New to Meditation
One Breath at a Time
BENEFITS OF MEDITATION
Insight meditation is a way to develop wisdom and compassion. The core of the practice is the cultivation of mindfulness. In the past decade, there has been a great increase in the study of mindfulness and its benefits.
Within the past few decades, through fMRI technology and new brain imaging, scientists have come to discover what they call neuroplasticity… that the brain has the ongoing ability to change, develop and even to renew itself. Meditation has shown to play a part in these brain changes and can decrease the negative effects of stress, mild depression and anxiety. One study found that people who had participated in an eight-week mindfulness meditation class (meditating 30 minutes a day for 8 weeks) had measurable shifts in the way their brains handled emotions, shifting their emotional set-point towards more positive feelings. This study also found a boost in their immune systems.
- Bodily Regulation
- Attunement
- Emotional Balance
- Response Flexibility
- Downregulation of Fear
- Insight
- Empathy
- Morality
- Intuition
For more information about the benefits of mindfulness practice, visit the website of Dan Siegel, author of several important books, including the Developing Mind, The Mindful Brain, Mindsight, and The Mindful Therapist.