it skeptical. Time and patience is a key component that influences the great results. All the scientific research just shows how beneficial mediation can really be regardless of what skeptics may say. Out of curiosity, is it possible for the improvements to regress if the meditation is stopped, and would it happen quickly?
I have never been aware of the benefits that result from mediation. This all has been new to me but very interesting to learn about! It is quite astonishing how a simple routine of 8 weekly 2 hour MBSR sessions can result in improved health, attitude, and behavior. Aside from that, it also helps with anxiety and stress. This particularly interested me because my brother gets anxiety often but he has a prescribed medication to help him cope with it. It is intriguing to see how there are other methods that don’t involve drugs that can possibly help him. Will the MBSR sessions effect him the same way with the medication? Or is it preferable his mind be free from any drugs? Another thing I found interesting was learning about amygdala. The brain is very complex and it is amazing how experts can go through specific studies to discover how mediation positively effects this area. Do certain people posses a stronger amygdala area than others? If so do they require more mediation? Ultimately, these articles have captured my complete attention and I hope to continue learning more and maybe practicing meditation myself.
I found it highly interesting how meditation helps with retraining muscles. I figured that meditation would help with pain, because that is all brain related. The fact that people can come off their medications is amazing. My only question is how much of the medication can they come off?
I have never seriously considered meditation or mindfulness-based stress reduction as a way to cope with life’s stress, because I never thought that I could “think about nothing.” However now I know, after reading the article “Structural Changes in the Brain Attributed to Mindfulness-Based Interventions,” the true definition. Additionally, there are classes that one can take in so many clinics, if they feel that they cannot do it alone. Furthermore, mindfulness-based stress reduction must be extremely powerful because the amygdala’s response to emotional stimuli decreases among those who took the MBSR classes even when they were not in a meditative state. This shows that MSBR reduces stress even in other areas of your life. I also find the concept of biofeedback thoroughly interesting – I never knew humans could control physiological responses such as blood flow. When a patient has chronic pains, how exactly does “bracing and protecting the injured area” leads to “excessive pain”?
That’s a good question. One way to see how bracing and tensing make activity more painful and difficult is to try a simple experiment. First, make a fist. Next, while keeping as much tension in your hand as possible, try to open and close your fingers. You will find that it’s a bit of a challenge and you loose the fluidity. If you have any early arthritis or injury in that hand, you will feel it when you tense. Now, shake out your fist and relax your hand as much as possible- you will see how well the movement flows when you relax. Similarly, we know that when people in car accidents saw the car approaching them they do worse then people who don’t.
I was amazed that biofeed back treatments are able to significantly improve a wide range of physical, and emotional disorders. Patients who participate in mindfulness based intervention training show major changes in health, attitude, and behavior. Long term changes were found in patients who attended the program for two months. Further studies have shown that people who took part in Mindful Attention Training, and shown images meant to evoke positive, negative, and neutral valences, were reported to have a decrease in amygdala activation.
Yes, it’s great to know that we can control responses that are normally learned and eventually hard wired in the brain.
I can say from personal experience that meditation beneficial to sleeping habits, anxiety control as well as helping with pain. At first, there can be many doubts with meditation. It takes patience and practice. Also hearing from My teacher’s experience with meditation and her pain helped to push through the beginning awkward stages of meditation. After reading several articles and learning more about the actual process and what the amygdala has to do with it, it is easier to meditate. It is easier to “believe” something when it is supported with scholarly information and from personal experiences. Can meditation be combined with other stress relievers?
It’s so incredible that something as simple as meditation can rid of, if not reduce symptoms of a huge variety of severe disorders. Anxiety is a tricky problem to get rid of and my level of stress does not go well with anxiety. I have definitely noticed improvements in my focus and anxiety when I meditate regularly; I especially noticed it towards the end of last semester when we were meditating 5 days a week. My question is, is there any case in which meditation can no longer improve disorders such as anxiety? It must depend upon the person, but is medication or a physical doctor the next step for people who do not have positive outcomes from meditation?
Wow! It is amazing that biofeedback and meditation can actually help cure some illnesses and aches in the body. Just knowing that meditating on a consistent basis can heal something like headaches can save a lot of money that would be spent on medicine. It surprises me that more people do not know more about this, because it could help a lot of people. Are drug companies and doctors trying to stop the spread of this knowledge to keep them from losing money?
I am not sure that drug companies have actively been stoping the information from getting out there. They do have lots if money to find medication focused studies, however. Also, while mediation research is no longer in its infancy, it’s taken some time to develop rigorous studies. We are only relatively recently studying the science of meditation.
Meditation is connected to brains, therefore it should help a lot with mental issues, which it makes sense because the studies show all the positive results. Meditation helps with pain and most people have gone through pains in their lives, so it’s great that a simple practice daily can help with managing pain. Many people are suffering chronic pains, and biofeedback helps people reduce the suffering. The result from meditation is amazing, more physical comfort, less medication, etc. My question is “Since meditation helps with pain, many athletes in college and pro suffered sports related injuries those may be long-term issues, would meditation become a source of treatment for athletes?”
Sure Tong Lin, in addition to meditation helping in the pain symptoms of athletes you may be interested to know that mindfulness mediation has been used by many athletes to help with focus and peek performance.
Through my meditation experience in and out of class I’ve been able to see a few of the benefits from meditation in myself. I personally feel that meditation is a good way to relax the mind and slow down the wows of the day so that I can breath and take everything one at a time. I found this article very informative because I didn’t know a lot of the information presented in the article. I’m wondering if there is a limit or a certain amount of meditation that will cause a person to stop feeling the benefits of meditation or does it all depend on the person?
Yakira, we don’t know that there is an upper limit to mediation. Certainly, there are monks who practice for several hours a day for many years. However, that’s not necessary. I have been aware of people who report being driven to meditate frequently and feeling out if sorts when they cannot. Typically I find it’s some level of restlessness that leads them to meditate a lot in the first place rather than mediation causing it.
I’ve learned that meditation is truly interesting. Its so amazing how much you can benefit from meditation in just a few short weeks. Using it instead of medication for pain is so much more healthier not only for your immune system but for your mind as well. I wish I would have know this approach when I was recovering from my knee surgery. If meditation can be apart of the healing process does it make it longer to recover since you aren’t taking medication?
Renee, isn’t it interesting that we have become so focused on medication for healing that we might not consider that many medications don’t help healing at all but rather may only control certain symptoms such as pain. Many medications do help healing by controlling swelling and regenerating tissue among other ways. One thing we do know is that meditation has also shown reduction in inflammation. Much more study needs to be done in this area with various illnesses and symptoms. However, if we look at the effect if meditation on helping with the immune system, we can see some of the instances in which mediation caused the body to have a stronger Imune or protective response.
The benefits of meditation are outstanding! After reading this article, I have become more aware of the areas meditation can be beneficial to those that attempt the meditation process, and with my own experience with meditating it showed a dramatic change in stress and pain levels I suffer from daily. Also, I have come to realize that mediation has a more positive response with my body then prescribed medications because there are no side affects to suffer from or expect while the meditation process. Since meditation, for me, is a replacement for take medication, can it be used as rehabilitation tool for those suffering from drug and alcohol abuse?
If so, how long will it take to be effect to the patient.
Kianna- that’s a great question. After all, we want to know what it takes to show an effect. However, it’s really going to depend on the type of program and the goals of treatment.
Sure Kiana. Mindfulness based mediation is being added to drug and alcohol programs. A colleague of mine, Dr ribald Alexander, wrote a brief article about this that might interest you. http://m.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-wise-open-mind/201004/mindfulness-meditation-addiction
I found it to be really interesting that we can learn to control physiological processes that can ultimately manage pain. I never realized how much mediation can benefit the body and the brain. Within the readings there were many mindful-based experiments done that proved that mediation can impact these areas.These articles have truly sparked my interest in mediation and I really would like to try some of the techniques that are out there. I could see biofeedback being used in the medical field to help patients deal with pain. The question that I have is how effective is the use of mediation and biofeedback in the sense that could it ever completely replace the need for medicine with certain illnesses.
Shane, while I don’t see it as needing to be either medication of meditation and biofeedback, there are situations where this approach can completely alleviate or prevent symptoms or physical or emotional pain. Migraine headaches is one area where I have seen this most often.
It is very interesting that our society picks and chooses what research and data we will show to the public via newspapers and news broadcasts. I have not seen any of the big news reports that talk about how mindfulness and compassion-meditation reduce anger. In fact, the fact that meditating for 45 minutes daily shrinks the size of the amygdala. The amygdala is control center for aggression and a few other things. I find it amazing that something as simple as letting your mind relax provides such a huge and positive change.
Dr. Urszula, what did your doctoral degree focus on? What was the program? I ask because whoever trained you — trained you well. You’re very vocal on the subject of meditation and mindfulness.
Thank you Adrian, I actually did not have training in meditation during my doctoral program. As a health psychologist I have gravitated toward a psychophysiological approach as I find people are often very disconnected from the mind body connection- and bringing back the communication between these systems helps!
It cAn be profound. I see people feeling much more control over their emotions afte they’ve learned to practice meditation.
After reading the article, and practicing the art of meditation in class, I understand the great positive affects meditation can have on people. I think the biofeedback results would be very beneficial for many people.Personally, I can no testify to the amazing results just quite yet but I love the idea of finding natural ways to treat illness and pain in the body. My question would be, do you believe that meditation is for everyone, or is there a certain type of person that is more susceptible to seeing results than others.
Breane, I believe that practices such as meditation can be helpful to a diverse population with a wide range of challenges. However, like other techniques, practices, or treatments, it won’t be for everyone. It’s difficult to know in the beginning how mediation might work for you but as the process unfolds it will begin to be more clear. Good luck if you are going to try it!
So meditation affects the amygdala in such a way that the amygdala’s activity slows down. Research is still going on to figure out how meditation affects the amygdala and why the effects linger after meditation. These changes in the amygdala are able to reduce the amount of pain people feel. How does the amygdala, which controls emotions and fear, affect the amount of pain we feel?
That’s a good question. We do know that the amygdala is associated with fear and panic. We also know when people are in the fight or flight response of fear, panic, or anger they are likely to tense up. Lastly, we know that tension tends to increase pain. So that would be one connection.
