Meditation has been practiced for centuries as a way of helping to balance a person’s physical, mental, and emotional states. Research has shown that meditation can produce significant positive changes in the brain. One study compared the brains of regular meditation practitioners with people with no experience with meditation. The MRI scans showed that certain regions of the brain associated with sight, hearing, emotional processing, and cognitive function were significantly thicker in the meditation group. This study suggested that meditation could help reduce the thinning of the frontal cortex, which occurs as people age. This study shows that much like when you are not using a certain part of the body, such as a muscle, it will start to atrophy or decrease in size due to disuse. I believe that there are many forms of meditation that can have the same effect. Prayer can be seen as a form of meditation. Also, when a person is physically exercising, the brain also goes into a type of meditative state. Unfortunately, sitting in front of a TV does not count, as the mind is more or less switched off.
So choose your own form of meditation, and make it a part of your lifestyle. You will benefit in ways you would not have imagined. Also, with your spine being more balanced and subluxation-free, the effects on the rest of your body will be even more profound.
(Previously published in Healthy Habits Update Winter 2006)
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