Free Gifts

For most of us in the modern world meditation is a foreign concept. We imagine cross legged monks on top of snowy mountains, solemn and unmoving for days. And immediately, we’re disinterested in the concept at all. Even the idea of sitting in silence doing nothing, whilst the world continues to move around us seems both unproductive and frustrating. Yet it may be one of the best things we can do for our health. So what even is meditation? Meditation is the practice of bringing the mind into a state of “thoughtless awareness.” Depending on the type of meditation, the aim may be to clear the mind, focus on our mind/body connection, direct our energy inwards and focus on a single thought, mantra or feeling. Some people use meditation purely as a form of relaxation. With the modern world full of constant stimuli, whether that be the 2000 advertisements we see each day or the complexities of human relationships, our brains are always working hard to sort through it all. With the busyness ofeveryday life on top of this, it becomes almost impossible not to become forgetful, flustered and lose focus. Luckily, science has given us a way to overcome this. Practicing meditation for just 10 minutes a day may be your answer. Meditation has been seen to cause an increase in concentration, clarity of thought and decision making, treating addiction and even improving physical health. So how does this work? If we look at the anatomy of the human brain, there are two areas that are most important when it comes to meditation. The frontal lobe, the large section behind our forehead which oversees our cognitive thinking, creativity and decision making, and the limbic system, right in the centre of the brain. Within the limbic system is a small part of the brain called the amygdala. It’s responsible for some of our emotions, particularly the control of aggression and our survival instincts (you may have heard of the fight or flight response). It’s often referred to as the “primal” partof the brain, as it causes us to be alert for danger and act quickly if needed. As you can imagine, thousands of years ago when dangerous animals and lack of food were real threats to human survival, this part of the brain was vital. Essentially, it controls how we respond to stress. Some people will spend a lot of their life with a highly active amygdala, causing them to experience increased fear and aggression and be on constant high alert for “danger.” Yet how many of us are facing real threats in our every day lives? Multiple studies have found that the amygdala becomes less active when we are meditating. This is a long standing effect, and continues even after you finish meditating. Not only this, but the brains amazing ability to rewire itself means that the more frequently you meditate, the less active your amygdala will become. A lot of busy, driven and “highly strung” people may have an over-active amygdala. Allowing ourselves to sit in silence, focus on the breath and relaxour body decreases activity in this “survival” part of the brain. It also causes there to be an increase in blood flow (oxygen) to our frontal lobe – the part of the brain that is responsible for cognitive functioning and decision making. As well as this, meditation helps to train our brains to be less affected by the distractions around us, direct our focus and turn down the volume on the potentially stressful, negative or intense flow of thoughts. Imagine starting each day with your ability to make well thought out decisions improved, and your stress levels decreased? Imagine leaving the house with calm focus and purpose for your day? Mastering your brain is easier than you think.