After reading these articles, I did find it kind of interesting that they had so many profound effects that meditations have on the body and the mind. I was definitely surprised to hear that there were more forms of meditation other than what we have covered. I was glad to see that meditation can and has been used as a form of medication primarily because a lot of patients get addicted to the medications and have to be weened off. There is no need to be weened off of meditation because all of the effects are positive For me meditation had been more so a tool to help me stay focused. I can now better catch myself while I’m drifting off before it becomes too late. Just to touch back on what the man from the latest ted talk video posted on the Facebook page said, it only takes a few minutes. I enjoy how meditation can fit into just about any schedule and had no adverse effects. Meditation needs to be shown in a different light that what people just assume because it can and has worked wonders for many
Jasmine, similar to your story I have heard so many people experience a significant shift in mood, health, or other positive improvement that I agree. I do think that there has been a tremendous explosion in information about meditation in the last couple of years. Though its important to be aware of the source to make sure that the information is grounded in research and agreed upon evidence-based knowledge.
While reading a scholarly source, I was surprised at the amount of research that is done in order to measure the affects of meditation and compassion on the amygdala. With that said, I like that studies and courses are being done to help improve peoples well-being. It’s also a wonderful thing that there is a list of issues that can be tackled when using the biofeedback system. I guess my only question is, if we know that meditation and mindful thinking is so beneficial, why aren’t more people engaging in it? I like to think that the more people that help their bodies naturally, the more people we can get off medication. To me, that’s always a great thing.
I agree. Its a great approach to help with many concerns. While its difficult to obtain accurate statistics regarding rates of meditation, those numbers are steadily growing. Spread the word and teaching by example is the best thing we can do!
I have always considered taking up the practice and after reading this article, it has inspired me more to follow through with it. I knew a lot about how meditation can prevent negativity in someone’s mind but I had no idea about the biofeedback for pain and medical diagnosis. What really caught my attention was that it helps people with sleeping disorders. This past year I developed sleep apnea which is really scary. During this research, what sleeping disorders were tested with meditation and what were the results?
Ariel, sleep apnea can be scary. After getting medical attention, Id recommend using mindfulness meditation and visualization techniques to help with restful sleep. Check out our Mindfulness Visualization CD Also, I find that Belleruth Napersteck has some nice relaxation CDs. Enjoy!
It’s astonishing how through this biofeedback therapy many people can be relieved of their health complications. It seems a lot more effective than being prescribed medication. I love the fact that the patients progress is tracked during this therapy and the patient can do some things for themselves when not at treatment. I have family with high blood pressure and this treatment would be a lot more effective for them than the medications they take. Unlike prescription drugs, why is biofeedback therapy not publicized in the media?
Jalen, that’s a good question that I believe biofeedback practitioners are thinking about themselves. I know there are current efforts in the US and abroad to publicize the work some more. I am actually doing talks at biofeedback association meetings in venice, IT and Savannah, GA. So there are some efforts being made.
This article made understanding what the amygdala is and its role in structural changes in the brain much more easier than another article I read on the same topic due to this article’s use of more rudimentary vocabulary. As a singer, I can relate to the inability to recognize stress levels in my vocal chords. Could a person with vocal chord disorders use this same biofeedback treatment to increase strength and function in their vocal chords?
Allison I imagine so. I personally have worked with people who learn to breath much more effectively with their diaphragm once get receive biofeedback.
After reading through the articles on this page I understand that meditation is a much more powerful practice than I thought it was. It’s also surprising to find other contradictory medical discoveries, such as bracing/protecting or limiting the activity of muscles leading to chronic pain. The most interesting aspect of these articles to me is that meditation can be done by anyone, regardless of whether they have any medical conditions. Since there are so many positive results, reading about meditation techniques as well as biofeedback has made me ready to just go ahead and start meditating. Improved attentional skills and emotion regulation is something we all could benefit from, not to mention the physical health benefits. But this also brings up the question of “where can I learn?” Are these methods of meditation training only available from doctors or their patients?
Alex, meditation is finding its way into many training approaches. A quick google search will reveal how vast. In many places around the country there are meditation centers such as Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts and Spirit Rock on the West coast. Locally, in Atlanta there is the http://www.drepung.org/ or Both are very different and worth a visit. Enjoy!
I found this article extremely interesting. I also liked understanding that mindfulness meditation can effect and assist so many different functions of the body. I would like to know why do you believe it usually takes 8-10 sessions for you to see any actual effects. What process do you believe is responsible for the lag?
Gian, that number is interesting isn’t it. Much research has looked at 8-10 sessions which may stem largely from a common practice for self help or psychology groups to typically run around that much time. However, I often hear people talk about positive effects beginning much sooner. It is believed that the repetition, however, solidifies the changes.
This method of treatment is very interesting to me. i like knowing that many of the health problems that people have today don’t really require medication. Using this relatively new-found treatment allows patients to learn how to take control of their own body and regulate if for their health. I’ve never really supported or believed that meditation really worked, but mindful based intervention makes the concept more sensible. I realize this treatment is meant for people with health conditions, but can it be used by a perfectly healthy person to maintain mental and physical health?
Absolutely, one does not have to be sick to use meditation to help with health processes. There can be many benefits for people of average health including increased metal clarity, focus, emotional regulation, and other health related variables such as improved immune system functioning.
Biofeedback and the process of meditation is something in just learning of. It’s amazing to think that a person could come off medications because if these techniques. It was also said that you could reduce pain through the training of your thought process. I was wondering how this method would actually work for you to not feel the pain that you were in?
Israel, pain is interesting because it is a signal to the brain. So anything that can change or interfere with the signal can help. Pain medications can do that and meditation is a non-medication alternative. Often, people learn to be with the pain more effectively in that it becomes part of the background rather than the foreground.
This article gave me new information meditation that i wasn’t aware of. The fact that only 8-10 sessions can help change a persons behavioral actions to improve health is amazing. This should help many began to make the transition into meditation to help improve and even cure many health problems that many have. My question is can meditation help improve muscle memory for those who are unhealthy so it may be less difficult to get back in shape? if so how many session would that take?
Abosele, That is a really interesting question. One thing we know is that using mindfulness approaches helps people make healthier choices in eating and lifestyle. Biofeedback can help people maximize workouts by leading to more effective muscle use. People can learn to limit unnecessary muscle bracing or tensing.
Given that I am someone who has actually meditated to many of your tracks, Dr. Klich, I do believe that the mindfulness meditation has an effect on the brain. Though my change was not a large one, I still believe that the meditations have allowed me to become a more calm and relaxed person than before. Reading all the benefits that were provided in this article makes me very excited about the various medical treatments we have in the future.
John, I’m really glad to hear that meditation has been helpful to you and that you’ve found the cd useful. When you get a chance I invite you to post a review on cd baby.com so that others may better understand what it’s like from the perspective of someone who is new to mediation!
While meditating last semester, I actually saw some of the benefits that are listed in the article. I think that it is amazing how you can control things such as blood flow and heart rate. I have actually continued to meditate over the Christmas holiday and I feel more refreshed. One thing that I has not been consistent however is control of my emotions. I was wondering if it is normal to be able to get your emotions under control after meditating for a long period of time. If so, how long does this generally take?
Skyler, to make sure I understand fully if be happy to discuss briefly if you email me. If you haven’t already done so you may consider doing the mediation on emotions and seeing how that goes.
I was aware of the benefits of meditating. However, this article taught me new information about the benefits of Biofeedback. While reading this, I was amazed that Biofeedback could be so beneficial in helping people deal with pain. Could this treatment help someone who suffers from severe pain caused by a pinched nerve?
Lexus, pain is a signal. So anything that disrupts the pain- regardless of where the pain is can help. It may help reduce pain- it can help cope with pain.
This article was very scholarly and a bit confusing at times; however, it was interesting to see the outcome of the experiment with the different types of meditation.
It was interesting reading how the amygdala behaves towards positive and negative stimuli, and also how the brain behaves.
I understand how mbb would definitely help with post traumatic stress disorder because of the memories and horrific emotions in the amygdala, but how would it help diabetes which what i thought came from digesting too much sugar?
While initially I was skeptical to the “benefits” of meditation, this article has shown me a new insight to what it can do to help those with health issues without the crutch of medicine. It was an interesting read and has encouraged me to look more into meditation and how it can influence emotional processing and learning.
It’s mind blowing that this meditation can alter the way your brain is used and how it sees things.
The article presented was most definitely scholarly! After reading the article I see how meditation actually helps an individual. At first I thought mediating would not matter much but now I see how it helps with emotional processing. Now I believe meditating is well needed.
In this article it says that subjects had decreased activity in the amygdala (which is responsible for fear and related emotions). This makes me wonder how this could affects someones overall drive or effort put into things, because fear is an underlying emotion that drives us. For example fear of faliure pushes us to succeed. Though too much fear, anxiety, or stress isn’t good, we cant forget that every emotion in some way or another has positive benefits.
I did not know that meditation helped with physical aches and pains. It’s also a big motivator to meditate when one considers how it can help focus and attention concentration. Also emotional control, it’s something I have to look further into.
This research proves yet another way in which meditation improves our daily lives.
I think that the scholarly article presents great evidence as to why meditation is a great way to improve your every day life. It has long term lasting effects which is good for people who don’t have the time to do it for that long. I think that if everyone could take the time out of their day to meditate, things would probably be alot calmer.
From reading this article it showed me that meditation isn’t something that that is made up or just in peoples heads, but that it is scientifically proven to work.
When going through the process of meditation over a relatively long period of time, there are certain parts of your brain that are affected. Primarily, the parts that go with compassion and self-awareness become slightly bigger, and the part of your brain associated with stress become smaller. I’m wondering, however, what are the effects when undergoing meditation and then completely stopping? Do the effects of meditation completely reverse? As in all the parts of the brain affected by meditation revert to their original sizes ooooorr….
The treatment seems very logical and seems like it would work for everyone. I suffer from back pain and would actually enjoy attending the BIofeedback sessions. Also, I understand why the program has such a high success rate because it sets people up for after the treatment, so that the patients will continue what they practices to help cope with emotional or physical pain.
The article was very enlightening. I was unaware of the impact meditation had upon the mind and the way it functions. The experiment was very successful through the various of techniques used with meditation such as the MAT or the CBCT. However, I believe the study could have more accurate if they tested adults who had experience with meditation before to the people who were inexperienced.
I find this to be incredibly astonishing! Wow, you never know this could save the lives millions of people. Finally some well desreved attention on mental health.
i was amazed in how researchers are able to perform such tests and have amazing results. this should definitely continue to be researched and funded.
I had no idea of the amount of power mediation had on the human body to regulate stress, emotions, and attention span. How come this isn’t expressed of more importance to the public?
I’m impressed by the amount of research that has been conducted to back the art of meditation up. I wonder why there are so many skeptics if there’s this much beneficial information?
