Mind Over Matter: The Meditation Club

"Nothing will bring you peace; you must bring yourself to it."

A space for those trying to incorporate meditation into their daily routine for developing emotional resilience and better mental health. Meditation here need not refer to any specific school of thought. Dhyana, vipassana, samatha, nishkama karma, mindfulness (vipassana lite), transcendental, sitting in prayer, reciting mantras, turning the rosary, breathing exercises (pranayama) or a walk in the woods are all valid practices -- any activity that turns the mind inwards counts as meditation. Use this space to track your daily practice, and share research, resources, and experiences. This is place to ask questions and offer and receive advice. There are no teachers, we all learn from each other.

This is also an open forum for discussions on meditative practices, their association with cognitive therapies and impact on mental health in general. Occasional branching off into the domains of cognitive science, neuroscience, and neuro-philosophy is A-okay as long as the overarching objective remains better cognitive health.

PS: My one request to all participants is that we keep the discussion secular and evidence-based.
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I practice mindfulness meditation and use the Headspace app to guide my practice. I started with the foundational levels and have built up to 20 minutes a day, 15 minutes first thing in the morning and 5 minutes right before bed. I would call my practice fairly regular though I want to work my way up to 40 minutes a day of unguided meditation.

For those interested in the benefits of a regular practice, this WaPo article does a good job of presenting the results of two Harvard studies on mindfulness. FTA -

"We found differences in brain volume after eight weeks in five different regions in the brains of the two groups. In the group that learned meditation, we found thickening in four regions:

1. The primary difference, we found in the posterior cingulate, which is involved in mind wandering, and self relevance.

2. The left hippocampus, which assists in learning, cognition, memory and emotional regulation.

3. The temporo parietal junction, or TPJ, which is associated with perspective taking, empathy and compassion.

4. An area of the brain stem called the Pons, where a lot of regulatory neurotransmitters are produced.

The amygdala, the fight or flight part of the brain which is important for anxiety, fear and stress in general. That area got smaller in the group that went through the mindfulness-based stress reduction program. The change in the amygdala was also correlated to a reduction in stress levels."

 

Absolutely Viswa! It would also help if you explained how to incorporate it in daily life for those interested.