Sister Sitting On Stomach

Some benefits of meditation

"Meditation creates gray matter"
Note taken from The Universal


Saturday June 26, 2010
GDA / The Nation
El Universal


According to researcher Eileen Luders, like when someone trains their muscles, some areas the brain must grow when used intensively


Sitting around thinking about anything in front of a lit candle is tedious, pointless and even ridiculous to some, but this looks so innocent practice is recognized by conventional medicine alternative therapeutic strategy to break tables as different and untamable as stress and anxiety, hypertension, migraine or cardiovascular complications.


years ago, other researchers in the field of neurology, including the famous Daniel Goleman, went a step further with the consent of the Dalai Lama.


Thus, different Buddhist monks trained in the art of meditation were studied under the lens of the next-generation nuclear resonators. The images showed differences in brain functioning of the meditators were seen around the world and since then the research multiplied.


The last chapter of this scientific scrutiny over several centuries was written by a team from the Neuroimaging Laboratory at the University of California, USA.


With the latest technology the scientists compared the brains of 44 people, 22 of them with no history of meditation and 22 with training in this ancient practice which ranged between 5 and 46 years, an average of 24 years practicing one of the many forms of meditation.


This time, scientists no longer focused on the effects of meditation on brain functioning, but its influence on the structure of the brain.


Eileen Luders, author of the study published in the journal Neuroimage, explains their amazing findings: "meditators have more gray matter in areas of the brain involved in controlling emotions."


According to the researcher, like when someone trains their muscles, "some brain areas are growing when you use them intensely."


Gray matter is the tissue charge of processing the information that the white matter transmits. A simple scenario, likely to take years for science to confirm, is that the higher the gray matter, brain perform better.


"Most meditators have outstanding skills in relation to the self-regulating their emotions, it is easier for them to maintain emotional stability and to become focused, such as choosing wisely their answers or reactions. Moreover, the meditators are renowned for their extremely positive outlook on life, it is usual for them see, instead of empty, half full of glass, "acknowledged Luders.


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