This article shows that meditation can affect your mental and physical state in a very positive way and its very impressive how 8 weeks of meditation can change your brains reaction to fear.
After looking more into the scholar article, I became intrigued by how meditation can build up a person’s awareness of their emotions and how to act on them. Just over the course of 8 weeks, people have developed certain traits that can enhance how they see situations; just by meditating and become in-tap with yourself. It was also interesting to see how the brain reacted to the different emotional triggers, because most of the time we are unaware of what our brain is telling you to do, think, and feel.
After reading this article, it goes to show you that meditation can literally change your life. Although I have only meditated once or twice, this has made me want to meditate more frequently so I can see a change in my thought process and emotions. Meditation may be difficult to get into at first, but I believe that the benefits from meditating are well worth it in the long run.
I definitely agree! Once you get into the habit of meditating the more you will want to do it. It is a wonderful way of letting go of your stresses and worries momentarily.
Im interested in meditation, but I do not think I am disciplined enough for it. Im curious how much mental strength taking on this “hobby” of sorts requires and how quickly I will notice results?
I do feel as if meditation does sooth the brain and leaves it feeling refreshed.
I found this article to be very informative, i didn’t know how much meditating can affect the human mind. I wonder if everybody meditated would the world become more peaceful.
After reading this article, I am very eager to try this type of meditation. I am hopeful that it will be helpful in managing my stress and anxiety. If meditation is really as powerful as they say, everyone should give it a try !
Based on the biofeedback I am convinced to give meditation a try. I always stress out over projects or test, which results in a major headache. Since the biofeedback shows that headaches can be cured with meditation, why not give it a shot.
The medical research backing this up makes it much more likely that I will give it a try. It seems like a great way to manage any amount of stress.
Im more of a research and proof person. This article allowed me to follow the research so I cold believe meditation was possible and could effect parts of the brain.
It still impresses me of the effects that meditation has on the human mind and body. This article truly inspires me to take time out of my day to relax, clear my mind, and just focus on my breathing.
I am still in shock of how amazing meditation is. Did an excercise in class and it truly made my day so much better!
I’ve always been interested in meditation. I find it silly to think about, but once I experienced it for myself, I can say that it did calm me down. Focusing on my breaths helped to ease my mind from negative thoughts.
Before reading these articles I was unaware of the affects of meditation and just how much it impacted parts of the brain. I was just recently introduced to meditation and I was overwhelmed by its effectiveness. I found that it did actually help me focus and really clear my mind, which can sometimes be a hard task.
I’m a skeptic as to the affects of meditation. I feel as though it is down to how much one wants to embrace the meditation. Though I’ve done this in class once and my Rest Heart Rate did go down, I feel as though it was just because I was sitting there quietly. More meditation sessions will have to be done in order for me to become a non-skeptic.
Before looking at this article, I never really cared about meditation. Once I finished reading the article, I realized the importance of meditation as it has massive effects on one’s brain. From now on, I will take meditation more seriously and allow it to perform the unremarkable therapy on my brain.
After thoroughly reading this article about this type of meditation I feel as though this is a legitimate source of pain relief for people who experience the types of problems listed. It has also helped me with my focus immensely!
I feel like this article is about how MBSR can help reduce stress and pain, and it also help to improve our health. This is the first time I know what MBSR is, and how much it affects us. Hopefully, I can use this method to help me reduce my stress in English 1101 and History 2111. I’m already stressed even today is the first day of class, because I have lots of reading to do in these 2 classes. I’m a slow reader and most of the time I don’t understan what I just read.
I never knew that meditation could really help someones stress level, and there overall health. Its almost unbelievable how much it helps the human brain and body. I stress out bad just over little things, so when it comes to assignments i literally freak out inside. School and work is very overwhelming, and i think it would be a great experience to at least try meditation!!!
I never really took the time to meditate. I always felt as if it were a “hippie” thing to do. I would be scared to even try it because i felt i would be made fun or or called weird. After reading this artice, it help me look at meditation a lot different,as stated in Structural Changes in the Brain Attributed to Mindfulness-Based Interventions-“Mindfulness-based interventions have been shown to be beneficial in reducing a number of unwanted medical and psychological symptoms in various patient populations”
This really does seem like its a beneficial tool for today’s society. This can help a lot of people who struggle with academics as well as other areas in life. With that being said. I used to think that being able to cope with stress and figuring out solutions to problems was a common sense attribute that some people seemed to be born with or adopted over time through life experiences. I have served the last 10 years in the Army and every year or 2 I have seen the caliber of people who come into the Army get worst and worst. So now I am lead to believe that with over all general worsening of competency in our society this is becoming an evermore valuable tool.
This article is very informative and backs up its claims with well-rounded statistics, such as the explanation of the success of the 8-week mindfulness program. My question is, will it be exclusively offered at specific institutions, or will these exercises be available at any therapy-related institution in the near future due to explosive popularity?
I suffer from really high anxiety and I have schizophrenia, I wonder if there is a study for the mindful behavior on any other types of mental illnesses rather than just the tradition anxiety or depression. This could be a positive way to allow someone that has body dimorphic disorder to rewire the way they see themselves or in general just wrap your mind around the task at hand and allow you to see it from another perspective. I’m more curious about this on the psychological action level rather than that of a scientific changing of the brain’s chemical processes.
After reading this post, I have become less skeptical of meditation. I have always struggled with the idea that meditation can change anything, but I imagine that my ancestors similarly struggled with modern methods for therapy/ alleviating pain/ etc. I am extremely curious, however, about the changes that meditation can make upon the grey matter of a brain. Do you happen to know whether the changes stay regardless of whether the subject still practices meditation? Or will the brain gradually revert to its previous state if a subject stops meditating?
I have never been a big believer in meditation, but after reading this post I believe it might actually help people. It is amazing that something like meditation could help with someone’s memory and emotions. Is this kind of treatment something that takes 8 weeks to complete or will there be a treatment with a shorter time frame?
I never imagined that the power of meditation could lead so far, with this sort of research and those who are willing to be more open to it, I believe this sort of treatment could completely eliminate the need for most medication/pain killers and could ultimately result in a more healthy lifestyle for some. It could even possibly lead to a longer lifespan, although I do believe it could take more time than an 8 week time frame could offer. Is it possible that a more open-minded person could have a better response to this treatment, causing a shorter time frame in which the results could occur?
The scholarly article “Effects of mindful-attention and compassion meditation training on amygdala response to emotional stimuli in an ordinary, non-meditative state”, used intellectual vocabulary that only experts in the field of meditation would comprehend. The reputable article “Structural Changes in the Brain Attributed to Mindfulness-Based Interventions” uses vocabulary that people with an inadequate understanding of meditation can understand.
Bridgett I’m glad you were able to pull from diverse litterature
with this article as well as the other article, it was well proven that meditation can improve mental strength over time. I personally don’t have any questions because the information was so well given. I will say that College of Coastal Georgia should offer some type of meditation class.
I’m glad. I hope you are able to find some resources!
It’s funny that some people say “it should be applied into school programs/activities” because that’s exactly what we’re doing. Incorporating or applying what you learn is also a phenomenal way to learn. It gives the students a sense of wholeness and not feeling lost in a particular area of study. This relates to the article because it expresses its thoughts on stress and relieving stress on anyone just by attending sessions. But what is truly fascinating is that through intense brain training you can actually start to control your mind by practicing and meditating a few times on your own.
Angel- we can become more aware of what our mind is doing for sure. That way we can be better informed to make choices and act vs react.
I strongly do believe meditating helps relieve people with high stress levels and can help people with different problems there having like anxiety or bad headaches there having. Its also pretty amazing how your brain starts to adapt to it and can cause you to have better control over different things.
Hunter its true that it can help with high stress. It is actually even better and more readily applied of practiced preventively- before we even need it.
I would love to see these tests in classrooms! Especially in high school, I feel like mediation would reduce the stress of teens and help them be able to finish their work to the best of their abilities. This article really opened my eyes to the way meditation could help students, and also working adults.
It will be nice to continue seeing results of research as its conducted on various performance and mental health outcomes.
I think they should add this to the school curriculum because i believe that it does help with stress related issues and even health related issues. i have never actually tried meditating but I know people that do and they believe strongly in it also. i enjoyed what little bit I read!
Courtnee I’m glad you found it interesting! You might want to check out some of the other articles and video about some of the benefits.
I did not realize meditation had as many benefits as mentioned in both articles. Large amounts of stress is a problem for many people. Meditation can solve that problem, but what I did not know is that it can have long lasting effects on one’s emotional stability. My only question would be how far along is the research?
A quick search on Google scholar with reveal that research is no longer in its infancy. I’ve been using it for over 15 years!
The fact that meditation can get rid of pain is amazing, people should know more about this and spread the word.Its also really interesting that meditation can help by making you stress free without having to take medication for stress that you have no idea what is doing to your body.I have a question, if your suppose to meditate every day or once in a while ?
I honestly had no idea that meditation could have these effects on our minds. The fact that it has said to have improvement in the physical and mental health of people with regard to improved immune function, pain management, and decreased psychological symptoms of stress and anxiety is just surreal. I also did not know that it was as popular as was stated.
I was never aware of the physical health benefits one can gain through meditation, nor of the actual structural changes in our brains it can make. To me, the effects of mediation have always seemed obscure and intangible. This article was very imformative and I would be interested now in researching how to begin integrating these practices into my own life. Thanks!
I’m not exactly sure what to think about meditation. It’s an interesting subject. I’ve personally never tried it. I am curious to find out if there are significant differences between mindfulness meditation versus several hours of good sleep versus a positive attitude. What sort of activities actually constitute mindful meditation?
I’ve always been kind of interested in meditation and all that it entails. I was not, however, aware that it could make actual changes to the structure of parts of the brain. I’m greatly looking forward to practicing meditation on a daily basis.
It’s always amazing to see proof that the brain is not some abstract noun but rather a physical part of one’s body capable of much practical command. I myself am no longer near as affected by pain as by surprise (still need practice I guess); nor can i count the number of previously intolerable toothaches that I now calmly wait through. How much can be prevented by healthy use of one’s own diet and mind!
I’m surprised meditation isn’t more widely practiced considering all the physical and mental health benefits. You would think it would be more common given that so many people in todays society deal with stress among other mental hardships and it seems to be an obvious and effective route to take. I found the article very interesting and am looking forward to putting it into practice in my own life.
I find this article a lot more helpful than the scholarly article it references to because I feel like it gets to the point of how beneficial meditation can be. The other article drags out, trying to prove it’s ideas while this one simply lays out it’s information and it’s more broad in the subject of meditation. This one is short and sweet. And I enjoy that. Because I’m lazy.
