This is your brain on meditation

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Meditation for Kids Neuroscientist touts benefits of meditation for kids

I wanted to share this great article on the benefits of meditating for kids.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Simple meditation techniques, backed up with modern scientific knowledge of the brain, are helping kids hard-wire themselves to be able to better pay attention and become kinder, says neuroscientist Richard Davidson

• Research, including brain imaging studies, also shows it is possible to cultivate the mind to change brain function and structure in ways that will promote higher levels of well-being and increased resilience, said Davidson.

• To improve a child’s ability to pay attention — and also improve their studying abilities — a stone is put on a child’s belly, and they learn to focus on their breathing as the stone goes up and down.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/health/empowered-health/Neuroscientist+touts+benefits+meditation+kids/6158952/story.html#ixzz1o5U21blR

Your Brain on Meditation

• In a study published in the journal NeuroImage in 2009, Luders and her colleagues compared the brains of 22 meditators and 22 age-matched nonmeditators and found that the meditators (who practiced a wide range of traditions and had between 5 and 46 years of meditation experience) had more gray matter in regions of the brain that are important for attention, emotion regulation, and mental flexibility. Increased gray matter typically makes an area of the brain more efficient or powerful at processing information. Luders believes that the increased gray matter in the meditators' brains should make them better at controlling their attention, managing their emotions, and making mindful choices.  SOURCE - YOGA JOURNAL

• The gamma activity, increased by meditation, remained high even after meditation had ceased. The studies indicated that meditation was an example of neuroplasticity (the ability of the brain to change). Simply put, the laboratory concluded that meditation physically alters the brain. "Thirteen years ago they said it was impossible to change the brain after a certain point." Rinpoche said. "Now, they realize that the brain continues to develop your whole life. From a meditation point of view, of course, this has always been true." SOURCE - HUFFINGTON POST

• Eleven people participated in a five-week meditation training program, where they practiced focusing their attention on their breathing and cultivating awareness of their fleeting thoughts before promptly letting them go. After the program, researchers recorded the participants’ brain activity, comparing it with people who didn’t receive the training. Those who received the training had significantly greater activity in the brain’s frontal lobe, resulting in more positive emotions and a greater willingness to approach people or experiences. SOURCE - UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY