There is an increasing number of studies which are showing that meditation has tangible and measurable effects on the brain. A study led by Sarah Lazar, assistant professor of psychology at Harvard University, found that learning to observe your breath without judgement in fact changes the physical wiring of the brain.

Lazar has conducted a series of studies on yoga and meditation at the Massachusetts General Hospital and found that the effects extended far beyond stress relief. In fact, mediation can change the way in which the brain functions, having much longer-lasting effects. This comes down to the science of neuroplasticity, which explains the way in which the brain reshapes itself in order to grow. Lazar has shown that meditation is not a passive activity. On the contrary, it is highly active practice which can radically alter parts of the brain associated with stress, well-being and “fluid” intelligence. Lazar defines “fluid intelligence” as the neuron-based process that allows different regions of the brain to communicate with one another, which aids our problem-solving abilities. In other words, this is the ability of the different hemispheres of the brain to effectively communicate with each other to overcome complex obstacles.

So how did this study work? Initially Lazar tried to determine whether or not there were differences in the brains of people who had been meditating for a long time and people who didn’t meditate at all. She used MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imagining) and saw that long time meditators were thicker in parts of the cerebral cortex. The thick areas were linked to the brain functions of decision-making, memory and attention. While these studies showed a possible link between meditation and brain functioning, this couldn’t be proved to a certainty.

She went on to improve her experiment by trying to see whether meditation would alter the brains of those who had never meditated before. She used the 8 week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction programme and chose participants who reported feeling stressed, but who did not suffer from anxiety or depression. They were all in relatively good health and were not on any sort of medication which could effect the brain. The participants had to complete a questionnaire designed to assess their stress levels and general sense of well-being. The questionnaires showed that the participants were all feeling less stressed after the programme, but more interestingly, their brain scans displayed an emotional shift. Their reports of lower stress levels correlated with a reduction in the amygdala which is the brain’s centre of fear and anxiety. It is a well-known fact that the amygdala fluctuates in size, growing smaller with less exposure to stress hormones. There was also a growth in the participant’s brain stem, which is the centre where dopamine and serotonin are produced.

While these studies are far from conclusive, they represent powerful first steps in understanding how meditation and yoga work on the brain. Lazar is currently expanding her study by looking at meditative practices like Tai Chi and more advanced forms of yoga.

As science improves, we begin to have increasingly more concrete proof of the transformational effects of meditation. And if you’re not convinced, try it for yourself. After all, your subjective experience is the only experiment that really matters.

Source:  Silent Journey