This blog post makes it seem as if the reduction of activity in the amygdala in regards to “fear” is a positive thing. While it is beneficial to not be afraid of everything that moves, fear is necessary to our survival (hence why we developed it) and should not be suppressed to heavily, or else we will find ourselves acting irrationally and without good judgement. While mediation could provide many benefits to the general population, we should be hesitant about the unforeseeable repercussions which may result from its use.
it is very interesting that our brain can work in such ways as it does. I never would have guessed or thought that meditating could be so beneficial to us. I’ve meditated maybe once or twice just for fun but I never new it could do such great things to our brain. I also find this article more informative than the scholarly article. it gives you more information on what amygdala is capable of doing and why it does what it does. I would love to read more about it!!
knew*
I was unaware of the widespread effects meditation has on the human body, both mentally and physically. It seems to me that meditation could be used as an alternative or even an accomplice to some medications prescribed for stress, pain, and other negative emotions. The fact that increased meditation can result in actual differences in the brain is amazing and goes to show how powerful human beings really are, and the capability we have of manipulating ourselves in positive ways.
Yes, it is amazing that we have the capacity to become more aware of cognitive and physiological processes. We can also learn to recover better. If you check out My Mindful Way of Life on Facebook you will find an article I share on learning heart rate variability biofeedback for recovery- check it out… I hope you give it a try! Enjoy, and consider checking out the movement meditation at the bottom of this page for a meditation you can do on the move http://mymindfulwayoflife.com/blog4/media/
This article makes it seem like the amygdala is a great positive thing. I would have thought that the people in our society now would be aware of the beneficial meditative to the health and mental benefits. I hope you give it a try! Enjoy, and consider checking out the movement meditation at the bottom of this page for a meditation you can do on the move http://mymindfulwayoflife.com/blog4/media/
Deonna, I am glad that you are intrigued.
Before reading this article, I never quite understood the meditation process and the effects it may have on the human mind and body. I suffer from anxiety, high stress and depression so using medication is something I would no longer like to do. Since studies have shown that meditation has reduced these things in individuals, I would like to try it out for myself and use it as my daily stress and anxiety reliever.
Amanda, I am glad you’re looking at this. Give it a whirl and if you have any difficulties with it send me an email and I may be able to recommend some books.I hope you give it a try! Enjoy, and consider checking out the movement meditation at the bottom of this page for a meditation you can do on the move http://mymindfulwayoflife.com/blog4/media/
I found this article very interesting. I didn’t know very much about meditation at all. I had absolutely no idea of some of these effects. Meditations seems like it would be a great practice to start using in school. It could be especially helpful before exams and big stressful assignments.
Laura, yes you are onto something…the combination of meditation and awareness of your physiological processes like holding your breath causing your HR to increase and the impact that has on anxiety is enormous. I hope you give it a try! Enjoy, and consider checking out the movement meditation at the bottom of this page for a meditation you can do on the move http://mymindfulwayoflife.com/blog4/media/
I have been amazed with the meditation process.I never realized how much mediation can benefit the body and the brain. Within the readings there were many mindful-based experiments done that proved that mediation can impact these areas. This article sparked my interest and I cant wait to try some meditation myself.
Im glad Emily, Enjoy, and consider checking out the movement meditation at the bottom of this page for a meditation you can do on the move http://mymindfulwayoflife.com/blog4/media/
I never looked much into meditation until recently. I’m an Army Vet with PTSD and I feel I can greatly benefit from meditation.!
I am glad Tommy. There are actually many programs for meditation for vets. I am glad you stumbled onto this. Cool D Enjoy, and consider checking out the movement meditation at the bottom of this page for a meditation you can do on the move which is nice if you are restless or just for a different pace http://mymindfulwayoflife.com/blog4/media/
Also know that you dont have to keep your eyes closed. Eyes may be lowered and looking at a simple spot on the ground or lap. Enjoy the journey
I’ve always thought that mediation was more for older people but reading the article made me realize that it may be for anyone who has any type of stress. Does it typically take 8 weeks in order to see the results? How does your environment have to be?
Cool Diamon, you just learned that it might benefit many more people. These days they are teaching meditation in schools to kids. The studies are often done on 8 week periods. Though some have shown results sooner, there definitely is a dose response curve with regard to seeing beneficial results. Enjoy, and consider checking out the movement meditation at the bottom of this page for a meditation you can do on the move http://mymindfulwayoflife.com/blog4/media/
Meditation has always been a stereotypical thing to me, with like the soft music, sitting criss crossed, humming type of thing. I now realize that meditation is much more than that. It not only relaxes people but teaches the person to stay calm in a frantic or stressful time. I am most defiantly more open to the idea now that I have had the privilege of reading this article.
Kayla, I am glad it broadened your perspective.Some of those things you speak of are rituals, some of which are not necessary though they have reasons. For example sitting upright on the floor on the pillow makes one have to support themselves instead of leaning back into a chair. The former is likely to prevent bad posture and prevent sluggishness. Enjoy learning, and consider checking out the movement meditation at the bottom of this page http://mymindfulwayoflife.com/blog4/media/
I found this article to obtain similar information to the previous article that we did the rhetorical précis on. It was nice to see that all the research that’s been done is accurate information, because it strengthens my belief that these meditation methods actually work and are helpful to us. One piece of information that stuck out to me in this article is that the “alteration in the emotional processing of the brain remained even outside of the meditative state (Klich).” The previous article mentioned this and I find that fascinating that meditation can have that big of an impact on not only our brains but our everyday emotions.
Absolutely Becca, I wonder what youll find after giving it a try? Enjoy, and consider checking out the movement meditation at the bottom of this page for a meditation you can do on the move http://mymindfulwayoflife.com/blog4/media/
Reading different articles lately I have begun to look at meditation in a new light. I have always looked at meditation as something for hippies who want to become more at peace with the world, but I’m beginning to think that it would be helpful for everyone. One of the biggest problems I see in life is people reacting badly to a situation and making it worse. I think meditation could help with that sort of thing in people/s day to day life.
Sarabeth, you are onto something major and might appreciate learning more about compassion meditation as that is exactly what the aim of the practice is. Theres a special issue of a biofeedback magazine coming out in the fall that will provide some information as to that. Check back it will be on the site. Meanwhile there are some great websites for compassion meditation. You might google neff self compassion inventory and take the quick quiz yourself…its interesting. Enjoy, and consider checking out the movement meditation at the bottom of this page http://mymindfulwayoflife.com/blog4/media/
This article helped me understand little more about meditation. I think with all the research they have done on meditation methods in the pass years they have made people more interested. I never would of thought that it helps with disorders and brain functions.
I am glad the article provided you with a broader perspective. Enjoy, and consider checking out the movement meditation at the bottom of this page for a meditation you can do on the move http://mymindfulwayoflife.com/blog4/media/
Wow! This article is very helpful in showing me the science behind meditation. Is there a chance this could help with diseases like dementia or Alzheimer’s?
Josie, you might do a quick search on google scholar and see what you find. Let me know? Meditation is used to help people with their memory because if we can learn to be more present we actually encode more so that it is there to retrieve it when we need. Every come out of a store and not have any idea where you parked your car? That is what happens when we are not present- the information is not actually encoded. Enjoy, and consider checking out the movement meditation at the bottom of this page http://mymindfulwayoflife.com/blog4/media/
After reading about meditation my view on it has changed completely. I am realizing that it could help with the busy lives we all have, because we often face fear and stress multiple times on a daily basis.
Exactly Sam, and often we are not aware of our physical body’s response to stress. That is where being mindful through meditation and learning a bit of biofeedback, awareness of how the body reacts to stress can help. Heres a meditation you can do in the middle of a busy day. Enjoy, and consider checking out the movement meditation at the bottom of this page for a meditation you can do on the move http://mymindfulwayoflife.com/blog4/media/
This is really amazing, I didn’t know meditation could cure so many things. After reading this I really feel that meditation is very powerful and could really help a lot of people in the near future with their health problems. I also feel as though both the Scholarly article and this article as well really explained a lot about how meditation actually works.
I am glad the articles gave you a greater perspective on whats out there. Enjoy, and consider checking out the movement meditation at the bottom of this page http://mymindfulwayoflife.com/blog4/media/
After reading this article, I realize that meditation is more than just clearing your mind, but can help relieve stress. Using meditation to reduce stress can be helpful.
It sure can. It is also beneficial as a preventive technique. Enjoy, and consider checking out the movement meditation at the bottom of this page http://mymindfulwayoflife.com/blog4/media/
I recently read an article called “Effects of mindful-attention and compassion meditation training on amygdala response to emotional stimuli in an ordinary, nom-meditative state”, which was very similar to this article. My outlook on meditation has brightened tremendously. After reading these articles, I believe that continuing research on meditational effects to the brain could greatly benefit those with mental disorders as well as physical disorders. I myself am considering meditation to relive stress.
Darian the research is indeed quite promising. That is great that you are testing it out for stress as it can do wonders preventively as well. Happy Meditating. Enjoy, and consider checking out the movement meditation at the bottom of this page http://mymindfulwayoflife.com/blog4/media/
This article was really informative; now knowing that mediation could honestly relieve someone’s stress and it is good for overall their health I feel as if it was really important. Mediation is a useful tool for society today. Before reading this article I was unaware of how much mediation affects the brain.
Its interesting isnt it? Enjoy, and consider checking out the movement meditation at the bottom of this page http://mymindfulwayoflife.com/blog4/media/
While reading a scholarly article, it was shocking to see the amount of research that has been done on the Amygdala, in order to measure its affects in response to compassion and meditation. Meditation is associated with the brain, and should be helpful with mental issues, as seen with the studies. . I do question why so many people haven’t been exposed to it. Why, if it does have positive impact, do we not see it used more often? Especially when there is clear evidence, as stated in the post, that mindfulness meditation has shown to positively increase emotional stability. I have never been aware that there were beneficial results of meditation, so that is really very interesting.
Believe it or not Callie, It has been around for many years and thee last few years have even been touted as a “Mindful Revolution” by many (see Time Magazine article). Theres lots of research happening in various domains from schools, to prisons, hospitals and everywhere in between. Enjoy, and consider checking out the movement meditation at the bottom of this page http://mymindfulwayoflife.com/blog4/media/
I now can see meditation as a helpful way of stress relief. I am still a little wary of the idea but it seems like it may be helpful.This article gives me hope of being open-minded to trying to meditate.
I was very interested by the fact that the program was able to help relieve people from stress and anxiety. I deal with stress and anxiety in different situations. How many times a day/week should a person meditate?
I was always told that this sort of thing was evil and or was not of any good thing. But recently I have been doing my own meditation practices and now that I am old enough I can make my own perceptions of things without having to care about any others opinions. In my recent studies of articles and other related forms and novelist, I have really started to see meditation in another perspective, its even been helping me control my demon. To me a humans imagination is something of great power, something that could cause galaxies to be born, a humans imagination is something dangerous yet beautiful, and me practicing meditation has gave me more power and control over my own imagination. Now if only others would at least try this out as well…?
2) I was told about meditation on many times but never really paid it any though on actually trying it but being that I am ADHD and have anxiety attacks and really do not know how to deal with stress well my view on meditation has now changed and I am willing to give it a try.
I always thought meditation as a hippy or religious kind of thing. I see now there are many pros to meditation. Perhaps instead of not only using it in clinics, for emotional stability, but also use it in prisons and school before finals. Why not take meditation to an extent where it can be used to calm people and release negative emotions as the article stated.
wow the results of meditation blow my mind. I had no idea that doing this just 45 minutes a day can change our brain and the grey matter that much. but although this is great, how does the meditation affect the brain in a way to connect with our inner selves to reduce stress?
Both this article and the scholarly article I read piqued my interest on the topic of mindfulness based interventions. I struggle with stress and how to deal with it, so I look forward to learning more about this subject both in class and on my own. I find that the idea of being able to alter how my brain functions and how I react to stress and other emotional situations is interesting to think about and worth investigating more about.
This would be a really great thing if they incorperated these meditation programs throughout the school systems. Meditation and relaxation has become a huge part of our daily lives. So many people are stressed and have anxiety, which really takes a toll on their well being. If everyone actually had the chance to meditate at least twice a week, they would probably start to see improvements. This article was very formative and taught me a lot about relaxation and meditation.
Effects of mindful-attention and compassion meditation training on amygdala response to emotional stimuli in an ordinary, non-meditative state was very informing about how meditation can lead to change in brain function. I’ve learned that there are many benefits to meditation. In the Article “Structural Changes in the Brain Attributed to Mindfulness-Based Interventions” I didn’t know that mindfulness-based programs cause change to in emotional regulation.
I am constantly struggling to deal with balancing a bus schedule and this article changed my thoughts on mediation and how it could help cope with stress and anxiety that every one goes through in their everyday lives. Mediation was always came across to me as something very trendy and hipster, but after this article it really changed my views and made me more open minded to a different type of stress relief.
i am so glad that meditation helps our body so much in many ways. this made me realize that to live a peaceful life, i need to meditate. this article helped me a lot.
Thanks
i read both scholarly article and reputable post on mindfulness of life. Scholarly article was much more broad and with lot of information. I like this post better then other i read before.
This has been very eye opening. I am very interested in learning how to meditate after what I have learned.
The scholarly article was very interesting, it really make you think about the effects stress can have on the body. I never really thought about mediation like i’m beginning to think about it now. As for the reputable post it had a lot of helpful thoughts as well.
I have done meditation for several years now, and it definitely helps me. I found this very interesting and informative about the specifics on how it helps.
Ive always looked at meditation as a lot of humming, but my eyes are open now. I love the benefits of exercise and yoga and is what i do in spare time. now taking the time to try this could be beneficial for everyday life and stress induced times.
I never was really interested in meditation, but it’s pretty cool to find out how much of a difference it makes. Making people feel like they are in another state of mind and relaxed by just meditation is nice. For the stressed people who do not have the patience to listen to your tracks how will i work?
i thought meditation was just an normal exercise for things like stress and depression. But reading this article honestly showed me how vital it could be. Feeling so relaxed and anew is something everyone should want.
I be one that has never meditated or knowing anyone that did i couldnt say i knew much about it besides it looking a little strange. After reading this article i can tell that meditation has proven to be helpful.
I can personally say that the research done on meditation aligns with my personal experience. Performing various forms of meditation is something I do as a regular measure to decrease anxiety and stress.
I believe that meditation can do wonders! I think it is beyond incredible that it can help with the pain from headaches, high blood pressure, sleep problems, and even diabetes! In my opinion, I think everyone should at least try meditation, I mean what could come bad from it?
I never really paid any attention meditation and always thought that meditation only helped with stress but this article proved that it’s helpful for many purposes. What surprised me the most is that meditating helps a persons immune system improve.
I am amazed with all the EMG on telling how much muscle contraction there is. I also like how once they find out abnormal muscle tension then visual feedback provides the patient with a muscle retraining protocol.
It is amazing that meditation/ biofeedback therapy can help to reduce pain- and not only is it just “in your mind”, it really IS in your mind. I think it is interesting how different parts of the brain are visibly affected, and that those changes can be monitored, during the meditation process. It really builds a strong case for the benefits of meditation, especially for those who experience lots of stress in their everyday lives.
I was unaware meditating had such an impact. Its interesting to know that meditating can help us from our stress and pain and even our immune system. Maybe people should start meditating!
Reading about this research was very interesting. This has made me look at meditation in a different way. I have always just thought of it as a little thing some people did to calm down. I also thought it was neat how it has been proven to have lasting effects on the brain in a positive way. Definitely makes me more interested in the subject.
While reading this article, an abundance of skepticisms came through my mind. By the end of the excerpt, however, the whole study of meditation is beginning to make sense. The concept of forcing yourself to stop thinking only makes me think even more. As it has been proven, though, the eight week course that is mentioned in the article helps with that issue. I am curious to see if I can actually be one of the statistics, and have meditation help with my stress and anxiety.
This study seems to be extremely beneficial to college students most of us deal with anxiety and stress, the benefits of the immune system is also a bonus for overall health. This might also be a good look into the future and possibly get away from taking pills to help with things that can be fixed without them.
As the article says, these findings are profound. The studies now have the ability to scientifically show a benefit to meditation. The most impressive finding to me was that many participants found improvement in pain management after the sessions.I feel that could be very beneficial to people who suffer from chronic pain.
I have always known that by doing some kind of meditation that it can help relieve stress related problems. Since I live a stress free lifestyle that portion of the study doesn’t interest me. I would like to hear more about the affects it can have on someone with chronic pain. As someone that came from the military it would be nice if they would have implemented some teachings there to help myself and other people that suffer from pain.
It’s is crazy to me than an activity that you perform can change the structure of your brain. The thought that things such as meditation can put you in better physical and emotional health is hard to believe. Who would have ever thought that this program could increase you immune system function to help prevent illness. The psychological field, specifically in medicine, never ceases to amaze me.
I’ve always been incredibly fascinated by the benefits of relaxing/calming activities on the mind. My mother works in the neuroscience department at a hospital in Atlanta and I remember her showing me CT scans and MRIs of patients and explaining to me what the different parts of their brain are doing in the pictures. I have seen incredibly powerful medicines produce half the activity that meditation does and I’m constantly impressed by our body’s self-healing mechanisms. I feel that if more people were educated on the benefits of meditation and the healing it can produce, stress levels and high blood pressure issues could be managed at least a little bit more effectively than they are today
I have had to deal with a lot of the issues regarding MBSC with parents having Alzheimer’s and now an uncle with dementia and raising a deaf grandson.My health is improving by controlling my rheumatoid arthritis (auto immune disease)and other health issues by medication,meditation,and focusing on my needs.I chose to return to college for me knowing that it may be tough but I will remain to have a positive attitude despite the other. In relation to the article it was interesting and having dealt with a lot of the health issues from both sides your life does change and you take day to day as positive as you can for a rewarding life.
This article was of great interest on my behalf due to me having a friend who suffered from social phobia. In other words, the person has no control over their thoughts and feelings when around peers. The person then has this constant thought in their mind that people only look at them by their flaws. The disorder basically controls the person’s mind by allowing them to have false beliefs about social situations and causing the person to be unable to focus and function properly at school, work, etc. With that said I found the article helpful because I wondered if my friend’s parents thought of using meditation as a reliever instead of having him take medication to reduce the issue. With a load of college work and other priorities I have, I even find meditation a fantastic reliever for me.
This article fascinates me on both an informative and personal level. The fact that this mindfulness-based meditation can exhibit major changes in the brains emotional regulation, health, attitude, and behavior is existential. As someone who has a family history of anxiety/stress related mental health issues, the research this team has accomplished can, I feel, change the way we deal with any unwanted medical or psychical symptoms. Something as simple as meditation may be able to take the place of harmful pharmaceutical treatment. What really astounded me was the long lasting effect the mindful-based meditation had on the amygdala. I recently read another fascinating article discussing the amygdala and how it had decreased activity in subjects who took their 8 week program, even when not in a meditative state.
Mindfulness based programs have come a long way in not only helping to reduce stress but also improve the immune system through meditation exercises. The effects on the amygdala have shown the positive affects on emotions and also attentiveness. I believe that using meditation on a daily basis is the best way to help anyone relieve any tension and stay focused.
Mindfulness based interventions sound like an exciting and advancing area of research. The results and benefits to your mental and physical self are impressive. Meditation is so valuable because it can relieve simple pains in your life.
My thought on this article values the audience on how our mind cooperate and the way think interfere with our emotions. The non-meditative state taught me about how meditation can lead to change in brain functions. Also, reaching the point on the amygdala response. I think that the authors supported the meanings on mindful attention.
I was a little skeptical of meditation working when I first heard about it. However, after reading this article I find it very interesting the different things that it says this meditation can help with. This article has helped me become a little more open to trying and discussing meditation.
I think it’s fascinating that there is strong evidence of this treatments success shown through studies and imaging of the brain. As a college student I definitely see the value in trying to keep stress levels down and improving your health at the same time. I have done lots of yoga throughout my life and have found that it works great for relieving stress, but not as well for pain. This article makes me wish I would have known more about the biofeedback treatment options when I was recovering from multiple painful oral surgeries. It would have been interesting to see if meditation could have made my pain levels more manageable. I’m interested to know what the actual success rates of this treatment are.
Wow, I have never actually thought about the science behind meditation. I have always wanted to try it myself. I think this is a great way to help people learn new things about themselves as well as how to deal with them in a peaceful way. This semester I am taking yoga and hopefully it reflects positively upon me.
I never really knew the capabilities and impact of meditation. I have always heard about it being helpful but I never thought helpful enough for me to actually want to do it but now I am very interested. I’m hoping it has a great impact on me like it has others!
I absolutely agree with Dr. Klitch. I believe that muscle tension can make many injuries and illnesses worse. I think that learning to control your muscles, breathing etc can make you feel better and make you healthier. I found it interesting that people can learn to increase their blood flow to their injured extremities.
