Change Your Brain In 8 Weeks

~Going With The Flow~

Changing Your Brain In 8 Weeks
In a study that appeared in the January 30, 2011 issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, a team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers report that participation in an 8-week mindfulness meditation program appears to make measurable changes in the regions of the brain that are associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. This is the first study to document meditation-produced changes in the brain's grey matter.

Study participants took part in the program at the University of Massachusetts Center for Mindfulness, focusing on nonjudgmental awareness of sensations and feelings and state of mind.
A set of MR brain images were also taken of a control group of non-meditators over a similar time interval.

The meditation group participants practiced mindfulness exercises for an average of 27 minutes per daily and their responses to the mindfulness questionnaire showed significant progress compared with their pre-participation responses.

The MR images, which focused on areas where meditation-associated differences were seen in earlier studies, found increased grey-matter density in the hippocampus, known to be important for learning and memory, and in structures associated with self-awareness, compassion and introspection.
Reductions in stress also were correlated with decreased grey-matter density in the amygdala, which is known to play an important role in anxiety and stress.

No changes were seen in the control group.

The study team reported that the act of practicing meditation changed the brain, increasing well-being and quality of life.

Going With The Flow
Multi-Sensory Meditation involves training the mind and body to aware of the input from the senses and to remain detached from the emotions and experiences that arise.

When the 5 senses are involved, strong emotions can create a powerful attachment within the subconscious to past events and the fear associated with similar future experiences.

Multi-Sensory Meditation develops your natural ability to remain impervious to the variability of daily life. This acceptance of the “flow” literally creates new neural pathways within the brain, equipping you with the skills to shift from a downward cycle of negativity to one that is up-beat and filled with positive vitality.

It promotes an awareness of attachment leading to a successful release of negative thoughts and feelings. The mind is no longer flooded with overwhelming thoughts and feelings that determine reactive responses, but rather, there is intention and awareness in every moment creating a happier and healthier way to live.

By highlighting the connection between the senses, memory, consciousness, and awareness patterns of behavior change, resulting in a focused mind and a calm and energized body.

Contact me for more information about Multi-Sensory Meditation and how to learn it.

Affirmation
Your own internal dialogue can and will influence the way that you shape your own actions and ability to self-motivate. Positive self-talk directly impacts future actions with the power to produce healthier and more productive behavior.

I now surrender to the Universal Flow

I accept what is happening and trust that all will be well

I am at peace with all that surrounds me

No Pain - All Gain! Train the Brain to Remove Pain

During meditation and yogic breathing techniques, brain wave patterns change.

Scientists from The University of Manchester have found that people who meditate regularly find pain less unpleasant because their brains anticipate the pain less. The study was published in September 2010 and showed that meditation reduces the emotional impact of aches and injury.

In the study, pain was administered via a small laser and the threat of pain was also anticipated as part of the research.

The scientists found that the prefrontal cortex, the region of the brain known to be involved in controlling attention and thought processes when potential threats are perceived, was more active compared to non-meditators. The experienced meditators also perceived the pain as less unpleasant relative to controls.

The more experience that a meditation practitioner had, the more the individual was able to distance themselves from anticipation of soreness, both reducing the expectation of and the negative appraisal of pain.

Meditation trains the brain to be more present-focused and to spend less time anticipating future negative events, reducing the recurrence of depression which makes chronic pain considerably worse.

Other studies have demonstrated that the pre-frontal cortex thickens as a result of meditation and thickening of this area of cortex is also shown to protect a person from sensitivity to pain.


Meditation Reduces Pain

During meditation and yogic breathing techniques, brain wave patterns change from beta waves to alpha waves. In addition, both hemispheres of the brain and the body become balanced. In most people, one side is slightly more active than the other e.g. being left or right-handed, but balanced sides also mean that your creative, physical, and logical abilities are equal and productive.

During the alpha state, the brain produces endorphins, natural pain-reducing hormones that are also responsible for a feeling of wellbeing and calming awareness throughout the body. Endorphins are the “feel good” factor involved in maintaining a positive quality of life, aid in controlling the body’s response to stress and in the regulation of growth and gonadotropin hormones.

When the mind is balanced, the whole body is affected.

Multi-Sensory Meditation which we teach, via classes and seminars, positively impacts your internal and external perception, your awareness of possibilities, and by promoting an optimistic mental state enables you to be free from negativity. In its simplest form, it is your own way of distancing your mind from the hustle and bustle of everyday living. You give yourself permission to relinquish the thoughts, demands, and pressures coming at you from the outside as well as from within, releasing attachment to the familiar path you traveled on before and experiencing the peace of the moment.

Guided Meditation
See previous postings on the website on the basic method of How to Meditate

Train The Brain To Remove Pain
Begin by following the breath from the tip of the nose into the base of the lungs and follow the breath out again.
Notice the body
Begin at the base of the body at the right side
See the right foot then the left
Move slowly over each area of the body, without becoming attached or associated with any particular area
Notice how each part of the body feels
Notice what you sense, smell, touch, hear, see, experience

How does your body feel with your surroundings; do you feel supported by the earth, does your body and heart feel open or closed
Travel with conscious awareness from the feet to the crown of the head
Begin to release awareness of your body, one limb and area at a time
Recognize that you are not your body
As you release awareness of having a body, you release awareness of areas that have pain as well as areas that are pain-free
With practice you learn to disassociate your Self from the confines of the body




Affirmation
Thoughts have their own unique energy. Use the power of your words to create only that which is positive for you.

See yourself as strong and healthy. See healing energy passing into you. See yourself doing all the things that you are now physically able to do. You move lightly, filled with vitality and the knowledge that all is well.

I am filling each cell with light and creating a new body