Many people still consider meditation to be a purely religious practice. However, it has a measurable effect – on the brain, thoughts, and health. It is a psychic technique with which in principle every person can influence their mind and health. Meditation causes changes in the structure of the brain of those who practice it, and it produces quite amazing results.
What exactly is meditation?
Meditation consists in creating a total emptiness in oneself and in concentrating on what is going on inside our body (breathing, vital functions, etc.). It helps us to ignore stress, to dispel emotions, ideas, hassles, etc. from our mind, and to focus on the inside.
We constantly have thoughts and concerns in mind, so it is not always easy to leave them aside, but meditation can be compared to some kind of brain gymnastics. As with the muscles of our body, it is only by regular practice that we manage to reach a state of relaxation, serenity, and total relaxation.
There are many ways to meditate, which are described and explained in many books of spirituality and inner journey. Whichever method you prefer, the benefits of meditation are quick and real. The hardest part is getting started and staying motivated!
How to meditate and build your brain (literally)
In 2014 researchers from the University of British Columbia conducted a study on meditation. They were interested in how this practice changes the structure of our brain.
During this study, they compared the brains of meditators to non-practitioners and what they discovered is fascinating. By doing a brain scan, they noticed that people who meditate regularly have more tissue in the areas of the brain that control focus, stress, and attention. They had succeeded in practice in developing the part of their brain that controls impulses and the maintenance of attention.
What this study proves to us is that practicing meditation regularly can strengthen our brains. In this article, we will take a closer look at meditation. We will see how meditation improves our concentration, how to meditate, and after how long we can see the effects.
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How does meditation improve concentration?
Most forms of meditation consist of concentrating on a particular element (breath, body, mantra, etc.) and calmly bringing our attention back to this element each time our mind goes astray.
Meditation largely consists of learning not to be distracted. And the more we meditate, the more we can channel distractions.
This is confirmed by Catherine Kerr researcher at Harvard Medical School. She explains that people who practice meditation regularly can adjust their brain waves to channel distractions and increase their productivity faster.
By meditating we, therefore, develop new faculties that allow us to more easily ignore distractions. The second reason that meditation improves our concentration is that it decreases our stress.
Stress can be paralyzing at times. When we are too stressed, it is hard to think, our mind disperses easily and it is more difficult to stay focused.
Research has shown that meditating helps reduce our level of stress and anxiety. Regular practice of meditation has the power to change the way the following 2 parts of our brain work:
- The medial prefrontal cortex
- The lateral prefrontal cortex
The medial prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain related to introspection. It is the one who interprets our emotions and experiences, the one who makes us consider experience as good or bad and it is also the one that cares about the future and what other people think. This part of the brain is also called the Me Center.
The lateral prefrontal cortex allows it to look at things from a more rational and logical point of view. It modulates our emotional responses and it influences the way our medial prefrontal cortex acts. It is also called the Assessment Center.
In people who do not meditate, the connection between the Me Center and the Assessment Center is fragile. What this means is that these people are more at the mercy of their Me Center. They will therefore more easily let emotions overwhelm them and be more likely to be stressed or anxious.
People who meditate, on the other hand, strengthen the connection between their Me Center and their Assessment Center. In other words, they have an easier time controlling their emotional response. They are therefore less stressed and anxious which allows them to stay focused even in usually stressful situations
2How to meditate to improve your concentration
There are multiple ways to meditate. Here we will see how to meditate with our breath:
Step 1: Look for a quiet place. It can be in your living room, in your bedroom, in your garden or even in nature.
Step 2: Make yourself comfortable. You can sit cross-legged if you feel comfortable in this position, you can also sit in a chair or armchair, your back straight, your feet touching the floor and your hands resting on your thighs.
Step 3: Take a first deep breath through your nose and exhale through your mouth.
Step 4: Breathe normally and focus on your breath. Watch your body move with each breath. Feel the air entering your nostrils and inflating your lungs with each breath and feel the air coming out with each breath. Let yourself be carried away by this rhythm.
When you focus on your breathing, thoughts will naturally arise in your mind. Observe them without judging them and systematically bring your attention back to your breath.
Sometimes these thoughts will carry you away for several minutes and you will even forget your breath. Don’t blame yourself. Again when you notice this happening, calmly focus on your breathing. This is arguably the most important part of meditation.
We often think that to meditate we must stay focused as long as possible and that we must think of nothing. We believe that if we get carried away by our thoughts it is because we do not know how to meditate. It’s wrong.
All meditators (including those who have been practicing for years) see distracting thoughts popping up at some point. The practice of meditation is precisely to learn to welcome these thoughts and then to bring our attention back to our breath.