Stress and anxiety takes over people’s lives and meditation can reduce this. It is great to know that studies are being performed to clarify the value of meditation. It is beneficial for your overall health and can relieve you from your worries in life and everyday pains. Maybe we should start mediating and setting aside a couple of minutes in our busy lives to do so.
I have no prior knowledge about meditation at all. Reading the two articles has been very interesting and informative. I would have thought meditation would help with stress and anxiety, but never would have thought it could help with pain, and other medical issues. My mom has high blood pressure , so I would be very interested to learn how this training could help her. I do wonder how quickly you see results.
This was such a huge eye opener for me, I never thought meditation could help for a long time period. I always thought of meditation as being a relaxing thing of course, but only for the moment, or that day. The whole study of meditation is beginning to make sense. This article really makes you think about the effects stress can have on the body. It is so amazing that meditation/biofeedback therapy can help to reduce pain and endless other things
I personally have never tried meditation, but after reading this I want to for sure give it a chance. I never really realized how beneficial meditation was. Not only does it help with anxiety and stress, but pain too. I never thought I would be interested but hoping now that it is as beneficial as this article reveals.
wow, I have never thought of this to be an actual thing to where this actually helps people. also, i would figure it would take a longer amount of sessions for people to start to acquire a taste for the meditation, not only 8-10 sessions for it to actually take affect.
I am 100% with Dr. Klitch. The more muscle tension you put on your body can make you feel ten times as bad. I know this because right now I have a lot of muscle tension on my side and when I try to loosen up I feel better. I found myself at the beginning of meditation being tense, but towards the end I am relaxed.
Stress can be one of the most damaging aspect of a person’s life. If just meditation can give way to a release of this stress, then I don’t understand why more people aren’t doing it. The structural change in the brain is hard evidence that something in the person is changing, and all signs point to meditation. More people should be trying this form of meditating, since it seems to have more than just a small effect on people.
I’ve looked into doing meditation before but I could never find the right tools to do it with and now after reading about this program and the effects of it I’m really excited to get started on this and SEE results.
This information certainly gives me a new outlook on meditation. I am very surprised with all the disorders this type of mediation can help with. It really goes to show how true the old saying “mind over matter” really is.
I think this is a great thing. It’s a very simple thing that can make a serious impact on our physical and mental health. I know personally when I have been in stressful situations, if I would just take a minute to gather my thoughts, I could make better decisions and not feel anxious.
I never knew meditation could have such positive affect on a person’s body. I thought it was just used to help calm somebody down or some made up thing people did that they just said worked. Now that I see there is actual data to back it up I think that all major sports players should incorporate it into his/her daily routine and help prevent against injuries.
wow, i never imagined meditation could have any medical benefits. I’m really looking forward to getting into meditation myself and i cant wait to see the changes I’ll go through.
The thought of meditation was completely weird at first. I feel like I’ve gained a better understanding of the process. The process is a strategy to allow yourself to sit back and just pay attention to your body and learn how to control it. How long are the secession? Does the results differ for different age groups?
I find it interesting that people are just now doing research on the benefits of meditation. Meditation has been a common practice throughout history in many different cultures long before society was developed enough to actually test and see the positive impacts it has on a person. So with that being said it does not surprise me that testing is showing how meditation really helps a persons well-being.
It’s amazing how dedicated people are to this program! Eight times a week for two to three hours at a time. That is a huge investment of time for a med student.
After reading the information above it’s very interesting to see all the research that was presented. It amazing that meditation can help individuals “improved immune function, pain management, and decreased psychological symptoms of stress and anxiety.” I thought it was very neat how it shows signs of grey matter actions changing in the brain. Reading this I want to try incorporating 45 minutes out of my day to meditate. I like that they have many centers and different types of therapies all over. I feel strongly that it helps long lasting effect on emotional stability. Becoming one with my mind would be a great feeling to know all my body is in balance. This one statement that stands out to me is “This alteration in the emotional processing of the brain remained even outside of the meditative state” says a lot about the treatment. I would love to try the meditation and one day try the training.
After reading the information above it made me fully aware of how something simply as meditation could help you in many different areas of our lives. It can reduce stress, pain and so much more and I find that very interesting. Being that we all struggle and face anxiety and stress and so much more in our lives I would strongly recommend mediation to anyone to try to help balance and reduce the stress and etc.
I find it so interesting how our mind and body are capable of doing these things. I always just thought that meditation was something that people used to relax, but I never noticed all of the benefits it has until after reading this. It also amazes me how “the meditation practice centers on using the breath to cultivate the ability to stay present with one’s mind.” Just by using your breath you are able to connect with so many different parts of your body, and seeing how it affects you is even more interesting. I can also see how much meditation makes a difference because this source presented research on people that have participated in it.
I find this informational so intriguing. The brain is so complex in nature it is always interesting to find studies to back up theories we have. I was quite skeptical when I first heard of this process of mediation. But I seems to have great feedback and I think I would be willing try it after reading this article!
It was interesting to find out that we as individuals have some control over our bodies in that aspect. When we think about different things such as headaches, diabetes, sleep disorders, etc. we look at it as medical conditions that’s out of our hands. I know this kind of control takes time through the MMB process, about how long to master it?
I find this very interesting. I have never meditated before, nor do I know how. I think it is interesting in the way it can help your body. I become so over whelmed with school work and so stress about my grades I get very bad head aches and Anxiety. I believe it’s amazing how taking a little time from your day can help dissolve issues in your lifestyle
Meditation could also be a form of medication, without having an affect on the immune system. I do believe meditation is good for the human body, as well as the mind. I would reccomend meditation for anyone who has problems with stress/ anxiety, but not serious enough to take medication for it.
I think article was very interesting to read about. The fact that people can completely change the way they react to something both positive and negative is really cool. Also that they have been trying it out and are actually getting results is really impressive to. so for the people who don’t think meditating can have any effect on a person, this just proves them wrong completely.
It is very interesting how this article shows that meditation can have physical and emotional effect on people. I also find it very interesting that it only takes 8 weeks how someone can process and react to stress.
Over the past couple of years I have learned a lot about how strong of an effect your mental state has on your physical one. I have loved practicing meditation as a therapy instructed by my counselor. After struggling to find a coping mechanism with my panic and anxiety disorder (runs in the family), i used meditation as a way to slow down my mind and ultimately calm my body when i would start having a panic attack or not be able to focus due to anxiety. Being someone that is also very much against using prescribed medications to treat such issues because of the addictiveness, actually making meditation a priority has allowed myself to calm by thoughts and body down when needed without being dependent on pills.
According to this blog, http://mymindfulwayoflife.com/blog4/research/, Biofeedback can help with Headaches, Myofascial pain, High blood pressure, Cardiac Arrhythmias, Diabetes, Sleep Disorders, Fibromyalgia, Anxiety and Panic. In the article, “Effects of mindful-attention and compassion meditation training on amygdala response to emotional stimuli in an ordinary, non-meditative state” the authors claim that meditation training can lead to enduring changes in brain function, even outside meditation sessions.
I’m amazed at what meditation can really do. I was a little skeptical at first, but after seeing the successful outcomes from the experiments, I’m definitely willing to give it a try. The fact that meditation has medical benefits as well is truly fascinating.
I personally have never been open to the idea of meditating to help me. This article has made me want to possibly give it a try.
Along with the “Effects of mindful-attention and compassion meditation training on amygdala response to emotional stimuli in an ordinary, non-meditative state.” article, this evolves the question of whether the art of meditation does positively impact the amygdala and ultimately the happiness of a person. In both studies they had meditation training over a period of time followed by certain types of testing to view their results. Both studies found that meditation reduced negative responses by the amygdala and overall stress of the persons. This brings me to be more open to the idea of meditation and what it can do for my mental health.
These articles are very deep on how The Effects of mindful-attention and the treatments are actually helping people in everyday life once each studies were conducted. The fact that MBSR opened the door for so many other researches to be conducted its actually amazing because, now its so much more that can be researched on the human way of thinking which now is making me think about the many ways that we could be researched as a human.
Studies show that meditation helps one’s well being. I am excited to try it, and I look forward to it’s benefits. I wonder how long it takes for one to master meditation.
I didn’t know that mediation with meditation you can learn to control abnormal spasms, blood flow, respiration and heart rate to reduce or eliminate cramping and burning pain.I think that people should stat to meditate other then going to do therapy that can cost thousands of dollars.It would save you a lot of money if you do it yourself by meditation.
I don’t know much about meditation. Reading the articles has opened my thought to the idea of meditation. I thought meditation helped with stress and anxiety, but never would have thought it could help with pain. That could be very helpful in curving the opioid epidemic in America right now.
My first thought when I read this was how it could be blessing to so many people when referring to drug abusers. Not only would it save the addict, but all of their family and friends that has to suffer, too!
yes Daphanie, thankfully there is research being done in this area!
I recently read an article as part of my school research called “Effects of mindful-attention and compassion meditation training on amygdala response to emotional stimuli in an ordinary, nom-meditative state”, which I found quite intriguing, but looking at this particular article I’m amazed at the effects meditation can have on the mind, body, and spirit. I’m especially floored by the effects it has on the immune system, never would have guessed that meditating could have an effect on such a vast amount of things. All I’ve ever seen was that it’s just a stress reliever. But one question I do have, what ways of mediation do you suggest? For someone who works, goes to school, and has kids, what is a recommended meditation practice when there is free time?
Aaron, you are right there is never any free time and with life responsibilities such as kids they can take up all the empty space! I strongly recommend that you try to commit even one week when you do a brief 10 min guided exercise. Be creative, many people watch tv or spend time on the computer the can truncate. there are apps on the phone like “moment” I believe that will even tally the minutes youve been on your phone…once you get into a routine it is much easier to start to see a minute here, 60 seconds there…you get my point…when you stop and breathe and focus on just that. Many people I work with do stop light/stopsign mindful moments of just breathing till its time to go. There are some books on mindful parenting if you get interested in it that you might explore as well. Email me once you try when you get into a grove if you have any questions. good luck. Dr. K
I didn’t know that when you meditate it helps with your stress levels. I struggle with bipolar depression. I believe this will definitely benefit me in the long run. What is amazing is how the amygdala is responsible for a certain part of your brain. When Dr. Klich mentioned “The research demonstrates that participants exhibit major changes in health, attitudes, and behavior”, I was really shocked. I never knew by doing meditation that it could help you on so many levels. Especially when I learned about the amygdala, I never knew that existed in our brains. I have tried meditating once before, but I didn’t think it would help me so I stopped. I will definitely give this a try.
