How does meditation help manage brain activity? Scientists from Sri Lanka have found the answer

Secular meditation began shining its white-toothed, calm smile on us in the 1960s, while its ancestor sister appeared in the Vedas (ancient Indian scriptures) some 6,500 years ago. Meditation, having moved from Hindu practices to the larger Western world, became a practice “with an asterisk”: the usual methods no longer focused on spiritual growth. The new so-called secular meditation emphasizes relaxation, stress reduction, and honing mindfulness skills.

The term “meditation” describes many practices. Nevertheless, all of them share at least four common features:

• An open attitude toward what is happening;
• concentration in the moment;
• a quiet environment;
• adopting a comfortable stance.

Consultant member of the All-Russian Association of Professionals in Deep Memory and Regressions

Secular meditation is a focus on living each particular moment. That is, experiencing one’s own existence without focusing on the thoughts that arise in the mind.

In order for meditation to be effective, one must learn to:

• not to concentrate on the thoughts and emotions that arise during the practice;
• to relax or tense certain parts of the body;

• to stop the process of internal dialog – the flow of thoughts.

The way of the samurai is the way home

There is a whole range of meditations, the effect of which has a positive effect on health. The main task of the practices is to immerse oneself in the present, putting aside thoughts about the past and the coming. They can be divided into two types: guided and unguided meditation.

In guided practice, you rely on a voice (not in your head) to lead you through the process step by step. For example, a guide in a face-to-face session or a recording from a meditation app. Your job is to let go of mental struggles and surrender to deep inhalations and exhalations.

In an unguided practice, you can’t listen to the voices – it’s a silent process that you do in focused concentration. Inhalations and exhalations are also present here, you can even pretend to be a home x-ray and scan your body in sections.

Let’s talk about some of them.

Practicing mindfulness

Let’s start grounding! Most types of meditation show the connection between how and what we think about and how it affects our feelings and actions.

By focusing on the present, we can:

• Separate ourselves from our thoughts. This distance helps us realize: we are not the puppets in the hands of our thoughts, but they are the product of our thinking.
• Understand how emotions affect our physical state. For example, an accelerated pulse may indicate anxiety or stress, which we do not have time to trace in the flow of experiences.
• Feel how the flow of thoughts changes. We don’t let anything distract us from the present moment. To understand what this looks like in reality, let me give you an example: thoughts, like the obsessive nanny Vika from “My Fair Nanny,” do “knock, knock, knock, knock,” while we pretend that there is no one in Maxim Viktorovich’s office.

Practicing mindfulness can also be considered informal actions. For example, “mindful” brushing of teeth and mindful eating. At such moments, you are focused on the action, and thoughts are quietly flowing past your attention. Mindful eating helps you feel the moment of satiety, so you will be less likely to overeat.

Valentina: There is no particular difference in the position for meditation. It all depends on personal preference. If you are overexcited or hyperactive, you may need to become more active to get into a meditative state. If you are characterized by immobility and “sticking” in one point, perhaps sitting or lying down will be more effective.

Yoga meditation

These practices usually involve:

• controlled breathing exercises;
• sitting meditation and repetition of mantras;
• focus on bodily sensations.

Valentina: If you want to practice on your own, you should first try different variants and observe the sensations. And if you work with a specialist, he will help you to decide what is right for you at the beginning. In time, as I said, it will no longer matter what pose you are in or what you are doing at the moment of meditation.

The path of meditation is a path to stillness

Whether we are mentally active, resting or sleeping, there is always electrical activity going on in the brain. Specialists can track the frequency and location of electrical waves with a special procedure – electroencephalography, EEG.

Modern science divides the electrical vibrations of the brain into four types, two of which are similar:

• beta-rhythm (normal man, active);
• delta and theta;
• alpha rhythm (calm person, active or sleepy).

It is the alpha rhythm that can be influenced by meditation and mindfulness practices.

The alpha rhythm is “born” in moments of rest. As timid as Bambi, it disappears from irritation of the pupils when the eyes are open, mental exertion and concentration. He lives, as a rule, in the back of the brain, lurks in rest, maximally relaxed body and closed eyes. If you fall into a slumber, it is replaced by the theta rhythm. If you suddenly remember something unpleasant, the beta rhythm is there.

Alpha activity is often underestimated. Alpha waves calm the brain cells that react to random stimuli and desensitize them. It literally helps you relax on a physiological level.