Over the past 30 years some of us have spent hours and hours doing aerobic exercises to maintain our body fitness and keep us looking good. We have attended dance studios, step classes, hi and lo impact classes, some of us have even attempted martial arts and water aerobics! In a nutshell, we have put a great deal of time and effort to keep time and nature at bay. We've accepted it's important to maintain the outward appearance and keep our bodies trim. But what about your mind and brain? The question is; have you spent the same amount of time on mental aerobics? Have you put in the same amount of effort to keep your mind and brain fit? Our minds and brains need help too. Just like our bodies, without the right type of exercise they deteriorate, become lethargic, unhealthy and resemble the behaviour of a couch potato. But all is not lost. Dr. Sara Lazar, a research scientist at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, has discovered a way in which we can keep our brains healthy. Something you can do everyday to stop the ageing process of your brain. In her research she used MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) to compare the brain structure of 30 people who lived in and around Boston in the US. She examined 15 people who meditated regularly and 15 people who had never meditated. She found that meditation: "increases the thickness of the cortex in areas involved in attention and sensory processing, such as the prefrontal cortex and the right anterior insula". Now what does that mean to you and me? The pre-frontal cortex is the part of the brain that is associated with decision making, planning and memory and naturally thins as we get older, thus reducing our ability to think clearly and make rational decisions. This research shows that you don't have to be a professional meditator and practice meditation all day to stem the aging process. Anybody can do it. When you meditate you are doing a type of aerobics that benefits the brain. Through daily meditation you are slowing the ageing process. You are having an effect on the deterioration of the brain tissue. The good news is that you don't have to have been meditating for 30 years to gain this benefit. As Dr. Sara Lazar stated in an interview with CNN, "what we saw is -- the thickness was correlated with the amount of practice they had. So even people with a just few years of practice had bigger cortex". In other words; it's never too late to start. The secret is to find a meditation practice that suits you. One you enjoy doing. If you have tried meditation before and didn't feel comfortable with that practice don't give up try something else. It's the same as physical aerobic exercises; success comes from choosing the method you feel most comfortable with. The more you enjoy it the more time you will put in and the better the results. The next step is yours. If you want to stem the ageing process of the brain, give yourself time each day to meditate. Good Luck Graham and Julie www.desktop-meditation.com |