Bri, Im so glad you have happened upon this. It may help you to get the assistance of a therapist who understands meditation as a coach to guide you. It can be quite complementary to various other treatments. enjoy
This is all very interesting and new information to me. The fact that just meditating for a set amount of time can have such an impact in your mental and physical health is just astounding. Now, the question is, how soon will meditation and mental excercises become a more commonly prescribed treatment? There’s a long way to go, considering pharmaceuticals is a very big and powerful business, but more and more studies are being done to bring this practice to popular view.
Alex, absolutely agreed. State of the art medical centers are using it more but it will be exciting to see it continue to gain momentum and become more extensively used.
This article is very interesting. It’s wonderful that it has long lasting effects and that people who need it use it, hopefully one day I also may be able to use it one day.
I can certainly appreciate this article, because it has shown me that medication is not always needed for aches and pains. Something as simple as meditation can be used to assist patients in so many areas of their personal lives. Over the years I have used spiritual meditation as apart of my daily life and with being consistent I have received a harvest of joy, peace, and calmness in abundance. So, I encourage the researchers to continue to study meditation in different areas of mental and physical health that will assist those that really need it in the future.
Lora, I am glad to hear that you have found a meditation practice to turn to that is helpful for you. As far as we have come with research Im excited about the next wave of truly fine-tuning our understanding of what exactly is taking place physically when we meditate.
Personally I cannot agree with meditation as a medical fix, as someone with disabilities I have been part of meditation training for several things and have never had any changes occur. I believe that the same groups of people that do have meditation helping them in their lives have easily impressible minds. The same as hypnosis only works for a select group of people. If you are a person that meditation helps then that is great i just do not see it being a viable cure for everyone, same as one medication does not work for every one with the same symptoms. As far as it being used for stress management, sitting down not thinking about your stresses will help for a time, same as a vacation will take your mind off of the everyday hussel and bussel of ones working life. By all means I would take a weeks vacation, payed for by my doctor as a stress relief option.
Wow. I really think this is a good Study. Meditation does not work for Everyone, but can be a very calming tool in an intense situation. overall I think that the study was helpful to a lot of people
Cody, absolutely, you are onto something. not thinking about your stresses is more of a “relaxation technique” Simply pushing them away doesn’t take them away though short breaks, even in your mind can be helpful sometimes. Meditation is in some ways the opposite…being with what is. With research no longer in its infancy, there is abundant evidence published in scholarly peer-reviewed scientific journals that demonstrates numerous physical changes, including changes in the breain we see on FMRIs. While exciting, it doesnt work for everyone certainly as no treatments or techniques do. Though actually interestingly enough suspension of belief and suggestibility are not in any way correlated with successful treatment as it would be for hypnosis. Hypnosis involves opening the subconscious mind…not something that meditation targets. Theres plenty of reading if you have any future curiosity into various mediation techniques. As a healthy psychologist with longtime practice in medical settings, my personal approach is to combine it with Biofeedback. This assists individuals who have a difficult time with things that are intangible as they can practice making changes in physical perameters such as heart rate variability, musclular contraction and other measures of peripheral feedback such as vasodilatation whereby people can learn to change their blood flow and warm their hands.
Hope you find some things that work for you even if you cant find a doctor to pay for your vacation 😉
Reading this article really makes you think a lot about our brains. Being a college student stress is always present around my environment. From tests to homework, stress is everywhere. Examining the results of these tests really make me want to began meditating myself. Science like this can really help me or any student that begins to over stress about school.
YEs, stress is often unavoidable…only our reaction to it can be changed. I hope you enjoy meditating!
Would an example of mindfulness meditation training consist of making a person face their stress triggers and accept them instead of repressing them when we have a flashback? I believe that meditation is very similar to having faith. I wonder what the world be like if were even the slightest bit more mindful!
Daphanie, I would change the language of “making” a person face their stress triggers to suggesting being open to observing what stress triggers emerge. I agree wouldnt it be amazing to consider whtat it would be like if we were all a bit more mindful. Hope you get a chance to enjoy meditations.
This article is interesting in the sense that it is both supportive of the other scholary article “Effects of Mindful-Attention and Compassion Meditation Training on Amygdala Response to Emotional Stimuli in an Ordinary, Non-Meditative State,” and also because it is much more simple. It is easy to understand here what exactly is going on, and everything is broken down into uncomplicated terms. Despite this, this article gives no actual research. It simply assumes that one automatically believes their data. Without having read the other article first, I would be extremely skeptical of this, scholarly or not.
Anna, I am glad you had a chance to explore both and appreciate your comment. Hope you get a chance to enjoy the meditations.
The MBSR program sounds like it’s very benefitting for most people that are involved in it. They feel more relaxed and les stressed when it comes to all the basic things we stress about the most. It helps with sleeping better, you don’t have as many body aches as you used to, you’re preventing yourself from receiving things like diabetes, high blood pressure, stress disorders and so on. Participating in these sessions can also reduce the amounts of medication you insert into your body on a daily basis which is always good for you. The person involved can also become less dependent on their team.
The MBSR program seems to be very beneficial for people that are stressed. Relaxing the mind for a long period of time seems to be good for the brain and for the whole body. In the end, I believe it could help you in many aspects of your life, like physically you wont be exhausted because you’ve rested your mind for a long people of time and you’re not stressed, so you will get better rest.
I never knew the MBSR program was so important. Especially for people with mental problems. It seems like patients could get a lot from this and not only patients, but for people that are stressed out as well. I myself get stressed out a lot, so this really has me thinking now. I also like how it says it helps with your health, because your health is a big part of your life.
In both article 1 and 2 I read a lot of information based on what they call mindful attention/mindfulness. From what I gathered, I think that this “mindful attention” is a form of mediation. Meditation is said to affect brain function, and in both articles training was being done with participants to further this notion. Brain imaging was a way that they were able to look and see results of the training being done, and the emotional parts of the brain were effected. I think that in the future we can use meditation technology to help with the serious emotional problems that some people have.
In the article above it explained a very clear analysis of the long lasting effects on the brain. This article is very informative due to the simple fact that meditation consistently can create emotional stability. From the research it also can help with anxiety, stress, and fear. I strongly believe that the MBSR is changing lives and perspectives about how to over come stress and other emotions coming from the amygdala.
I was really intrigued when I read about how meditation can affect the brains function. People associate meditation to Indian people, and for the most part most Indians do meditate in some shape or form. Usually the purpose for meditation for me is to find a calm center and just relax I did not realize it could help brain function. Another thing I found fascinating about the article was when they talked about how amygdala activations is different amongst individuals. It is usually stimulated by personality traits. I truly do not understand how a program attended for 8 weeks can have such a major change in one selves, but I believe that I would have to attend it to actually grasp the concept and see the changes for myself.
In article one and two, it explains a lot about how your amygdala keeps you stress free and how your emotions are processed. Your amygdala processes better when your are not meditating and varies from person to person. Like when the people were training to go about this meditation process, they observed people in a non-meditation state to see the difference from normal state of mind. Also, the MSBR is very interesting, because it contributes to your health. Such as how stressed you are or how emotional you are. Basically, the less stressed you are the better your brain and body is at being in better shape and better health.
In the Scholarly Article, it talks about how scientists have gained an interest in how meditation affects the brain. They are intrigued at the possibility that the meditation training can lead to positive brain functioning outside of the meditation practices. Using contemplative practices, scientists have found that the training is improving attentional and emotional skills, or the amygdala.
The MMB Related Research emphasizes the importance of breath to reduce stress on the mind. The training leads to improved physical and mental health. BY finding this the scientists have figured out that there is a potential long lasting effect on emotional health and so now the researchers can adapt and meet the needs of clinical people.
Even though I have never participated in the act of meditating, I feel it is a great activity to do. As the article states, it can help with many physics and mental symptoms. Many people around the world deal with stress and anxiety, and let it over-power them. I feel if people meditate once a day, the world would be a better place without so much anger.
These articles made me really think differently about meditation. In both articles, they tested people on how their body and mind would react to 8 weeks of meditation sessions. The scientists who were in the “Scholarly Article” and the MBSR program did experiments with different types of meditation to see the effects of the subject’s brain over the 8 week period. At the end of the 8 week period, the subjects got MRI’s to see if their brain had benefited from 8-10 sessions of meditation. The MRI’s showed a lot of benefits such as helping with: insomnia, high blood pressure, physical pain, lack of focus and there are many more benefits that could help many people. Meditation could take medication out of some peoples lives, if they substituted medication for meditation.
This article is interesting to me because they are breathing exercise to cultivate the ability to stay present with your mind. “effects of mindful-attention and compassion meditation training on amygdala response to emotional stimuli in an ordinary, non-meditative” , I read that when you are meditating your amygdala response to emotional stimuli is lower than usual.
this article definitely changed my perception on meditation. For instance meditation improves attention skills as stated in the article “Scholarly Article” which stood out to me, because I for one have an attention span of a squirrel . to add-on I learned some new benefits from mediating such as emotional control, and brain improvement , its as if your finally finding yourself which is a well-known thing in teenage society today . also the fact that meditation is scientifically proven to reduce medical illness to your physical and mental well-being referenced in the “MBB Related Research” article really makes me want to go out on Coastal’s green grass and begin to meditate
After reading the article “Effects of mindful-attention and compassion meditation training on amygdala response to emotional stimuli in an ordinary, non-meditative state” I found it interesting that gender possibly played a role in the experiment. There experiment was not set up to see how gender effects mediation, but they found a pattern where females showed more activity in the right amygdala. Females also showed more activity in the brain concerning emotion recognition, perspective talking, and affective responses. While reading the article “Structural Changes in the Brain Attributed to Mindfulness-Based Interventions” I found it intriguing the positive effects of mediations such as decrease in anxiety and depression. I enjoyed reading both articles and comparing the positive effects of meditation in the articles while also contrasting the experiment details set up in the two articles.
Wow! To think that something as simple as meditating for as few as 20 minutes a day can, and has been shown to, reduce the amount of fear an anxiety we feel is amazing! There are actual tests that have been performed by real leading scientists on this very subject at Emory University in Atlanta, GA, and their results are astonishing (Frontiers for Science: Effects of mindful-attention and compassion meditation training on amygdala response to emotional stimuli in an ordinary, non-meditative state). We all know that fear is useful, of course. Like if I’m getting chased by a bear the last thing I want to do is sit down and think about my feelings. That being said, that’s not what is happening here, from what I see this doesn’t take away your fear it simple gives you control over that fear! Imagine if instead of getting sick with anxiety before a test or an interview you simply breathed and all your fear was gone! That’s what is happening here, instead of your mind being clouded by fear, when you need it most, your mind is clear and you can think properly! I have to wonder, if meditation was used regularly, what long term effects this would have on students and employees alike, would grades increase, would work stress decrease? What kind of impact could this have, if used properly, on our kids and grandkids?
After having read both articles, I can truly say I’m astonished with how in depth meditation really goes in benefiting not only just our mental well being but as well as our physical health. In both articles they had similar experiments on how meditation would benefit the mind and the final results came out amazing. Even though I’ve never practiced meditation for myself, It’s definitely something i’d look more into.
The Scholarly Article is interesting because it explains how meditation affects the brain. This can be very useful for anyone who wants to try meditating. In the “MBB Related Research” article, people have improved both physically and mentally from meditation. This is an amazing phenomenon.
From reading both of the articles I am amazed how much meditation effects and stimulates the brain. I feel as this can help me and other students deal with all the stress and pressures of college. Its amazing how it has helped people in more just the mental toll on life but the physical 2.
I find the subtopic about brain imaging experiments in the article : Structural Changes in the Brain Attributed to Mindfulness-based Interventions quite intriguing . It is very informative and very unique.
After reading Structural Changes in the Brain Attributed to Mindfulness-Based Interventions I found this very interesting, “the outcome data on these programs reveals that the training leads to improvement in the physical and mental health of participants with regard to improved immune function, pain management, and decreased psychological symptoms of stress and anxiety” (unknown). If this meditation releases all of this stress why do parents not start this with their children at young age to reduce stress from learning and starting new things? In the scholarly article I was very interested in how this meditations reduces grey matter in the brain.
The scholarly article definitely gave me an idea of just how much research goes beyond meditation and how much information we take in to realize just how beneficial it can be for us. The Reputable article has made me wonder why more people aren’t meditating. These articles are living proof that meditation is extremely beneficial and stress relieving, and I feel it should be done more often for our own use.
This is all very interesting and new information to me. By just meditating for an acquired amount a day will help you with your mental and physical health which is just unreal. In the Effects of mindfulness I found that amygdala has a huge impact in the emotional and attention process.
This article is interesting and informational, I read the scholarly article “Effects of Mindful-Attention and Compassion Meditation Training on Amygdala Response to Emotional Stimuli in an Ordinary, Non-Meditative State,” it was interesting but very long and a little hard to understand fully. I enjoyed reading this one because it was easier to read and to comprehend. I also found it very interesting the health benefits you get from meditating! I would love to try it but I don’t think I have the attention span to do so.
I found this article to be very informative as long as the scholars articles. this gave me a more in depth look at how meditating really does improve you in many ways. I also enjoyed this article more because it was easier to follow than the other with the twist and turns of words.
The articles concluded that meditation helps the brain to become calm. It relaxes you physically as well as emotionally. They also state that it does not take just one time to meditate. It takes several.
While observing the results of the project in the scholarly article, it was interesting to me that the experimenters recorded a difference in the way men and women were affected by the tests. It makes me wonder if the separate genders went into the meditations with different mind sets about what they were doing.
In this reputable article, I was intrigued by the fact that the meditation is physically changing the brain to shrink the amygdala and has been proven to do so as the author stated. Something as simple as clearing your mind and focusing on what is going on with you right in that moment can make such a difference in your life. I’m also excited to read that MBB is becoming popular in more and more places. It is clearly an excellent way to reduce fear and stress, so why not give it a try?
this article and the scholarly article has a lot of healthy positive information. some of the effects on the amygdala i find hard to believe but would love to see in person. a couple things i really enjoy from reading this article are all the facts about how healthy one can become from doing the meditation. Also makes me second guess on actually giving this a chance and wanting to try it.
The reputable post “Structural Changes in the Brain Attributed to Mindfulness-Based Interventions” does an excellent job of highlighting some of the most beneficial outcomes of practicing “Mindful-Based Stress Reduction”. Not only are the results from this meditative course prominent for “a number of unwanted medical and psychological symptoms”, but they are also lasting long after the 8 week meditative course is over. While this 8 week course does seem fairly intensive, well over 17,000 people have already done it and are benefitting from its results. It’s funny to me to think how something as simple as breathing exercises can actually alter the physical composition of the human brain. I’m also left wondering what else could be achieved from simple things like meditation if continued for longer than 8 weeks.
Both article were very interesting. One thing that stood out to me in the article of “Structural Changes in the Brain Attributed to Mindfulness-Based Interventions” was that your emotion would become stable. Another thing that was cool to me, but was in the other article of “Effects of mindful-attention and compassion meditation training on amygdala response to emotional stimuli in an ordinary, non-meditative state” was that meditation training could affect your emotion for your everyday life, and not just during meditation. So I think it cool that your emotion ca n be change by meditation.
In “Structural Changes in the Brain Attributed to Mindfulness-Based Interventions” I was amazed by how meditation could not only help with inner peace, but would also help decrease anxiety and stress. I also liked how in the Scholar Article it shows the evidence to back up the statement that meditation can relive stress and anxiety. It makes me wonder if that there are any other ways to naturally cure the body.
This article was extremely intriguing, for one, I personally do not meditate so I could not possible know the effects it has on ones self. Thanks to the article I was given a little insight. Never would I think that sitting and concentrating who actually shrink the part of the brain that processes fear(amygdala). The only question I would have is why most of the meditation programs take 8 weeks long, not shorter or longer. Through reading many different programs names I notice a constancy with the time period. over all I enjoy both articles.
This Article “The mindful way of life” is Mind blowing. The effects of meditation are truly Mind blowing, Taking 20 minutes out of your day can change your whole perception on the day. Better emotions better days. The most fascinating thing is that there is no limit on who can perform this type of emotional healing. This has a direct factor on how you react to certain situations. What caught my attention “Scholarly Article” is how meditation can bring ones anxiety down and bring them back much faster.This is beneficial to everyone and I encourage that this method is used more often.
The article was very interesting. I am still left wondering exactly why our brain does what it does. It’s crazy to me how the things we do to our bodies have such a powerful impact on the development of our minds.
I really enjoyed both of the articles. I’ve never practiced meditation but the people and studies show that it can really be beneficial. People with a lot of stress and chronic pain seem to really improve and that amazes me. I learned a lot about how much it can help your mental and physical state. In the amygdala article, it was really interesting to see how in depth they go with the study. and in the MBSR, it showed that relaxation of the mind is really needed.
I never thought that meditation can be useful. Though,studies show that it has an impact on people: It lowers their depression, anxiety, and negative thoughts. Meditation functions your amygdala a way that lowers your stress and negative emotions. As I read the evidence of how meditation works in the human body it’s actually useful to inform people about meditation. People now a days don’t want to try anything until they have evidence.
After reading these articles, I thought it was pretty interesting to learn about what the amygdala does. Reading about how it’s supposed to help you stay stress free, I think about all of the people out there that have very high stress levels. But then again, they’re stressed from the things that happen around them on a day-to-day biases. Maybe just meditating for a few minutes everyday could help you mellow out.
I was surprisingly intrigued by these two articles. It was very fascinating to see, in the first article, that the adults with no prior meditating experience could make a change in their amygdala responses in just 8 weeks with this experiment. I will admit, when I first heard about this mindfulness based meditation, I was a bit of a skeptic, but after seeing the proof, I think I am interested in trying it out and seeing if it can do anything for me in particular. It is interesting to hear that there is now actual evidence that shows this has lasting effects on emotional stability. Since this is my first year in college, I would definitely like to try this out and see if it can rid me of some of my test anxiety.
In the scholarly article, I found the amount of research and time was devoted into this study. The outcomes were incredible; adults who had never meditated before were suddenly experiencing all these positive outcomes. In this article, it talks not only about the one experiment done, but others that have shown the same result. I think its really incredible how its starting to become more prevalent and more people are realizing the benefits. I can’t wait to see where this goes in the future.
In the scholarly article, I found it shocking that the less depressed people are the greater the response in the amygdala to images of suffering. I would have never thought that those two things would have correlated with each other. Also in this article, I didn’t know that the results would improve immune function and pain management. It seems like those variables wouldn’t be affected by meditating.
I think it is fascinating how our brain in stimulated. The fact that this study was completed in eight weeks with both positive and negative results is phenomenal.
This article makes me wonder more about how the amygdala comprehend though different types of meditation methods. How do mindfulness-based treatments effect the amygdala in both a positive and negative way? What are the other mindfulness programs trying to modify different types of meditation for the amygdala
I found it interesting to find out that after 8 weeks of meditation training that the people stopped responding to things that triggered that specific emotion. With mindfulness- based programs it is amazing how it can get rid of not just the psychological but physical. That is just amazing.
The fact that the people stopped responding to things that triggered that specific emotion just from meditation was amazing.
I find it truly fascinating that your brain is somewhat changed just through these exercises! It’s very pleasing to know that if you just take the time to do some simple meditation your mind is calmed and your lifestyle becomes that much more positive. In the scholarly article I read it talked about all of the experiments that went into proving this mediation worked. In this article I found the same principles. Stress is sometimes a good thing when there isn’t too much of it.I think these exercises would benefit everyone who attempted them.
I think it is very interesting that our brains are able to respond and grow from what we learn. These two articles make it clear that it is possible for us to use meditation to help with anxiety and other medical conditions concerning the amygdala, and I think that it is amazing that we can do that for ourselves. Personally, I am excited to learn more about meditation because I could use a good stress reliever this semester, and maybe I could even develop a new hobby out of it.
Through reading this article, I have learned that meditation is extremely beneficial to both mind and body. I believe meditation is essential because it reduces a tremendous amount of stress and additionally brings forth positive thoughts, feelings, and actions. It surprises me that mindfulness based programs are not practiced as commonly or frequently.
The Scholarly article I find truly intriguing, learning how meditation can truly change someone’s mind body and soul for just meditating 8 minutes a day for over a period of time. it not only relives the mind and body of stress but can help with issues that many people face such as depression, Anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder. which I found very fascinating because society puts so much advertisement for these disorders to take drugs when really there are other ways to help with these disorders such as using the practice of meditation.
I had no idea until now that meditation could have such a big impact on someones mental and physical health. It is fascinating how the brain, mind and body really needs things like this and work so differently without them. I believe a little bit of meditation in every average persons life would help a huge amount
I learned a lot from this web page.
There are a lot of people who have issues listening to long speeches, or dedicating themselves to a task. Meditation can help one get better at being aware of their environment. Also, pain is a part of everyone’s life, whether it be physical or mental. Through personal experience, I can say that meditation helps reduce pain, or at least makes it easier to get through the pain until it is treated.